Professional Photos make the difference!

Photos of a home or property are a listing's first impression - they are what invite a viewer in for a closer look -  and now a new study by Redfin shows what a difference those photos can make.

The study analyzed homes priced between $200,000 and $1 million, listed and sold in 2013 across 22 major markets. Analysts compared home-selling success rates for homes professionally photographed with a DSLR camera versus those with listing photos taken with an amateur point-and-shoot camera. The study’s main conclusions include:

 - For homes priced between $400,000 and $499,999, professionally photographed homes sold for an average of $11,200 more than homes with amateur photos.

 - Professionally photographed homes priced between $200,000 and $1 million sell for $3,400 to $11,200 more relative to their list prices.

 - Homes with DSLR photos sell faster. For homes priced in the $400,000 range, professionally photographed homes sold 21 days faster than those with point-and-shoot photos, while those priced higher than $1 million sold four days faster.

 - Homes with sharper photos sell for more money. Homes with the sharpest 10 per cent of listing photos sold at or above their list price 44 per cent of the time compared to 13 per cent for homes with listing photos of average sharpness.

 - Professionally photographed homes are more likely to sell within six months. The largest disparity was seen among homes priced from $400,000 and $499,999, with those with DSLR photography selling 64 per cent of the time, compared to 46 per cent for homes with amateur photos.

Good photos make a difference! That is why part of the service of the Gelderman.ca Real Estate team (www.gelderman.ca) is professional quality photos to market your home the best way possible!

Read the entire article published by Real Estate Magazine online.

Redfin also wrote about the worst mistakes made when photographing homes - read the list here.