A lot has changed in the real estate industry over the last several months. Real estate agents had to shift their marketing strategies in order to continue showing and selling listings. For example, virtual tour solutions, like Matterport and 360-degree panoramas, became a large part of the real estate industry during the 2020 quarantine.
Thanks to the advancements in technology, buyers are able to virtually walk through listings with ease. While a Matterport 3D Tour is a very effective way to help viewers see your listing, real estate photography should remain the foundation of your listing marketing strategy.
Below are a few reasons why real estate photography still reigns supreme for agents today:
Real Estate Images Are Featured First
Most third-party listing sites allow virtual tour integration, however, the first listing image will typically be a still image. This featured listing image allows homebuyers to quickly see the look and feel of the home before clicking through to the listing.
Usually, the first real estate image will be the front exterior of the home. This is one reason why you should continue using real estate photography as your main visual marketing resource.
Listings Images Are Easily Shareable
When buyers are searching for their new home, they will spend a lot of time online viewing the real estate photography, the Matterport tour, and any uploaded videos of the listing. Additionally, homebuyers will want to share the listing with friends and family or between themselves.
Homebuyers can share links to the listing or links to the virtual tour, but most of the time, it’s easiest to share a downloaded image of the listing. This is especially helpful for when buyers are discussing specific rooms. A real estate photographer will capture multiple angles of each room, which allows viewers to easily understand the layout and functionality of the room.
The shareability of listing images is another reason why real estate photography is an important marketing tool.
Real Estate Images Can Be Virtually Staged
Real estate photography is versatile. If you feel that your listing would be improved by virtual staging, you will benefit from using professional real estate photography. With real estate images, you can easily have virtual staging added after the photographer shoots your listing.
There is a way to add virtual staging to a virtual walkthrough tour, however, it doesn’t look as realistic as a still real estate image with virtual staging. This is because when you move around within the virtual tour, the virtual staging may appear less three dimensional than it was in the previous position. We do believe that this will improve with time.
Real estate photography that has virtual staging is easily shareable and can be featured as a first image for your listing on third-party listing sites. This is another reason why real estate photography is important right now.
Twilight Real Estate Photography Stands Out
When you hire a real estate photographer or photography provider, you may have the option to order a twilight photography shoot. Twilight real estate photography further enhances your listing images.
The real estate photographer will come photograph your listing at the best time of day when the sun begins to set, which allows for beautiful cotton candy skies and perfect interior/exterior lighting.
A listing with twilight photography will stand out among a wall of daylight listing images on your local MLS or third-party listing sites. Twilight images are another reason real estate photography needs to remain a priority in your listing marketing strategy.
Virtual tours may be around to stay now, which we absolutely love! Regardless, real estate photography is the bread and butter of your visual marketing strategy. Real estate images are usually featured first, are more easily shareable, can be virtually staged, and can be captured at daytime or at twilight. These are the four simple reasons why we believe real estate photography still reigns supreme for real estate agents worldwide!
