I don't know about you, but when I look online at used cars to buy, I scroll, scroll, scroll, until I find one that jumps out at me, like it's calling my name. I find a few like that, then pursue those further. (You know the car-buying drill....)
BUT, what about the ones I scrolled past? Might some of those also have been perfect for me if the photos had only looked better? You've seen those cars: dull and dirty, in front of a dilapidated porch or garage, and think, "ewww" as you keep scrolling.
I tell you, 'You might be missing out!' But you say, 'Not interested! I'm already on to others that are
more appealing.' That's because you made up your mind in the FIRST FEW SECONDS of seeing that car! House buyers make up their minds within the FIRST FEW SECONDS OF SEEING YOUR HOUSE! 95% of home buyers look at photos online first, before deciding if it makes their short-list for a visit.
GULP! FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATTER $$$. FIRST IMPRESSIONS SELL HOUSES. If your house doesn't jump out at them as they are scrolling through, guess what? No matter how great a house it could be for them, if they aren't drawn to it, it just ain't gonna happen! They aren't going to want to visit in person and they aren't interested and have already moved on to others.
Does that mean your house wouldn't have been perfect for them? NO! But....
* The pictures didn't draw them in.
* They didn't make the immediate emotional connection they needed to make to fall in love with
your house, so they moved on.
* Yes, the photographer needs to know what they are doing. But....
* What’s most important are how the rooms are staged.
"The best photographer in the world can’t make a home that looks cramped, cluttered, and overly decorated look more appealing to buyers with their photography skills alone." *
It could be your collection, however beautiful, of shot glasses, or thimbles, or personal taste in colors, or a gallery room showing your 23 grandchildren; but those things and many others don't photograph well, and while you love them while you live there, they end up being distracting in pictures and to buyers. It's not what buyers want to see.
When you go to sell, you have to think like a buyer to make the most money in the fastest time!
What you want as a seller, and what a professional stager can do for your house, is to stop them from scrolling! Draw them in with your online photos. Do this, and I guarantee the pictures will show better and it'll sell faster and for more money than other houses like it that aren't staged.
You'll appeal to the most buyers with those same pictures. And that means having a professionally trained stager do what stagers do best, BEFORE the MLS pictures are taken. A stager in your occupied house knows what to do to appeal to most buyers. Stagers know what to do in every room to widen that buyer pool. Because if you don't have this done, the pictures will show it. A home could be partially or fully staged, often just using the owner's items and accessories.
Redfin found that a new home listing gets three times more views in its first week on the market (and FIVE TIMES as many on Day One!) than at any time after that, so first impressions really matter.
Beautiful pictures of appealing rooms are KEY to getting buyers faster who are willing to pay more money. Do you want an "ewww" and a scroll-on-past, or do you want to stop them in their tracks and draw them in with pictures of a house that appeals to them emotionally as buyers? We'd love to help you make your house stunning in your MLS photos.
First impressions from buyers are what stagers are all about. Prepare your house to be stop-scroll-worthy!
Amy Nelson
Home Transformations Staging & ReDesign
Serving Grove City, PA, Slippery Rock, Mercer, Hermitage, Neshannock and the surrounding areas.
* quoted from https://professionalstaging.com/selling-your-home/why-your-mls-photos-are-crucial-to-selling-your-home/ Megan Morris