Is more always better? It is when one is talking about the number of photos or the use of a video tour a person uses when marketing a house that they are trying to sell. According to a study done by Paul E. Carrillo with the Department of Economics, The George Washington University, that there is a correlation with the number and quality of photos an agent places on their M.L.S. and the money they can make. Carrillo's study found that the more photos an agent posts in M.L.S. the shorter time on the market. When an agent only uploaded 1 photo the days on market equaled 70, 6 photos equaled 40, 16-19 photos equaled 36, and 20 photos equaled 32. The crazy thing is within the study's sample only 12 % of agents posted the max of 20 photos. Not only do more photos decrease the number of days on the market, but also the number affects the price. The study found that 1 photo added results in a 91.2% of original price as the final price and by adding 6 or more photos the price rose to 95% of original price to break this down; a home selling for $600,000, with only one photo, could sell for as much as 3.8% LESS or a loss of over $22,000 (around $660 of an agent's 3% commission). When an agent adds a video tour, the days on market typically decreased another 20% and the price typically affected the final price with an increase of 2% of original price (another $360 on that $600k home). So when one is deciding whether they can afford to use a professional photographer for photos and video on that next listing they are marketing the numbers clearly show that it is a good investment in this time of online marketing of real estate.
