Have you heard about curb appeal and how important it is when it comes time to sell your home? Curb appeal refers to the attractiveness of your home from the street, but in the age of the internet it is more important to have web appeal. Web appeal is not all that different than curb appeal, it is about first impressions. A first impression determines if a buyer wants to look at your home. In this day in age, that first impression comes online and this is where web appeal comes in.

The internet has changed things when it comes to home buying. Home buyers shop online and the speed at which buyers can find your home for sale is fast. With advancements in digital cameras the quality of real estate photography has vastly improved (not true of all agents). Not only has the quality improved, but with the ease of taking photos the quantity has increased (not true of all agents). Prior to internet home shopping, many home buyers would do a drive by to check on a home’s curb appeal and neighborhood. Now they are using internet photos to determine whether they want to schedule a showing.

The Photos of your home are THE BUYERS FIRST IMPRESSION OF YOUR HOME

There is a study done on home buyers viewing an online listing by Professor Seiler. Professor Seiler said “if you don’t capture the home buyer’s attention in the first 20 seconds, you lost them”. Turns out, the front photo or the “curb appeal” photo of the home is the most important. It is the photo most agents use first when posting a listing online of your home and the curb appeal photo is what a home buyer expects for the first photo of an online listing. In fact, home buyers are very suspicious of the home and the curb appeal if the front photo is not first or used at all.

SOME FACTS ABOUT PROF. SEILER’S STUDY

- 95.1% of the viewers viewed the curb appeal photo first before anything else.

- More than 20 seconds was spent on the curb appeal photo on average.

- Over 60% of a home shopper’s time was spent on viewing the photos.

- The curb appeal photo was viewed for over twice as long as any other photo.

- Over 41% of the viewers never read the agents remarks.

Here are some takeaways from this study:

1.) The curb appeal photo of your home is a crucial point for drawing in buyers.

2.) The other photos are important to keeping the buyers attention… It’s the old cliché “pictures are worth a 1000 words”

3.) The study showed that after the first few photos, average time for each consecutive photo became less and less.

4.) The order of photos is very important. Make sure your agent is using high quality photos, if they are walking around snapping photos with their phone, you might want to rethink who you are hiring. It’s all about the photos, quality well thought out photos.

5.) Put your money shots first. What are money shots? They are the rooms or spaces with the wow factor. This is an important strategy and believe it or not, not all agents do that!

HOW TO GIVE YOUR HOME WEB APPEAL?

As you should now know, your homes web appeal should not be taken lightly. Your web appeal/curb appeal photo can make or break you in a matter of seconds!!

Here are some things that sellers need to do when it comes time to take the curb appeal photo.

1.) Get the yard is cleaned up and in tip top showing condition. This means all play equipment, lawn equipment and trash cans should be removed for the photos. It should remain this way all the time while on the market.

2.) Remove cars from the driveway.

3.) Do you need to add some landscaping to make your house pop?

4.) Is the front entrance and door clean? Does it need a fresh coat of paint?

5.) Power wash exteriors and walkways.

Now, step out to the street and take a look and pretend you’re a buyer. Are there any negatives you can fix? Is there anything else you can do to improve the curb appeal?

ALL PHOTOS ADD TO YOUR WEB APPEAL

Once you have captured the home buyers attention with the curb appeal photo they will move onto the rest of the photos. Make sure your home is in perfect showing condition before the photos are taken! Quality real estate photographs are the single most important factor in presenting the home online to potential buyers.

When interviewing and agent, ask them about the quality of photographs they use. Many agents are now hiring real estate photographers or have taken the time to learn how to properly photograph their own listings. In this day of internet home shopping, photos are so critical and a good listing agent will provide high quality images of your entire home.

… Cell phone photos, dark, crooked, out of focus and off color images are simply unacceptable and can be disastrous to the speed at which your home sells and possibly how much money you make.

Again, the “curb appeal” shot is so important to capturing and retaining a home buyers attention. If it doesn’t capture their attention, they will move on. You and your agent should do everything possible to give the curb appeal shot maximum web appeal. Take the real estate photography of your home seriously. They are the first line of marketing your home.

FINAL RECAP

Web Appeal, or how your home is visually presented online is as important or more important than curb appeal. The homes web appeal is the first experience most home buyers have of your home, and is often how they decide if they want to view your home or not. The photos of your home will be what compels today’s home buyers to at least do a drive by of your home if not schedule a personal showing.

Web Appeal starts with preparing your home properly and hiring the right agent who will then take or hire a photographer to take great, compelling real estate photos.

The decision to view or buy your home is being made by home buyers just by the photos of your home. Make sure your home and yard is at its very best when it comes time to take the listing photos. When it comes time to hire an agent, don’t be afraid to ask to see some of the listings they have done so you can check the quality of their real estate photography.

Happy Selling!