What’s next for property imagery?

There’s no end to the PropTech and photography solutions available to estate agents these days to help them sell good, old-fashioned bricks and mortar.

But photographs continue to be the key tool for attracting purchasers to view properties – whether they’re in their traditional or 360VR format.

Let’s take-a-look at the five key trends that every agent must know about this year if they want to attract the best buyers:

Great photos are more important than ever

It’s a given, isn’t it? As you sit down and read this article, over 500,000 photos will have been uploaded to Instagram and only 495,000 of those would have been uploaded by a Kardashian.

That’s a sign of the visual economy that we live in and there’s no getting away from it. That said, for as-long-as terriblerealestateagentphotos.com continues to thrive, we know there’s a need for property professionals to take on-board that photographs create the first impression of almost every property they’re selling – so, it’s really important that they’re top-notch.

In fact, there are so many stats out there to prove that great images will help you market better, that it’s hard to know where to start; but I’ve taken a dip in the ocean and here I’ve referenced the Centre for Realtor Development 2018 study which says:

- Homes with great quality photos sell 32% faster

- Homes with more photos also help them sell faster – homes with one pic spent an average of 70 days on the market vs. homes with 20 spent 32 days!

The great thing about Eyespy360 (apart from being a low-price solution) is that unlike its counterpart, Matterport, it uses JPEGs.

This means that when it comes to photographing messy living rooms or placing the camera in front of a mirror for example – Eyespy360 images can be edited.

So, shooting and editing Eyespy360 JPEGs gets around the nightmare of photographing a tenanted property, or the vendor just not tidying before you arrive.

At Doctor Photo we started offering 360* editing last year - another service that has gone from strength to strength.

More agents are outsourcing their editing

As agents have increasingly realised the value that post-editing delivers to their property marketing, more and more have started using services like Doctor Photo.

Outsourcing means it’s done right, and it saves you time. From brightening up dingily-lit bathrooms, to adding blue skies on a dreary British day, or removing clutter or cars off driveways, retouching really transforms the look of a property from an object, to an object of desire.

Make sure it’s done well though, otherwise you’ll end up in the Daily Mail – and nobody want’s that!

Agents are being more creative with their images

There are two key creative ways that agents can harness the power of really-high-end photo retouches: 

1. Day-to-dusk photo-manipulation 

2. Photo-visualisation

Both offer something different when it comes to the agent’s first objective – to get their properties noticed - but both will also help attract the best buyers and also help an agent’s brand to differentiate from their competitors’ when it comes to selling-in their services to potential vendors.

First up, Day-to-dusk. Simply, an agent can take a photo of a property at any time of year and photo-retouchers can make it appear as though the image was taken at the end of the day.

With properties that feature large windows and outside lights the effect can be really-stunning. Not only will it help add another dimension to your property marketing, but it’s designed to help the property cut-through on property portals and really act as a ‘stop and look’ image when customers are scrolling through the hundreds of properties in front of them.

Photo-visualisation is another way that agents can bring value to their sales pitch on viewings. Simply, an agent can take a photo of a property and high-end photo re-touchers and CGI experts can transform it.

From finishing off half-built houses to adding extensions, to digitally knocking down walls, or adding windows, floors and doors – you name it.

It’s not designed to deceive the end-user but instead to inspire them – to show them what could be, and should always be used alongside a clear disclaimer that it’s an artist’s impression and comes with or without planning consent.

So that’s it! I hope it’s inspired you to think beyond the humble photograph in 2019 to be a tool that can inspire, add value, help speed of sale and help you differentiate your brand!

*John Durrant is director of Doctor Photo