Professional photography of real estate listings can be thought of as a 60/40 proposition. 40% of the value is marketing the property and 60% advertises the agent.

Setting yourself apart from the crowd can be a difficult process for a real estate agent. Nearly all of the marketing tools employed are used by everybody. All agents are going to put a sellers property on the MLS. Nearly all agents are going to print up flyers to hand out at open houses, at the office and sometimes in a box at the property. A sign gets posted at the property. Newspaper ads? Readership is dropping fast and out of town buyers aren’t going to see them.

What’s left  when a seller asks you “Why should I list with you?” You can cut your commission. Brave, but is that wise? What else? Showing the seller your portfolio of properties that you have sold and that are currently on the market with high quality photographs may be decisive. Some metropolitan areas like Seattle have a high percentage of properties listed with professional photos. In the Antelope Valley only a very few properties have as good as an average quality photo and nearly everything else is very poor. This gives an aggressive agent looking to increase their sales a simple and inexpensive method of looking better to customers. In Seattle, agents will need to spend more money on video and other advertising channels just to keep up.