A picture can paint £80,000 in value

Leading estate agent media provider, Giraffe360, has revealed that the nation’s estate agents could be selling themselves, and their sellers short, by under-presenting their properties when it comes to the number of images provided in their online property listings.

According to property portal giant, Rightmove, the magic number is a minimum of seven photos to showcase a property to prospective buyers, putting your best photo first in a bid to attract attention.

However, analysis of current market listings by Giraffe360 shows that not all agents are meeting this requirement when it comes to showcasing their for sales stock.

Across England, the average property listing has 15 images, but 5% of all listings are advertised with less than seven photos.

This climbs as high as 10% of all listings in London, with the North East also home to an above average number of homes advertised with less than seven photos (56%).

Why does it matter in a market where buyer interest far outweighs the level of stock available? Well Giraffe360’s analysis also shows that homes with more images command a higher price.

Across England as a whole, the average asking price of a home with seven or more images comes in at £300,000. Those with less than seven images command an average asking price of just £220,000 – £80,000 less.

In the South East, this asking price gap is at its highest, with homes with less than seven images listed for £181,000 less on average compared to those with seven or more.

This asking price gap also exceeds £100,000 in the South West (£135,000), Yorkshire and the Humber (£120,000) and the West Midlands (£45,000).

Giraffe360 CEO, Mikus Opelts, commented:

“In the modern-day property market, the multimedia used for the online portrayal of your property is the most important aspect of your property listing. So neglecting this aspect can be costly, whether it be via the quality or volume of photos, as you’re simply unlikely to attract the same level of attention from potential buyers.

Despite this, as many as five percent of all listings on the current market have less than seven photos to showcase a property and our analysis shows that these are also listed for a substantially lower asking price.

The driving factor behind this is almost certainly an air of inconsistency on the part of the listing agent. Lower value homes may be smaller and therefore provide less photo opportunities, however, it’s also fair to say they are allocated less time and love by agents, who tend to focus on showcasing their higher value stock to its best abilities.

At the very least, every property should be afforded the same level of attention and given the same consistent level of digital representation as those in higher price brackets.”