A four-year study of photography costs found an uptick in many areas, though not the Southeast. The national average photo service cost is $229.
NEW YORK – When the pandemic hit and lockdowns began, demand for quality online listing photos and tours went up.
A new study found geographic differences in the amount of money real estate professionals spent before the pandemic on capturing listings and the amount they’re willing to spend now. As more buyers started looking online first – even showing more willingness to buy sight unseen – many real estate pros prioritized good imagery on their listings.
In certain regions of the country, however, real estate pros put even more emphasis on photography. In the West, Northeast and Midwest, for example, agents tend to spend more on real estate listing photography services now than they did at the start of the pandemic, according to a new study from HomeJab, a provider of visual services for real estate agents, including photography, 3D virtual tours, aerial photos and other visual services.
Real estate pros in the West increased their use of photography services by nearly 9%, in the Northeast by 7.5% and in the Midwest by 5.6%.
On the other hand, fewer real estate professionals in the Southwest and Southeast tended to spend more for real estate listing photography services ever since the pandemic began, according to the study. Some spent less.
HomeJab analyzed more than 43,000 real estate photography assignments from 2017 to 2021 across five major regions of the U.S. (Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and West).
Nationally, the average real estate listing photography services order was up and averages about $229 per order, according to the study, and agents in the West tended to spend the most, an average of $279 per order.
In Florida, agents spent slightly less than the U.S. average at $225.
“Professional real estate listing photography orders by real estate agents clearly remained a vital marketing investment in many of the hottest markets during the COVID-19 outbreak,” says Joe Jesuele, founder and CEO of HomeJab. “Our research shows that during a time when homes were flying off the shelves and multiple offers hit a new high, agents still understood the power of visual images for their real estate marketing.”
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