Fishing for Sales with Good Photography

At UniqueHomeSites.com, we like to share ideas regarding real estate marketing on the Internet.

Today, we want to discuss something that many in the industry seem to ignore - great real estate marketing begins with great photos!

For consumers, there is nothing more frustrating than finding a listing through a search portal that passes the initial search parameters (i.e. price, location, size, etc), but fails to offer additional photos.

The typical reaction to a lack of photos is that something is wrong with the property.

In some cases, the listing agent may do this on purpose so that only the most interested home buyers will contact them personally for more photos.

Regardless, we feel that properties listed for sale on the Internet with only one or two photos are missing out on a huge opportunity to present their listing to as many Internet eyes as possible.

This is particularly true in today’s Internet age, where web surfers are becoming accustomed to open and instant access to information on-line.

One expert in this area is Larry Lohrman, operator of the Photography For Real Estate blog.

He offers some great tips and techniques for real estate photography, including the following tidbit:

“…the front shot is THE most important shot for marketing purposes.

Not only because Realtors have to use the front shot in all their marketing, but because of web site designs that make the thumbnail of the front shot the “lure” (as in fishing lure) that usually motivates the potential home buyer to take the first action (a click to look at more photos) that leads to a home buyer towards a home purchase.”

Fish on!

Custom Branded Single Property Websites

We are often getting requests from our user community to develop a single property website template that matches their personal brand as a real estate professional.

This is why we have introduced our Custom Branding Solution!

Upon request, we will engage our team of Graphic Designers to work with you to create your own unique and completely customized property website design.

Need an agent site? Hey, we also do that!

They come equipped with a powerful control panel, and are completely integrated with our UniqueHomeSites product… but that’s another blog post altogether.

Check out a few of our custom property website designs:

Jim Cooper, RE/MAX Metro-City Realty Ltd. – http://www.1111waterpark.com/

 

Sean McCann, Royal LePage Team Realty Ltd. - http://www.282friel.com/

Andrea Morrison, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd. – http://www.8lessard.com/

 

Better Homes and Gardens enters Canadian Real Estate Marketplace

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate officially announced recently that it will be expanding its real estate brand into Canada after reopening in the United States last summer.

BHG Real Estate is targeting the younger generation of buyers, who have been flooding the market in recent months, at least in Canada, thanks to historically low interest rates and falling prices.

Leading the BHG expansion into Canada, and adding a high degree of respect and familiarity, is former executive vice-president with Royal LePage Canada – Sherry Chris.

According to an article by Garry Marr of the Financial Post, which discusses the BHG expansion, Ms. Chris’ company will go after some of the independent brokerages in those markets but has a hands-off policy when it comes to recruiting any brokers from Coldwell Banker or Century 21.

“If there was an independent company in a major city that wanted to grow and felt that they could grow better by partners and affiliating and utilizing technology Better Homes and Gardens has created, they would become a master franchise for a geographic area,” Chris said.

We’re not exactly sure why the hands-off policy with C21 and Coldwell Banker, but this could be an exciting opportunity for real estate brokers across Canada, particularly those who are familiar with, and heavily use, social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc) and other internet marketing technologies.  

We’ve discussed BHG on this blog in the past, pointing out the numerous resources available on their website for anyone buying or selling a home, including an article entitled - ‘14 Ways to Add Curb Appeal’

Prudential Connecticut Realty develops Single Property Websites

A recent posting on GeekEstate blog by Vincent Socci, Marketing Manager of Prudential Connecticut Realty, discusses the benefits of single property websites.

Living in a web 2.0 world, consumers are demanding fresher and more descriptive information about homes for sale…. single-property sites are exceptional ways to not only ‘seal the deal’ by wowing your sellers but are also a great marketing tool that allow you to center your marketing strategy around an easy to remember URL. 

According to the blog post (and ensuing comments), it appears that Prudential Conneticut have taken the lead by developing their own exclusive single property website technology - Home Suite. Nice work Vincent!

If you are a broker operating in Canada and would like to have single property websites available to your agents, contact us at Base 10 Web Solutions! 

Here is a sample of our clients’ property websites:

http://www.5545dickinsonstreet.com/

http://www.635caracaradrive.com/

http://www.11cathcartsquare.com/

http://www.5354kilbylane.com/

 

 

 

Discover video marketing techniques in the blogosphere!

Peyman Aleagha from GeekEstate blog writes a great posting on the use of online video for real estate marketing.

For those real estate agents considering a video marketing campaign, this is a must read.

Here’s an excerpt:

What percentage of your real estate customers come from out of your area? They need information about the area, attractions, natural beauty, parks, schools and more. But, they also want to SEE what all of this looks like. Photos are great, but video rocks!

Joel Burslem from the Future of Real Estate Marketing blog (who knew he’s Canadian?) also comments on the use of video on his posting entitled Video Isn’t Just About Your Listings.

6 Real Estate Photo Tips to Draw Buyers

The content of the following was written by Dana Mattioli of the Wall Street Journal and was originally posted on MSN Real Estate.

In days past, selling a home depended mainly on “curb appeal”- the first impression a buyer gets after pulling up in front of the home. Now however, attractiveness of photos posted online are of the utmost importance. Eighty percent of home buyers used the Internet last year to search for a home, and nearly 25% reported that the Internet is where they first found the property they purchased, according to a National Association of Realtors survey.

Good photographs can lure buyers, and poor ones can turn them away. The following tips will help create flattering photos of properties:

1. Lighten up. For exterior shots, shoot in the middle of the day when the sun is shining and the sky is blue, says Gregory Haberstick, who trains professional photographers for Foxtons, a real-estate company serving New York and New Jersey.

For interior shots, Bill Bayless, a real-estate photographer in Damascus, Ore., suggests turning on all the lights and using a flash. “The flash adds in all of the correct colors and fills in the shadows, making the room look brighter,” he says.

2. More is better. Home buyers want to see more than just the front of the house. Buyers also want to get a look at the living room, kitchen, dining room, family room, master bedroom/bathroom and the backyard, Bayless says. He suggests including your residence’s best features, such as a home theater or an exercise room.

For condos and apartments, include shots of amenities such as a pool, tennis court or gym, says Kevin Grolig, a real-estate agent with Llewellyn Realtors in Rockville, Md.

If your home has a spectacular view, say of a beach, lake, mountains, park or golf course, by all means post photos of it, says Ron Luxemburg, a photographer in Pasadena, Calif.

3. Get a clear shot. Remove clutter from an area before photographing it. Clear counter space and remove fridge magnets, children’s toys, dirty dishes and other distractions, says Haberstick.

“I’ve been known to spend a few hours moving things around,” says Grolig. He relocates appliances and makes beds to get the best photo.

For outside shots, put away garbage cans and remove the car from the driveway, he says. Try not to include telephone poles, wires and other homes in the scene.

4. Go pro. Hiring a professional real-estate photographer may be the way to go. Examine samples from photographers and ask about their experience before making your choice, Luxemburg says.

Photographers’ fees can range from a hundred dollars to $500, he says. Using a professional photographer will greatly increase the quality of your photographs. They have special equipment and experience.

5. Give it your best shot. Quality counts when taking photos, and cell-phone cameras don’t cut it. A camera with a wide-angle lens is ideal.

For a clear photo, place digital cameras on a tripod or something solid so the camera is steady when the shutter goes off, says Luxemburg.

Set the camera on its highest resolution. If you decide to just use the photos online, you can always decrease the resolution, Luxemburg says. Never use fewer than 72 dots per inch for online photos, Bayless says.

6. Edit. Improve a shot using basic photo-editing software. Crop out ceilings or unnecessary background, says Luxemburg, and adjust the brightness or contrast.

Although these tips are made specifically for the non-professional photographer, they are important basic ideas even for people who take photographs everyday.

UniqueHomeSites has many featured photographers, all of whom can be viewed at: http://www.uniquehomesites.com/photographers/index.php.

For more information about UniqueHomeSites and our photographers, visit uniquehomesites.com or call 1.866.9UNIQUE.

What Buyers and Sellers Value

A press release from PR Web states the following:

A recent National Association of REALTORS® study that outlines what buyers and sellers value online. These are the key items single property website providers such as UniqueHomeSites use as the foundation that they built their templates around, making sure to allow for customization of every tool available.

What Buyers Value Online*:
84%    Photos
82%    Detailed Property Information
60%    Virtual Tours
39%    Interactive Maps
37%    Community Information

If you’re like 60% of REALTORS® you already have a website to showcase your many talents and listings. The question is, does your website give your prospects what they are looking for online?

For more information regarding UniqueHomeSites and UniqueAgentSites, visit www.uniquehomesites.com, call Celine at 1-866-9UNIQUE or email at celine@uniquehomesites.com.

*The 2007 National Association of REALTORS® profile of home buyers and sellers.

Introducing Brian Scott as Approved UniqueHomeSites Reseller

Real estate professionals in Gatineau now have the chance to take advantage of Scott Photography’s services with photographer Brian Scott. He is able to photograph homes in the Ottawa area as well.

Brian, as an approved UniqueHomeSites reseller, is able to provide his photographic services package to real estate professionals in the Ottawa and Gatineau area for roughly $130 dollars as an introductory price.

His package includes a visit to the property to take up to 20 web-ready still photos, and 3 panoramic virtual tours, as well as all the features and benefits provided by a UniqueHomeSite, including a unique domain name ( ie, www.123uniquestreet.com) and hosting of the site for one year.

To contact Brian, and to find out more, visit http://www.uniquehomesites.com/photographers

Introducing Angela Martin as Approved UniqueHomeSites Reseller

Real estate professionals in downtown Toronto now have the benefit of a UniqueHomeSites single property website with the professional real estate photography services of AYM Photography.

Angela, as an approved UniqueHomeSites reseller, is able to provide her photographic services package to real estate professionals in the downtown Toronto area for the competitive price of roughly $135.

Her package includes a visit to the property to take up to 30 web-ready still photos, and 1 panoramic image, as well as all the features and benefits provided by a UniqueHomeSite, including a unique domain name ( ie, www.123uniquestreet.com) and hosting of the site for one year.

To contact Angela, and to find out more, visit http://www.uniquehomesites.com/photographers

Century 21 Canada examines first-time buyer market

Century 21 Canada recently published results from its national survey of typical first-time buyer homes in 128 neighbourhoods within 55 cities across the country.

“First-time buyers often enter the market with an unrealistic list of expectations, but soon find they need to decide on a smaller house or accept a longer commute time,” says Don Lawby, president of CENTURY 21 Canada.

According to Statistics Canada census data, home ownership among Canadians is continuing to increase year after year. The number of homes owned has increased from 6.8 million to 8.5 million, or 24%, between 1996 and 2006, while the population of the country has increased from 28.8 million to 31.6 million, or 10%.

According to the survey, the most expensive cities for first-time buyers based on price per square foot are Vancouver, where a 412-square-foot condo in the downtown is $281,000 or $682 per square foot; the Toronto suburb of Thornhill, where an 800-square-foot bungalow on a 3,500-square-foot lot in East York is $480,000, or $600 per square foot; and downtown Toronto, where a 340-square-foot condo in trendy Liberty Village is $200,000 or $588 per square foot.

The least expensive cities for first-time buyers based on price per square foot are St. John’s (2,150-square-foot two-storey bungalow, $170,000 or $79 per square foot), Halifax (1,408-square-foot semi-detached house, $129,900 or $92 per square foot), Windsor (850-square-foot 1½-storey house, $91,000 or $107 per square foot), London (1,000-square-foot townhouse, $120,000 or $120 per square foot), and Sudbury (969-square-foot 1½-storey house, $140,000 or $144 per square foot).