Scenes From Above
http://blog.ashtabulamarket.com
Scenes From Above
Borrowed from Realtor Magazine
Photography definitely helps to sell homes! I see more and more articles like this:
Daily Real Estate News | April 2, 2008How Photos Help Sell Homes
Photographs that accompany home listings on the Web or in brochures, newspaper advertisements, flyers, magazine articles, and other marketing materials play a significant role in attracting buyers.
These images serve as the first impression, and buyers often decide whether or not to see a home in person based on their quality and presentation.
Research reveals that the more photos a listing has, the quicker it sells. A property with a single photo spent 70 days on the market (DOM) on average, while DOM fell to 40 with six photos, 36 with 16 to 19 photos, and 32 with 20 photos. Additionally, listings with one photo sold for 91.2 percent of the original price, while homes with six or more sold for 95 percent of the original price.
The photos to be used in an agent's marketing materials should be taken by a professional, with experts noting that sellers will recoup the costs of professional photos if their homes sell faster and at a higher price.
Source: RISMedia, Gar Benedick (04/01/08)
Daily Real Estate News | April 2, 2008How Photos Help Sell Homes
Photographs that accompany home listings on the Web or in brochures, newspaper advertisements, flyers, magazine articles, and other marketing materials play a significant role in attracting buyers.
These images serve as the first impression, and buyers often decide whether or not to see a home in person based on their quality and presentation.
Research reveals that the more photos a listing has, the quicker it sells. A property with a single photo spent 70 days on the market (DOM) on average, while DOM fell to 40 with six photos, 36 with 16 to 19 photos, and 32 with 20 photos. Additionally, listings with one photo sold for 91.2 percent of the original price, while homes with six or more sold for 95 percent of the original price.
The photos to be used in an agent's marketing materials should be taken by a professional, with experts noting that sellers will recoup the costs of professional photos if their homes sell faster and at a higher price.
Source: RISMedia, Gar Benedick (04/01/08)
In like a Lion...... Out like a....?
It's been a busy week for me here at Scenes From Above / Ashtabula Market. Ashtabula home and Ashtabula real estate sales stand to pick up very soon, as, even though spring is already here, the weather hasn't quite broken into bloom the way it should. But it can't be far.
Over the past week, I've taken pictures of 5 houses, and they can be found on the listings page at www.ashtabulamarket.com. I've decided to list the homes by price, from highest to lowest, until I find a different way to list them. I'm considering a seperate page for each community. So far, I've got Ashtabula, Jefferson, Geneva, Madison, and Painesville. Maybe as I get more listings.
I'm always on the prowl for interesting web info that can help in promoting photography for real estate. Quite often, I run across other blogs. Amy Jones, a top-producing realtor with Remax in Arizona, has a blog entry that shows firsthand how pictures can certainly make a difference in your listings: http://www.phoenixarizonarealestateblog.com/2008/03/29/marketing-your-home-to-sell-in-todays-buyers-market/
I'm in the process of making the same kind of comparisons on my site. At the same time, one of the world leaders in this area of expertise, Scott Hargis, exposed some of his own secrets at the 'Photography for Real Estate' Flickr blog site: http://www.flickr.com/groups/photographyforrealestate/discuss/72157604288340652/. I love this blog site - so intuitive, and I truly feel that the best RE photoraphers in the world are often found here.
'Til next time, Regards.
Over the past week, I've taken pictures of 5 houses, and they can be found on the listings page at www.ashtabulamarket.com. I've decided to list the homes by price, from highest to lowest, until I find a different way to list them. I'm considering a seperate page for each community. So far, I've got Ashtabula, Jefferson, Geneva, Madison, and Painesville. Maybe as I get more listings.
I'm always on the prowl for interesting web info that can help in promoting photography for real estate. Quite often, I run across other blogs. Amy Jones, a top-producing realtor with Remax in Arizona, has a blog entry that shows firsthand how pictures can certainly make a difference in your listings: http://www.phoenixarizonarealestateblog.com/2008/03/29/marketing-your-home-to-sell-in-todays-buyers-market/
I'm in the process of making the same kind of comparisons on my site. At the same time, one of the world leaders in this area of expertise, Scott Hargis, exposed some of his own secrets at the 'Photography for Real Estate' Flickr blog site: http://www.flickr.com/groups/photographyforrealestate/discuss/72157604288340652/. I love this blog site - so intuitive, and I truly feel that the best RE photoraphers in the world are often found here.
'Til next time, Regards.
Spanning the Globe...
Good Evening!
I am constantly being impressed and encouraged the way communication has grown just over the past few years, thanks to the internet. What was practically unheard of for the common person just 10 years ago has become mainstream in this digital age.
Last night, I got a phone call from Mr. Andrew Tweedie, from Truro Cornwall UK. He had come across my website while researching mast photography through a search engine. We had a nice chat, discussing our experiences with photography, and specifically, real estate photography. His main question for me was "do I see the downturn in the economy affecting my business?"
I explained to him that it's hard for me to have a benchmark as to how economic conditions have affected the promotion of real estate, as I'm just beginning myself! But, in talking to him, and view his websites, he has got some rather extensive experience in this field.
He has two websites, and to see how a view of how photography "across the pond" is done, you can take a look at www.elevatedviews.co.uk and www.highandwide.com. Very nicely done website, and I gather he's looking at moving more from film to digital. This is an obvious move, and I commended him on how difficult it has had to be for him to work with film. These guys who have extensive experience with the "old" method have got a leg up on us newcomers, but it's not difficult to learn, from my own experience.
And in discussing the economy in general, I tried to convey to him the message that no matter what the economy, there will always be an increasing need for better promotion of ANY product, be it real estate or commercial photography, and the internet is obviously the way to go.
In my very limited time with attempting professional photography for real estate, I've made contact with some of the local real estate agents here in NE Ohio. I think that when the weather breaks that I will have the opportunity to be very busy, especially since I am currently doing this only part time.
Mr Tweedie, thank you very much for your call. It's great to experience the cultural exchange that we had. I'd like to encourage others, whether domestic or on the other side of the world, to share their experiences and thoughts relating to photography.
In closing, I'd like to share with you a couple of websites that I ran across... This first one touches on the growth of the internet, and how it's affecting how FSBO's market their properties: http://fsbotalks.wordpress.com/2008/03/19/web-20-style-fsbo/
The second one discusses the importance of have furniture, i.e., "staging" a house. http://montrealrealestateblog.com/staging-a-vacant-house/
I am constantly being impressed and encouraged the way communication has grown just over the past few years, thanks to the internet. What was practically unheard of for the common person just 10 years ago has become mainstream in this digital age.
Last night, I got a phone call from Mr. Andrew Tweedie, from Truro Cornwall UK. He had come across my website while researching mast photography through a search engine. We had a nice chat, discussing our experiences with photography, and specifically, real estate photography. His main question for me was "do I see the downturn in the economy affecting my business?"
I explained to him that it's hard for me to have a benchmark as to how economic conditions have affected the promotion of real estate, as I'm just beginning myself! But, in talking to him, and view his websites, he has got some rather extensive experience in this field.
He has two websites, and to see how a view of how photography "across the pond" is done, you can take a look at www.elevatedviews.co.uk and www.highandwide.com. Very nicely done website, and I gather he's looking at moving more from film to digital. This is an obvious move, and I commended him on how difficult it has had to be for him to work with film. These guys who have extensive experience with the "old" method have got a leg up on us newcomers, but it's not difficult to learn, from my own experience.
And in discussing the economy in general, I tried to convey to him the message that no matter what the economy, there will always be an increasing need for better promotion of ANY product, be it real estate or commercial photography, and the internet is obviously the way to go.
In my very limited time with attempting professional photography for real estate, I've made contact with some of the local real estate agents here in NE Ohio. I think that when the weather breaks that I will have the opportunity to be very busy, especially since I am currently doing this only part time.
Mr Tweedie, thank you very much for your call. It's great to experience the cultural exchange that we had. I'd like to encourage others, whether domestic or on the other side of the world, to share their experiences and thoughts relating to photography.
In closing, I'd like to share with you a couple of websites that I ran across... This first one touches on the growth of the internet, and how it's affecting how FSBO's market their properties: http://fsbotalks.wordpress.com/2008/03/19/web-20-style-fsbo/
The second one discusses the importance of have furniture, i.e., "staging" a house. http://montrealrealestateblog.com/staging-a-vacant-house/
Tough Times
I met with a client last evening. She's getting a Scenes From Above website for her property, which should be up by tomorrow night. It'll be ashtabulatudor.com, and it'll be my first paid website for a customer. I'm very excited about being able to provide this high-value service to local realtors and FSBO's.
As I sat and talked to her last night, she told me a short story about how the daughter of an acquaintance of hers managed to buy a home at an extremely reduced rate. It's in a rather affluent part of the county, and it was originally listed at $150,000. Through the market being "what it is", they had offered significantly less, but the seller didn't want to budge. Some time went by, and, as it turned out, the house went into forclosure... and this person's daughter ended up getting the house for $80,000! She was a little distressed about this, as she's had her house listed with a realtor with no success.
In my mind, selling a house today is SO hard. Especially emotionally. Most anyone who is going to make an offer is going to really low-ball the seller, so you've got to be ready for this. Not to say that you need to pad your asking price out of the market, but you need to be prepared for offers much lower. It's a tough decision, but you really need to know this when you go in.
So what can you do? It's all in the presentation of your house. You need to make it as appealing as you possibly can. Obviously, having the technical aspect of pricing is very important. But HOW you present your home means so much. Check this article that I found in the Vancouver Real Estate Blog. It explains how important good photography is to selling a home.
The bottom line is, when selling your home, the more exposure you can get, the better your chances of getting your home sold sooner, and at the price you want. And it's not just putting your listing in front of the home buyers. You need to capture their attention with their first look. Scenes From Above will provide that first look appeal, typically with an elevated photo. And then, once you have their attention, you need to keep it with more high quality photography, photography that shows the true features of your house. Dark rooms, deep shadows, out-of-focus unprofessional pictures will do more to turn off potential buyers, rather than hold their attention. Let us help you to showcase your home. And now, with our virtual flyers, we can create a highly attractive flyer that can not only be printed out for your brochure box and open houses, but it can be placed online on an ever-growing list of classified advertising websites!
Contact Scenes from above today!
As I sat and talked to her last night, she told me a short story about how the daughter of an acquaintance of hers managed to buy a home at an extremely reduced rate. It's in a rather affluent part of the county, and it was originally listed at $150,000. Through the market being "what it is", they had offered significantly less, but the seller didn't want to budge. Some time went by, and, as it turned out, the house went into forclosure... and this person's daughter ended up getting the house for $80,000! She was a little distressed about this, as she's had her house listed with a realtor with no success.
In my mind, selling a house today is SO hard. Especially emotionally. Most anyone who is going to make an offer is going to really low-ball the seller, so you've got to be ready for this. Not to say that you need to pad your asking price out of the market, but you need to be prepared for offers much lower. It's a tough decision, but you really need to know this when you go in.
So what can you do? It's all in the presentation of your house. You need to make it as appealing as you possibly can. Obviously, having the technical aspect of pricing is very important. But HOW you present your home means so much. Check this article that I found in the Vancouver Real Estate Blog. It explains how important good photography is to selling a home.
The bottom line is, when selling your home, the more exposure you can get, the better your chances of getting your home sold sooner, and at the price you want. And it's not just putting your listing in front of the home buyers. You need to capture their attention with their first look. Scenes From Above will provide that first look appeal, typically with an elevated photo. And then, once you have their attention, you need to keep it with more high quality photography, photography that shows the true features of your house. Dark rooms, deep shadows, out-of-focus unprofessional pictures will do more to turn off potential buyers, rather than hold their attention. Let us help you to showcase your home. And now, with our virtual flyers, we can create a highly attractive flyer that can not only be printed out for your brochure box and open houses, but it can be placed online on an ever-growing list of classified advertising websites!
Contact Scenes from above today!
Another Day, another website...
Well, my obsession is keeping up with itself. I can't believe I've sat here and worked at this computer... ohhh probably about 14 hours so far today. And, after all of that, I still have enough enthusiasm to write up this blog!
I guess I'd have to say I'm pretty pumped about this whole thing... I finally, FINALLY, 'know what I want to be when I grow up'!
My latest venture can be found at www.ashtabula.smugmug.com. This website will allow me to post pics online, and sell them there as well. It works really well, especially for events... Here's how it works: I set up to do an event. For instance, right now, I've submitted a proposal to do a youth basketball tournament in a couple weeks. I'll go there, pass out flyers, cards with web addresses, whatever I can do that will entice people to go to the website. And I'll take pictures. LOTS of pictures. I then post the pictures online. When people find pics they want prints of, they pick them out, and, through the website, order & pay (credit card) for the pictures.
Prices are VERY reasonable, I think. The prints are done at a lab in Georgia, and then mailed directly to the customer. And the postage is NOT very expensive.
Once a month, I get a check for a percentage of the sale. That's all there is to it.
But the REAL beauty of this is that I get to hand out flyers and business cards to literally HUNDREDS of people who will be exposed to www.scenesfromabove.com and www.ashtabulamarket.com. And that's what I REALLY want, so that I can enhance and grow my real estate photography business.
I also upgraded my vFlyer account today. I can now have sub-accounts, where realtors (for instance) can have a gallery of vFlyer listings that (I presume) I'll be doing for them....
Plus, I got an email from a realtor who wants to get together with me and a few of her (successful) realtor friends so I can make them a presentation. I'll probably be working on that presentation tomorrow...
So that's about it for now.... it's getting late, Godfather 2 is almost over.... I hate to see Freddo get whacked, so I'm going to bed now...
I guess I'd have to say I'm pretty pumped about this whole thing... I finally, FINALLY, 'know what I want to be when I grow up'!
My latest venture can be found at www.ashtabula.smugmug.com. This website will allow me to post pics online, and sell them there as well. It works really well, especially for events... Here's how it works: I set up to do an event. For instance, right now, I've submitted a proposal to do a youth basketball tournament in a couple weeks. I'll go there, pass out flyers, cards with web addresses, whatever I can do that will entice people to go to the website. And I'll take pictures. LOTS of pictures. I then post the pictures online. When people find pics they want prints of, they pick them out, and, through the website, order & pay (credit card) for the pictures.
Prices are VERY reasonable, I think. The prints are done at a lab in Georgia, and then mailed directly to the customer. And the postage is NOT very expensive.
Once a month, I get a check for a percentage of the sale. That's all there is to it.
But the REAL beauty of this is that I get to hand out flyers and business cards to literally HUNDREDS of people who will be exposed to www.scenesfromabove.com and www.ashtabulamarket.com. And that's what I REALLY want, so that I can enhance and grow my real estate photography business.
I also upgraded my vFlyer account today. I can now have sub-accounts, where realtors (for instance) can have a gallery of vFlyer listings that (I presume) I'll be doing for them....
Plus, I got an email from a realtor who wants to get together with me and a few of her (successful) realtor friends so I can make them a presentation. I'll probably be working on that presentation tomorrow...
So that's about it for now.... it's getting late, Godfather 2 is almost over.... I hate to see Freddo get whacked, so I'm going to bed now...
Photography for Ashtabula Homes for Sale
I've been spending my free time working on just what I'll be putting forth to the Ashtabula County realtors and home sellers... I've been putting a lot of time into my websites:
http://www.scenesfromabove.com
and
http://www.ashtabulamarket.com.
I decided to eliminate my third website (heresyourtour.com), as I saw that it was being somewhat redundant, and the services offered could be presented in the other two sites. I certainly don't mean to imply that the virtual tours won't play a big part in what I do, but it won't be a major contributor at this point in time. I'm "keeping it in the holster" for when it's necessary...
To bolster my attempts to convince the local real estate community that "professional photography" is the way to go, I've looked over several online flyer companies.... and I've decided to go with vFlyer. You'll be seeing a lot of these in my site - right now, if you go to this page:
http://www.vflyer.com/home/flyer/home/1434458
you'll see an example of the premium flyer. I also like the "standard" version, seen here:
http://scenesfromabove.vflyer.com/1/index.html
The differences are obvious; if you like the flash slide show, the former is yours. If you want to see all of the textual data on the front page, then you'd pick the latter. It's something that I guess I'll leave up to the Client.
I have decided that when a client wants a website, rather than just a page on the Ashtabula Market Site, that I will utilize the vFlyer AS the site. It makes for a much neater presentation. The real beauty of using this vFlyer is that it is automatically submitted to several online classified advertising sites. I'm investigating ways to get it to post to even MORE sites.
I've been trying to put a version of Google Maps onto my site. I had it all figured out, except when you click on the icon denoting the location on the map, it opens up a "balloon", and when you click on a link there, it goes either to the virtual flyer.... DIRECTLY to the virtual flyer. Thing is, I want it to open in a new window, but it opens in the same window, navigating AWAY from my site. Not what I want to happen.
Also, since my last post, I've changed the template in the Scenes From Above site... I like this one better.
I'd like to take a moment to thank the fine folks who frequent the websites
http://photographyforrealestate.net/
and
http://www.flickr.com/groups/photographyforrealestate/discuss/
Larry Lohrman is the moderator of the real estate blog, and Flickr holds the discussion group. These folks are primarily professional photographers who specialize in what I want to do, and that is Photography for Real Estate. I'm glad to have found this core of extremely competent individuals, as their advice, comments, and brilliance is something that anyone in my position would want to emulate.
http://www.scenesfromabove.com
and
http://www.ashtabulamarket.com.
I decided to eliminate my third website (heresyourtour.com), as I saw that it was being somewhat redundant, and the services offered could be presented in the other two sites. I certainly don't mean to imply that the virtual tours won't play a big part in what I do, but it won't be a major contributor at this point in time. I'm "keeping it in the holster" for when it's necessary...
To bolster my attempts to convince the local real estate community that "professional photography" is the way to go, I've looked over several online flyer companies.... and I've decided to go with vFlyer. You'll be seeing a lot of these in my site - right now, if you go to this page:
http://www.vflyer.com/home/flyer/home/1434458
you'll see an example of the premium flyer. I also like the "standard" version, seen here:
http://scenesfromabove.vflyer.com/1/index.html
The differences are obvious; if you like the flash slide show, the former is yours. If you want to see all of the textual data on the front page, then you'd pick the latter. It's something that I guess I'll leave up to the Client.
I have decided that when a client wants a website, rather than just a page on the Ashtabula Market Site, that I will utilize the vFlyer AS the site. It makes for a much neater presentation. The real beauty of using this vFlyer is that it is automatically submitted to several online classified advertising sites. I'm investigating ways to get it to post to even MORE sites.
I've been trying to put a version of Google Maps onto my site. I had it all figured out, except when you click on the icon denoting the location on the map, it opens up a "balloon", and when you click on a link there, it goes either to the virtual flyer.... DIRECTLY to the virtual flyer. Thing is, I want it to open in a new window, but it opens in the same window, navigating AWAY from my site. Not what I want to happen.
Also, since my last post, I've changed the template in the Scenes From Above site... I like this one better.
I'd like to take a moment to thank the fine folks who frequent the websites
http://photographyforrealestate.net/
and
http://www.flickr.com/groups/photographyforrealestate/discuss/
Larry Lohrman is the moderator of the real estate blog, and Flickr holds the discussion group. These folks are primarily professional photographers who specialize in what I want to do, and that is Photography for Real Estate. I'm glad to have found this core of extremely competent individuals, as their advice, comments, and brilliance is something that anyone in my position would want to emulate.
"New Look" Scenes From Above Website
I've been working most of the day on the SFA website... I found a new template that allows the full utilization of the whole page, width-wise. I'm a little concerned that it won't show up properly in some browsers - I'd appreciate any comments on this subject.
I'm looking forward to the weather breaking (although it may likely be a couple-few months) so that I can get out and do what I want to do! Take pictures.
I'm looking forward to the weather breaking (although it may likely be a couple-few months) so that I can get out and do what I want to do! Take pictures.
December 19
From time to time, I'll be posting what I consider to be interesting or pertinent links to articles, blogs, whatever I run across in my researching photography and real estate.... or whatever I happen to be perusing at the moment! An article that I found yesterday went into great detail about what the "pros" do to take pictures, especially of interiors.
These are some of the real secrets that they are divulging... kind of like that TV show that gave away the magician's secrets! I do use some of these same techniques, but I've got a few of my own too!
If you're interested in seeing the article, go to www.encinitascarlsbad.com/page.cfm?page=Photography
These are some of the real secrets that they are divulging... kind of like that TV show that gave away the magician's secrets! I do use some of these same techniques, but I've got a few of my own too!
If you're interested in seeing the article, go to www.encinitascarlsbad.com/page.cfm?page=Photography
Welcome to the Scenes From Above Blog
I'd like to personally welcome you to the Scenes From Above Blog. If you're here, then you've probably seen at least one of our websites:
www.scenesfromabove.com - This is the original site that was developed early in 2007. It took me a while to figure out what domain name I wanted, as my original thoughts were entangled around true aerial photography, using radio controlled helicopters. I originally wanted SCENE From Above instead of SceneS, because it was a play on words "seen from above", as in an overhead view. Unfortunately, the domain name was not available... I've formed an "LLC", and Scenes From Above, LLC is the parent company for the other two sites below. Anyway, about the time that I was getting started with developing the website, there was some interesting discussion going on at a website that I still frequent, known as RunRyder. At www.runryder.com/helicopter/f25p1/, there is a discussion forum that centers around this very subject, aerial photography and videography, utilizing radio control helicopters. Anyway, like I said, around the time that this was going on there was some interesting discussion in the forum... The FAA had just come out with a clarification stating "any unmanned aerial vehicle used for commercial purposes has to have a certificate of air-worthiness". Unfortunately, for the many people that do this for a living, the FAA HAS NO criteria to determine what constitutes "air-worthiness" for radio control helicopters. Here it is nearly a year later, and they STILL don't have this clarification nailed down. So, at the time, I started looking into mast photography, and found that it provides a very similar view, and is much safer and easier to use. So, after MUCH research, I found a telescoping mast to which I can attach a camera and elevate it to a height of nearly 50 feet.
As time goes on, I'm sure I'll discuss some more of the research and experimentations that went on with the photography, as I could go on and on...
www.ashtabulamarket.com - This site is developed to help promote the photography of Scenes From Above, but offering to list homes for sale in Ashtabula County. This is not a "fizbo" (FSBO - For Sale By Owner) site. It's geared to provide high quality photography for both the individual seller and the Realtor.
As I mentioned, I plan on documenting events and ideas here on my blog. I'll try to keep it interesting, but we'll see just how well that goes! Hope you enjoy it, and if you have comments or questions, please feel free to post.
I'll have a link from each of the sites to this blog, so if you're visiting any of the sites, feel free to drop by!
www.scenesfromabove.com - This is the original site that was developed early in 2007. It took me a while to figure out what domain name I wanted, as my original thoughts were entangled around true aerial photography, using radio controlled helicopters. I originally wanted SCENE From Above instead of SceneS, because it was a play on words "seen from above", as in an overhead view. Unfortunately, the domain name was not available... I've formed an "LLC", and Scenes From Above, LLC is the parent company for the other two sites below. Anyway, about the time that I was getting started with developing the website, there was some interesting discussion going on at a website that I still frequent, known as RunRyder. At www.runryder.com/helicopter/f25p1/, there is a discussion forum that centers around this very subject, aerial photography and videography, utilizing radio control helicopters. Anyway, like I said, around the time that this was going on there was some interesting discussion in the forum... The FAA had just come out with a clarification stating "any unmanned aerial vehicle used for commercial purposes has to have a certificate of air-worthiness". Unfortunately, for the many people that do this for a living, the FAA HAS NO criteria to determine what constitutes "air-worthiness" for radio control helicopters. Here it is nearly a year later, and they STILL don't have this clarification nailed down. So, at the time, I started looking into mast photography, and found that it provides a very similar view, and is much safer and easier to use. So, after MUCH research, I found a telescoping mast to which I can attach a camera and elevate it to a height of nearly 50 feet.
As time goes on, I'm sure I'll discuss some more of the research and experimentations that went on with the photography, as I could go on and on...
www.ashtabulamarket.com - This site is developed to help promote the photography of Scenes From Above, but offering to list homes for sale in Ashtabula County. This is not a "fizbo" (FSBO - For Sale By Owner) site. It's geared to provide high quality photography for both the individual seller and the Realtor.
As I mentioned, I plan on documenting events and ideas here on my blog. I'll try to keep it interesting, but we'll see just how well that goes! Hope you enjoy it, and if you have comments or questions, please feel free to post.
I'll have a link from each of the sites to this blog, so if you're visiting any of the sites, feel free to drop by!