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Home Selling: Presentation Is an Art in a Virtual World

Jun 01, 2020 02:00PM ● By Pamela Johnson
Approximately 98% of buyers will start their home search on their device of choice by visiting any site in an endless sea of internet sites. Your home must appear on all of them. But just “how” it appears is the key. If your home does not capture a prospective purchaser’s fleeting attention on their first pass, then your chances of winning that buyer’s heart (and the sale!) will be lost forever. 

As we embrace this virtual reality, presentation has become an art. Images capture the attention. They are a detailed description of the home. They are what gets that buyer to take the first step—make an inquiry or an appointment to see the home.

As with a painting, a great presentation will draw the viewer in, allowing them to linger and capturing their imagination—making them crave to see more before they slowly retreat. No one wants a “one-hit wonder” whereby someone begins to explore but then quickly moves on. As we are preparing to present a home for the world to see, we ask, “What is the best way to engage that viewer?” Ideally the home is staged to the best it can be, considering that people still need to live there. This is not always easy, remembering that it may be home to as many kids as a baseball team, numerous pets, and a husband! (Kidding). 

After all of the distractions that come with day-to-day living are removed, filming should occur with a buyer’s eye. Seriously, no one really needs to see what the inside of the toilet bowl looks like. Editing is important and often overlooked. Photos are more inviting to the viewer in the platforms that we use when they are displayed in a landscape (horizontal) vs portrait (vertical) format. What is easy on the eye is most appealing. The balance between having a home look stunning and interesting without changing its true nature is crucial. A deceiving presentation will kill a sale faster than a poor one will. Every home, even a brand-new one, has little blemishes. We certainly do not want to draw attention to those, but we don’t want to edit them out either. There is a fine line between being showcased in a Better Homes magazine kind of way and being shown in real life.  

Subtle, effective approaches help to engage the viewer’s interest. For example, unless there were no other way, an artist would never select a photo of your home straight on. They would probably have the photos shot from eye level or lower, with thought toward perspective. If possible, you will not see something unnecessary in the shot, and they will want the light streaming in as much as possible, creating an ambience of warmth, a visual telling of a story. A story that ignites the imagination of the viewer will leave them with the need to follow up with a personal tour. All of this is part of home selling in a virtual world.    

 Submitted by Carol Ann Palmieri, Home-Sale Artist (right) of Al and Cal Realty Group, RE/MAX Executive Realty. Palmieri may be reached at 508-494-9061 or [email protected].

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