On the proper use of real estate photos

First photo shown

Angela Swift's listing at 10 Shady Brook Lane, OG, $2.050, was reported as under contract yesterday. Take a look at the listing and notice what she did: the house itself was built in 1969 and from the outside, that's pretty much what it looks like. But the story is what the owners did inside,  namely, transform it into a clean, modern house. So, of the 21 pictures posted, the first 20 are of the interior and the best parts of the outside: pool and terrace. Only the last picture  is of the exterior front. 

Now obviously, buyers are going to want to visit the house personally before buying it, and will see what the exterior looks like before even exiting their car, but Swift's photo order may at least have whetted their appetite to see the interior they liked on the Internet, so they'll get past the unprepossessing front and through the door. Even before that, her great interior pictures probably kept them from clicking onto the next listing while prowling the online inventory. 

Photos certainly aren't everything, or even controlling: this house has been on the market since February, when it was listed at $2.695 million, and that price had to be conformed to reality before a buyer stepped forward, but if your home's Internet presence turns off potential buyers immediately, no one's even going to show up to tell you that your price is off. 

Nice job of Internet marketing and presentation.

Final picture: "Oh! Did we mention it was built in 1969?"