Why Do So Many Home Listings Have Bad Photos?

• April 1st 2009

by Will Smith

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Here is a statistic that may surprise you: Eighty percent of prospective home buyers are using the internet to find their new home, according to Inman.com.

If that number is accurate, then UrbanTurf has a question: Why are there still so many property listings on the web with poor photos or no photos at all?

In an effort to feature the best that the DC market has to offer each week (top deals, new properties, open houses), we spend a good amount of time combing through home and condo listings. What constantly shocks us is the fact that many of these listings are presented in such a poor manner that they do not even look worth visiting. And if there is a photo where trash is on the floor or a bed looks like it was recently slept in or the yard is a complete mess, chances are that listing is not going to attract any buyers.

In most cases, it is not the content in the photo, but the shoddy quality that is a turn-off. We know that there are free slideshow services out there, but the quality and usability leaves much to be desired. The point of this piece is not to lobby for outlets like HomeVisit and RealTour, however, the professionalism and quality that those services offer could be well worth the $100 to $150 that you have to shell out. Anyone that comes to look at your listing is much more likely to visit the property if you can entice them with 8 to 10 beautiful photos that make the property shine.

This seems like a no-brainer. So why is it that so many listings have bad photos? If you have an idea, please let us know in the comments.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/why_do_so_many_home_listings_have_bad_photos/739.