Picture this: More online photos means more interest in home
by: Amy Hoak, Market Watch
To sell a home with an Internet listing, it pays to
provide pictures -- and lots of them, according to a recent study from
an e-commerce and online marketing firm that serves the real-estate
industry.
Compared with listings
that had only one photo, those that had 21 or more photos received
double the number of responses to the listing broker or agent,
according to Point2 Technologies. Listings that included no photos
generated significantly less response than those that had one, the firm
said.
"The days of putting
out little information in the hopes that buyers will phone in to learn
more are gone," said Carey Tufts, director of marketing for Point2, in
a news release.
But buyers'
thirst for information about a home doesn't stop online. Read today's
story about a new tactic some home sellers are trying to allow buyers
to gather tons of information about a home and its surrounding
neighborhood -- a sleep over.
Plus, read a Capitol
Report about the housing package that is getting closer to completion
in Washington and how effective it may be.
They say a picture is
worth a thousand words. In today's real-estate market, sellers should
be prepared to spend thousands and thousands of words to attract
someone who will buy their home.