When searching the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), I’m often amazed to find listings with one or no photos. I wonder how the listing agents expect to effectively market the properties. There was a time when this was not a big issue but those times have passed.
We need to take a look at where we were to understand where we are now and why photos are so important.
There was a time when the MLS was simply a computerized tool to share listings with other REALTORs replacing the listing books of days past. As time went on, brokers started displaying the listings of other brokers on their web sites through the Internet Data Exchange (IDX) protocol. These IDX search portals allowed the public to access all active listings within a particular MLS. As Internet usage grew, so did the utilization of those search portals. In 1995, only two percent of consumers used the Internet during their home searches – in 2009, 88 percent start online.
Why is this important? In the early days, we placed our listings into the MLS to market them to other agents. Now, we market to the public. What? If 88 percent of buyers start their searches online, then the online marketing has to appeal to that 88 percent. Multiple photos are critical to the marketing of a property. According to statistics complied by the National Association of REALTORs(R), properties with multiple photos have a 200-plus percent click-through rate over those with one or no photos! Virtual and video tours are appropriate for larger or unique properties.
As consumers, you should review the online marketing completed by your agent. If you’re unhappy with any aspect of it, give your agent a call. Most of us are more than willing to modify the listing and/or explain the reasoning behind the marketing avenue chosen.
