Real Estate Photography Is Even More Important During the Coronavirus Epidemic

Coronavirus has put a halt to many business operations. But it has actually opened up a few opportunities for potential home buyers. 

How so?

Interest rates are incredibly low. Everyone has a lot more free time. And looking for homes is still possible - all you need to do is search online. 

Professional real estate photography has always been crucial to generating leads and catching a buyer’s attention online. But now it’s more important than ever. For many homebuyers, it’s the only way to see what is on the market. 

Our real estate photographers have had to make some adjustments to the way that they conduct business, but we are still operating. If you want to sell your home and make the best out of the coronavirus epidemic, consider investing in professional real estate photography before you list.

Here’s why and how. 

How Professional Real Estate Photography Makes Your House Stand Out

Statistics show that professional real estate photography helps a home do two things:

• Sell faster

• Sell for a higher price 

Realtors see this happen all the time — 88% believe that professional photos are more likely to grab a buyer’s attention and increase interest. And the opposite is definitely true as well. 

Admit it. We’ve all scrolled past a home or other product online simply because the picture was low-quality.

This is just bad business. Because if more people are interested in your home, more people will reach out for further info. Which means more people are likely to bid. And, of course, more bids leads to higher bids. 

The type of real estate photography makes a difference as well. Consider how you will display the inside, outside, and full scope of your property. Drone photography helps a home sell 68% faster than homes without drone footage. If you utilize virtual tours and images of floorplans, it can help to sell people on the home who may be scared to visit in person right now.

When you reach out to real estate photographers, be sure to ask about what gear they use and what this gear can cover. 

How Are We Photographing Homes During This Time? 

To keep our team safe, we are mostly photographing vacant homes. But a real estate photographer will still need to walk through the door to each empty room. This is a great opportunity for you to stage or simply sanitize the home. Adhere to the CDC’s rules for sanitization to keep any visitors safe during this time. 

Need Marketing Help? We’re Expanding Our Services

Many local businesses are pivoting and adding new services during this epidemic. Fortunately for homebuyers, we are expanding our services to include full marketing kits. Get Facebook ads, teaser videos, and other marketing materials that are ready to post. These inviting and professional assets will catch a buyer’s eye and give them all the information they need to schedule a visit or learn about your home. 

Reach out for more information about our marketing kit and full range of other real estate photography services. 

Using Color Psychology to Attract Buyers

A good portion of developing our clients’ listing galleries is dedicated to the post-production process, which can include digital image editing. In other posts, we’ve shared some of our insider secrets to producing the most flattering Alaska property photos for you after the photoshoot has already taken place. 

It’s really nice when clients make our job easier, though, with savvy home staging. One of the most important aspects of staging savvy that sells homes? Smart use of color psychology.

Color Psychology in a Nutshell

Simply put, color psychology pertains to how color influences the way a viewer thinks and feels — both huge factors that play into homebuying decisions. Whether online or in-person, the pallets you choose for staging your listing will ultimately play a huge role in potential buyers’ visualization process when touring your home. 

Using color psychology in home staging for your Alaska listings can suggest feelings of the home’s comfort, efficiency — even its security. In other words, all the things we seek when searching for the right home to purchase.

How do you convey these feelings through colors?

Popular Staging Hues and Their Common Associations

Advertising execs across consumer markets have been using color psychology tactics for generations. And when real estate agents utilize the principles of color psychology, well, the proof is in the month-end reporting. 

Here are a few colors and their most common associations: 

• Grey: (the new white) tranquility, neutrality, peacefulness

• Blue: (depends upon the shade) trust, power, autonomy, freshness 

• Green: nature, health, harmony

• Yellow: welcome, optimism, hope

• Orange: dynamism, movement, energy, confidence 

Our clients’ bottom lines say that applying the right color combinations in the right way when you’re staging your home simply attracts more buyers.

3 Easy Tips for Effectively Applying Color Psychology to Your Staging

TIP #1: Color the Mood to the Purpose of the Room

Master baths (and any bathrooms for that matter) have shifted from a mere utility function to our most private retreat. Your color choices should match the trend. A combination of hunter greens and deep nautical blues in your linens and props against a backdrop of tranquil gray wall paint and/or tiles will create the Alaskan oasis your clients are seeking in their most private moments.   

TIP #2: Too Much of a Good Thing...Well, It’s Still Too Much

High-energy colors like red, yellow, and orange are excellent attention-grabbers — but use restraint. They are far more effective in bite-sized accents than in large swaths of fabric or as an entire wall of color. In fact, too much of these shades has been shown to sometimes cause anxiety, distaste, or worse. 

TIP #3: Save the Color for Your Staging Elements

Sure, you want to tell the story of your property through staging. But at the end of the day, your client is still going to want to create their own version of that story. This is why we suggest keeping your colors to staging elements while maintaining neutral tones when it comes to more permanent elements like wallpapers, paints, and fixtures around your homes.  

For more recommendations on how to stage your listings in preparation for a gallery photoshoot, contact DMD Real Estate Photography. Helping you capture the essence of your Alaska home listings through images is our passion. 

Kitchen Upgrades That Make Listing Images Pop (Without Remodeling!)

As a real estate agent, you already know that finding the best ROI on kitchen upgrades in the Alaska market is a delicate balance — and most of the time, it can go either way. Depending on what a client chooses to upgrade, returns can range from mediocre to pretty great. 

Here’s a shortlist of our favorite on-trend updates that will make your listing images pop without requiring the cost and time of a full-on kitchen remodel or renovation. 

Change Out Those Dated Pulls and Knobs

This one is such an easy fix and costs very little in time and labor: remove old pulls and knobs and get stylish replacements.

We really love this option because any client can bring their kitchen up-to-trend for very little investment. In fact, if you do it yourself (or better yet, suggest your client handle this one) it could cost nothing outside of materials because all it involves is a screwdriver and some screws.

You don’t necessarily need to go super-high-end, but because costs are typically so reasonable compared to more extensive remodeling efforts like full cabinet gut and install, there is often room to splurge a little.  

Lighting Upgrades

Another easy way to create a huge impact on a kitchen without the cost of a full remodel? Change out the lighting. 

Can lights are always a sleek, modern option that can be easily enhanced by trading a traditional on/off switch for a dimmer switch. Under-cabinet LEDs are another great solution that are also extremely easy to install.

Here at DMD Real Estate Photography, we especially love lighting upgrades, because newer options can add big drama to your listing galleries!   

Shelving Options

There are a couple of different ways you can freshen up a kitchen with shelving. For those kitchens that seem a bit tight, if cabinet interiors don’t have a lip, consider pulling off a couple of doors to create open shelf space for an airy feeling. 

When there isn’t enough storage space, but extra wall area, you may want to install a few open floating shelves for some quick and easy staging, as well. 

In either case, the upgrades will cost you next to nothing, and create a whole new look and feel in the home’s kitchen. 

Backsplashes Can Bring an Entire Kitchen up to Date

Because the measurable area of a backsplash is never as extensive as, say, the flooring, opting for a backsplash upgrade is another cost-effective kitchen update solution. Choosing your materials can be tricky, however. 

You may want to consult an interior designer before making final selections since you won’t necessarily be changing out countertops and cabinetry as well. For instance, you may not want a full-on contemporary subway tile as a backdrop to your 70s-built atomic cabin-style kitchen.

A professional opinion can help you bridge that gap between when a house was built and what will help sell it now. 

Cabinets and Countertops

When you do have a bit of a budget, but need it to stretch, on-trend options for cabinets and countertops can be surprisingly affordable. 

First of all, Formica countertops are making a comeback, and they come in all sorts of colors and patterns. Resurfacing your existing counters is far more price point-friendly than completely ditching what you already have in place. 

Besides pulls and knobs, if the Alaska home you’re working with has solid wood cabinets, you might be able to simply reface your cabinets. That is, change out all the doors/drawers with a more modern design. 

In some cases, those brand new doorknobs and door pulls against a professional coat of paint will work wonders.

If you’re not sure whether the options you’re considering will photograph well, feel free to run them by us here at DMD Real Estate Photography. Always happy to provide input on what works from a listing gallery perspective!