For every one Buyer who sets foot in a listing, there are hundreds who view it online.

I don’t know why I laugh when people get in a fire escape panic to get their property “on the MLS” without considering all the marketing steps that should be taken first. A top consideration is professional quality photography.

I am a huge advocate of professional photography on every listing. (What I mean by that is thoughtfully staged photos with lights turned on and as much stuff put away as possible.) Further, the photos must go in the MLS the moment a new listing is online.

Why’s This?

Well, agents are constantly looking for their buyers. If two listings come up at the same time, one with photos and one without, which one do you think they are more inclined to take notice of? And more important than ever, in our information age, the Internet dominates a large majority of a Buyer’s home searching efforts (like 90%). Many serious buyers are on a automatic delivery system for new listings (such as all BoiseCribs.com Buyers through our Listingbook software).

When a new listing comes to them with no or poor quality photos, they often ignore it or psychologically downgrade it in their mind. I’ve even seen great photos show up, but a week later. Too bad, so sad, because many buyers have already ignored it and the first impression is lost forever.
That’s today’s soapbox…in this day and age, there is absolutely no need to go without at least 7-10 high quality photographs in every new listing. In my mind, the failure to do this is a breech of a listing agent’s duty to their client.

When interviewing listing agents, ask about their thoughts on this elementary process. Will they have professional quality photographs? Will they take the time to wait for those shots prior to listing? Will they use those images in all the initial launches online? Or, will they list your home and add photos in a few days?

Make sure your agent has an intelligent marketing strategy, in addition to a “marketing plan”.

Below is a recent BoiseCribs.com listing.  Don't you feel like you "know" this home just by the shots?