The Fresno Market is HOT! Why do I Need Professional Photography?

Average days on market? Ha! When the market is hot, a home can sell at lightning speed. If we know a home is going to sell quick, (even with bad pictures) why would we need professional photography for those homes?

It's all about your brand. The market can fluctuate but your brand never takes a vacation! I'd like to share a story that should shed some light on why professional photography in Fresno is ALWAYS a good idea.

A friend of mine who we'll call Max lives out of state called me up to share some exciting news. She was selling her home! But it was he search for a realtor that promoted the call to me. "I know you're going to like this because you're a photo nerd" she started. Guilty as charged. She continued, "A friend of mine who I've known forever wants to be my realtor", ahhhh, I've heard this before.

We've all heard of stories about how your Aunt Berget is new to real estate and wants you to help her out by letting her list your home. You can even read why this may not be the best idea here.

But no, this was no Aunt Berget story. Max told me that her realtor friend approached her about selling her home and was even going to give her a discount. At first Max was thrilled. A lifelong friend who was going to be at her side all throughout the stressful process? Sign me up she thought.

But then Max did what home sellers always do. She looked up her friends past sales. Max wanted to get a feel of how her friend was going to show her home. She looked up a recent listing. iPhone photos! Not the dreaded iPhone photos. This must have just been a one off. Surely no professional agent in this day and age would still use their sell phone to list a home? But again, why not just use your cell phone to snap a few pictures and get the home up on the MLS? Homes sell with any quality photos right? No matter how bad the photos, someone will but the home eventually. Right? I mean who would spend the extra money to have a home professionally photographed when homes are flying off the market at break neck speeds?

Max did more digging. She was sure this was a one off and that her friend couldn't possibly list any other homes with dark, zoomed in photos taken from a call phone. This is exactly what Max saw. BAD photos. She told me "Why would I ever want my home to be represented like THAT!?" Max was torn. Her choice should have been easy. It should have been a slam dunk. But in the end the decision was made for her. No matter how close she was to her friend, she just couldn't let her home be show with terrible photography.

What Max's friend didn't think about was while yes she saved a few bucks by taking the photos herself, she was actually costing herself listings. Her brand had spoke for herself. Every second those old poorly photographed listings were online, her brand was suffering. She was sunk.

Max actually ended up using a different agent to sell her home. She let her friend down easy by telling her maybe it wasn't the best idea to have a close friend be involved in selling her home. Her friend was upset but understood. Max didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. Nobody wants to try to put a friend down by questioning their professional skill set. But Max knew. So do other prospective sellers. Now the only question is: What are your photographs saying about YOU?

-Shaun