Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 10, 2011

I received an e-mail to-day from a broker at NESTSEEKERS showcasing a very attractive property in a strong location that was quite well priced…..the only problem is the photos would give even the most astute eye a hard time identifying that this is indeed a good apartment. The photographs were hideous!

What the announcement does say is that the owner is very open to ‘making a deal’….. Well, dear Mr. or Mrs. Seller, you had better be ready to make a deal, because your real estate looks dreadful and is probably worth less because of this lazy or incompetent exposure. In an age where first impressions are critical, where the world, especially the New York real estate world has become an extremely visual place, where buyers seeking real estate on line have a super-short attention span, this type of imagery is counter-productive to your mission, unless of course your mission is to discount your property as much as possible.

So, dear Sellers: please look at the photo’s your broker is displaying to the world: Many of these photos are truly horrendous! And no, its not just smaller agencies that are posting vile photos….culprits exist everywhere. Above is a picture I took of a listing a few years ago: the perfect example of a dreadful real estate marketing photo.

And to my fellow brokers: really, honestly, truly…..does it really take that much to hire a decent photographer? For all our sakes, buyers, sellers and fellow brokers….PLEASE post good, accurate photos. It’s not that difficult.