Professional Real Estate Photography
In the saturated short-term and vacation rental market around the world, often an item overlooked are the property images. Property owners may get overwhelmed with bookings, cleanings, prepping the home for guests, or more from what seems like a never ending to-do list to get the property live and rented. However, from Airbnb to VRBO and everywhere in-between, it’s hard to ignore when a listing has very few photos, bad quality photos, or photos of a messy property. This is why PROACTIVE aims to capture your property with high quality images, creating the most inviting atmosphere for a potential renter.
The Online Rental Market
The short-term and vacation rental market is a unique process for new and potential renters. Unless a renter has used the property in the past, the entire process from search to booking in exclusively done through a digital lens. This is why professional photos are so important to a successful listing; grabbing the attention of the renter right from that first image of the property. From that first photo, this is where a photographers experienced eye comes into play, generating photos throughout the property that tells a story and showcases the best details of every room. These photos bring the guest through a virtual tour, allowing them to see themselves and their family already on their vacation. According to a collection of surveys, renters are 80% more likely (on average) to inquire about renting a property that includes over 20 images showcasing the property.
Long Term Investments
As a property owner who chooses to rent a home for vacation usage, you are automatically beginning a long term investment. By investing your time and money into creating a welcoming property, that time directly reflects your income as the owner. Professional photography is a necessary part of this investment to increase demand, value, and income from your home. Below, you’ll find the many reasons why investing in professional photos will pay off:
- Properties with professional photos will rent faster. The quickest way to profit off of your rental property is to fill that calendar with bookings. Higher quality photos will draw guests into your property, making it stand out against the competition.
- Professional photos showcase the value of your home. Lower quality images make it hard for potential renters to feel like they are getting their monies worth out of a rental property. In the day and age where people are spending top dollar to vacation, that spending barrier is lifted when they feel like they can truly see that value in the property. Professional, well-lit, and clutter-free photos showcase everything your property has to offer.
- Photos will have a long life-span of usage. Most times, when you get professional photos taken of your property, the property will remain the same for quite some time. Each time you make minor changes to décor won’t need a new set of photos, meaning you can continue benefiting from those professional photos for a long time in the future. We only recommend new photos when large alterations (full set of new furniture, flooring/carpet changed/kitchen redesign/etc.) are made to the property. Remember, we want to showcase an accurate representation of how the guest will view their vacation rental.
(above images by Wandering Surfer Photography and Nicholas V. Hall)
Related Statistics
Over time, the real estate industry has been able to conclude some striking statistics about properties with and without professional photos. Although the sale of a home is not the same as a vacation rental, the way buyers and renters view homes online is very similar.
- Homes that utilize professional photos sell 32% faster than homes without.
- Homes with more images in the listing spend an average of 32 days on the market with 20 or more photos on the listing. A home with less will spend an average of 70 days on the market.
- For homes $200,000+, those that include high-quality photos in the listing sell for $3,000-$11,000 more than homes without professional images.
- 83% of buyers state that they find professional images to be very useful during the decision making process.
- Homes listed with high quality images, on average, receive 47% higher asking price per square foot.
- Listings with professional photography get, on average, 61% higher online traffic to the listing.
- Attractive photos of a property tend to hold a buyers attention for an average of 20 seconds.
(sources include RisMedia, and Virtually Staging Properties)
