The Value of Quality Images when Renting or Selling Your Property

What is the purpose of having high quality images on your property listing?

According to our expert agents, the purpose of high quality images on a property listing is:

• To attract potential tenants and buyers to the listing;
• So that the listing stands out in a competitive, highly saturated market – both the sales and rentals market;
• To rent or sell the property in the shortest time possible;
• It portrays an image of professionalism for the agency as well as the landlord/seller.

According to Property24, “the most important element on a property listing is the images!”

After conducting several property searches on major South African property portals, the following was determined with regards to the quality of images and how this affects a property listing’s ranking:

The First Photo is the Aspirant Buyer or Tenant’s First Impression of the Property!
In today’s digital age, the majority of aspirant buyers and tenants begin their home searches online. When searching for a property on a property portal like Property24 or a specific estate agency’s website, the image that represents the whole property is displayed as the main image, along with the title and other important information such as the price and occupation date. It is absolutely essential that this image is a high quality, attention-grabbing photograph that will entice the buyer or tenant to click on the listing to view more. Our expert agents select the image they believe will have the most impact – whether it displays the vigilant security at the entrance gate to a sought-after estate or an outstanding feature like an entertainer’s patio and private, well-kept garden of a free-standing home. It is always a feature that will draw interest!

JP van der Berg, the founder and MD of the property search engine app Propscan, confirms that a property listing has on average three seconds to engage prospective tenants or buyers before they scroll to the next property that matches their search parameters. If the main image does not grab their attention in those three seconds, the landlord or seller risks losing a potential tenant or buyer to other similarly-spec’d properties with more visual appeal. It is a top priority of our specialist team to source and secure quality tenants and buyers on behalf of our landlord-investors, and this is done by creating a powerful first impression.

Orientation Matters!

The orientation of the photographs (either portrait or landscape) has an impact on how well or poorly a property listing performs on popular marketing platforms. Online property portals like Property24 prioritise the user experience, and in this case the user is defined as the prospective tenant or buyer utilising their site to find and secure a home. It is Property24’s view that landscape photographs give the best impression of the overall property and contribute to the user experience on the portal. In other words, property listings with landscape photographs create the best listings for consumers to view. While this is not always possible (for example, the limited space of most guest loos makes photographing in landscape orientation challenging), the majority of images selected for an online property listing should be landscape. From a photography standpoint, why is landscape the preferred orientation for real estate? The wider ‘view’ of landscape orientation gives the impression of more space. Portrait orientation, with regards to real estate photography, makes rooms appear smaller and more cramped.

The Quality of the Images is Crucial!

The quality of property photographs comes down to factors such as sharpness, colour accuracy, and pixel count (Wiesen. 2022). High quality images attract high quality tenants and buyers! Additionally, the quality of the photographs impacts how well or poorly a property listing performs on property portals like Private Property and Property24, and so influences the number of prospective consumers the listing reaches and how quickly a listing is rented or sold. The recommended image size for Property24 is 1920 x 1080 pixels, which achieves the best exposure on their marketing platform. Anything less than 800 x 600 pixels will negatively affect the listing score. According to Property24: ‘clean, clear and unique images create the best listings for consumers to view’ and so score the highest when it comes to the Quality Listing Score.

As Covid-19 restrictions have eased, viewing and photographing properties for marketing purposes (on behalf of our clients) has returned to pre-pandemic normalcy. Our agents have been trained by a professional photographer to ensure the best possible impression of the property is put forward. However, our property practitioners can only provide expert service with the help and cooperation of the home owners. Property owners must ensure that the property is clean and tidy when the agent arrives to take the photographs – cluttered, dirty homes are a sure way to have aspirant tenants or sellers look elsewhere. In an article offering advice on preparing your home for the perfect property photographs, Private Property states: ‘Awful photographs will seriously hinder your chances of selling [or renting] your home’. Don’t jeopardise buyer/tenant interest in the interest of saving time! The images put forward on property platforms have the potential to influence the rental/sale of the property for the better or worse.

Quantity is Quality!
Many property marketing platforms recommend a certain number of images per listing. Again, this speaks to providing a quality user experience that showcases the properties on offer in the best light. Policies are in place to govern the quality of listings and uphold the standard of the platforms. For platforms like Private Property and Property24, the more images a property listing displays, the more exposure it gains. We like to think of it as the ‘heavier’ the property listing, in terms of content (photos, description, features etc.), the higher it ranks within a specific search parameter on a specific property portal.

Private Property limits the number of photographs per listing to 12 unique high-resolution images.
Property24 allows for more than 16 unique high-resolution photographs per listing. Listings with 16 or more images rank higher (closer to the first page of search results for a specific area) than listings with less than the recommended amount.

The term ‘unique’ in this case means that neither duplicate nor similar/identical images are allowed within the same listing. Each image should be a unique feature of the property.

Listing Ranking Explained:

For many online property listing platforms, the first page of search results, or at the very least the first several listings on the first page, of a popular area (like Sandton, Randburg, or Fourways) displays the paid Featured Listings for that area, or what some platforms refer to as ‘Promoted Listings’. Paid Featured Listings will always display ahead of an area’s normal property listings and guarantee the best exposure and a marked increase in listing views because of their prominent position. Estate agencies will often select several high quality, well-priced properties to "feature" each month, but majority of an agency's listings are standard listings.

Private Property's 'Listing Score' is bolstered by:

• Number of Bedrooms and Bathrooms
• Home Type (Apartment, Duplex, House)
• Asking Price
• HD Video or 3D Tour
• 12 Unique High-Resolution Photos
• Full Address Displayed and Show on Map
• Additional Price Details (Levies and Rates) *Sales
• Detailed Property Information (Floor and Land Area)
•  

Property24's 'Quality Score' is determined by:

• A Descriptive Title
• A Complete Property Description
• Erf Size
• Floor Size
• Applicable Rates and Taxes *Sales
• Applicable Levies *Sales
• Address Details
• Show on Map
• Video or 3D Tour

All listings, whether they are listed by a landlord/seller or by an estate agency, are ranked according to the age of the listing and the quality scoring. Properties with a higher Listing Score are listed above properties with a lower score. Our agents ensure that all our listings check most, if not all, the Quality Score Criteria prescribed by Private Property and Property24. This strengthens the listings’ ranking score and ensures that the listings rank higher (closer to the top of the listings for that area) on the results pages. 

Why is this important? We belong to a society that expects instant gratification! Consumers do not want to have to scan through dozens of pages to find a property that meets their search parameters. The faster aspirant buyers or tenants can shortlist properties that meet their needs, the better. This applies to both rentals and sales, despite sales timelines being longer. The lower down the listing appears on the results pages, the more likely that the potential tenant or buyer will find something else that meets their needs before landing on your listing. It is crucial to a timeous rental/sales transaction that a listing appear as close to the first page of a specific area as possible! A property listing that fulfills the recommended requirements on Private Property or Property24 gains visibility and maximun exposure - appearing ahead of your competitor's.

On Property24 alone, Etchells & Young are one of more than 600 estate agencies in the Randburg and Sandton area. Our rental listings are among more than +2000 listings in Randburg and +6000 in Sandton. As a leading Property Practitioner in the Johannesburg area, we understand the importance of high quality photographs and content-dense property listings in renting or selling property timeously.

Renting and selling on behalf of our clients is our top priority, and why our property practitioners ensure their rental and sales listings outperform their competitors’ in terms of listing ranking. 

List your property with us today!