An interesting article was posted on MSN.COM on 3/8/07 - "Weak housing market weighs on job growth".
Based on my research into the Nashville metro-area, this is no new news. Realtors I have spoken with are feeling the crunch of the bloated housing market, which translates into larger inventories and slower sales.
The below references from the article highlight the ever growing need for Realtors to market their product as effectively as possible; one or two poor photos of a property posted to the local MLS or Realtor.com are not going to effectively get the job done. The argument for quality Real Estate Photography and effective virtual tours - panoramic, interactive floor plans, video, etc. - are going to be paramount in 2007.
An excerpt from the article:
"Sales of new homes plunged 17 percent in January, the latest monthly figures available. On Wednesday, D.R. Horton, the nation's largest homebuilder, said it would take until January 2008 for the industry to work through a glut of unsold homes. Company CEO Don Tomnitz summed up the outlook by bluntly saying that 2007 "is going to suck.""
I’d be interested to hear from Realtors and Real Estate Photographers as to how this is affecting their business.
Cheers,
Jason Bennett
Nashville Virtual Tours & Photography
http://www.nashvtp.com
A www.realtourvision.com Full Service Dealer
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Agreed Jason and thanks you for your submission here! While we should see the market start to pickup this year as we continue to approach our summer months the overall “word on the street” from Realtors all around the country is that they are holding onto listings quite a bit longer and inventories are building up.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the impact that this is having on every virtual tour company out there is very interesting and seems to be different from one market to the next. I talk to people each day that are telling me Realtors in their area are hunkering down and not spending any money on marketing as well as people who are telling me the exact opposite and that the slower market has brought their virtual tour company to life. A virtual home tour is such an inexpensive way to show your home sellers that you are at least trying to move their home during slower times and overall will give the home seller the most exposure.
As this year plays itself out I do believe one thing is for sure and that is Realtors and home sellers who cut online marketing budgets during this crunch time may very well not be in business next year. While it is very wise to be smart with your marketing dollars it is a very terrible mistake to cut out Virtual Tours and Interactive imaging altogether. Home shoppers get excited and emotionally attached when they move through a virtual tour image. All and all the Internet still continues to be the most inexpensive form of marketing that provides the most return.
Jason LaVanture
www.realtourvision.com
Jason,
ReplyDeleteOn a similar note, I just came across The Value of High Quality Photos for Real Estate Listings blog. The message is the same anywhere you look -- quality images do matter!
Jenn Kexel, a real estate agent in St. Louis Missouri, writes in her Real Estate Predictions for 2007 blog that in 2007..."Virtual Tours will gain in popularity - Online listings without virtual tours will be passed over. Virtual tours will gain popularity because buyers will demand them. Like the old MLS books without a photo, an online listing without a virtual tour will be a non-entity and ignored. In addition, buyers will want audio with the visual."
Frank Borges is another realtor who, although he apologizes to other realtors for calling them out, also states in his Sucky Listing Agesnt. I Vent blog says: "How hard is that agent going to fight to get you that last $10,000 if they can't do something as simple as market your property with multiple high quality photos?"
Finally, a comment from another blogger -
"First time poster here: Glad to see some recognition of this problem! The most important thing an agent can do for their sellers today is to get lots of superior images up on the web. Here in St. Louis I am continually astounded at the plethora of dark, awful images, and “what were they thinking” photos of toilets, ceiling fans, etc, or NO PHOTOS at all! How do these [realtors] even get listings?
For most of my listings, I take a lot of my own photos, as I have a background in photography and image correction, so I have hi-res images for color flyers, but I ALSO have a great local photographer who comes in and shoots a batch of wonderful web-ready wideangle shots and virtual tours…
It’s worth the investment (typical agent–”you mean you actually PAY someone to shoot your listings? That costs MONEY!”) My business would be a lot less successful without quality photos."
Cheers,
Jason Bennett - Nashville Virtual Tours & Photography