In an interview with Chicago Agent Magazine, Debbie Glickman, a real estate agent with Baird & Warner in Chicago, talked about how much she relies on her real estate photographer for her marketing:
"When it comes to selling, Steve is the first step in the marketing and selling process. As a realtor, I only have one chance to make a first impression. If a prospective buyer glides over the listing photos online, I lose them fast. That's why Steve's role in helping me market and sell homes is so vital to my success."
It's great to see a realtor who truly understands the important role that a professional real estate photographer has in the success of their listings, as well as in the success of their own career or business. I've met a lot of real estate agents since 2006, and the most successful agents have a great working relationship with a real estate photographer whom they trust. It would be interesting to see additional data on this to find a stronger correlation (I suspect that having a regular photographer for all of their listings is a reliable indicator of success for an agent), but in the meantime it's great to see comments like these from agents who are doing well.
So Debbie is correct - she has only one chance to make a first impression with the listing photos, and those photos are the difference between a potential buyer contacting the listing agent of that particular property, and the buyer moving on to the next home.
Debbie says something similar further along in the interview:
"Today's buyers are so savvy. By going online, they quickly go through listings and stop to look at the homes with the best photographs."
Regardless of price and whether or not a home is at the top or the bottom of the market, the homes with the best photos get the most attention from buyers. All buyers are looking for great value, and when they see a home that looks fantastic...that's when they'll contact an agent.
I think the key word in the quote above is the word 'quickly.' Buyers are moving fast - they either want to buy a home immediately and will scroll through listings to find the one that has the most appeal to them, or they just don't have the time to thoroughly investigate every home that comes on the market which remotely meets their needs. They don't want to read through narrative descriptions to try and interpret what, exactly, is being shown in poor quality images.
So, yes, buyers "quickly go through listings" and if the main photo grabs their interest then they will check the home out further, but if it doesn't grab their attention they will move on to the next home in their search results online.
Towards the end of the interview Debbie says:
"When clients work with me, no question ever goes unanswered. Having help with the marketing and sales tasks, including real estate photography, gives me more time to focus on client communication. Ultimately, partnering with other professionals helps me focus on client happiness."
We've previously mentioned the benefit for real estate agents to hire a professional photographer when it comes to time management. When an agent hires a professional photographer who knows what they're doing they can focus more on their clients and their needs, rather than thinking about the technical aspects of photographing the home (assuming the agent is concerned about image quality as many agents will post any image they have). Does that result in "client happiness"? Absolutely.
Considering all of this information, if you're a realtor, do you want to be able to focus on your clients and be available to answer their questions? I'm sure you do, and having the time to concentrate on providing superior communication when a buyer or seller needs it is guaranteed to have a positive influence on your business and career.