I read an article today from Property Reporter, about “Britain’s Most Unloved Home”, a two-bedroom terraced house in Durham, that has been on the market for almost 12 years, since July 2010. Straight away, we rushed in the office to take a look at what we were expecting to be one of the most run-down and unappealing homes we’d ever seen listed for sale. However, what was in front of us, was a fairly nice looking, two-bedroom house, with a few interesting décor choices, but nothing that would take too much time or money to resolve.
Now, I’m no expert in the Durham property market, and nor have I been out to the property, or made enquiries as to reasons it may be on the market longer, that might not be apparent on a Rightmove listing, but a few things really stood out right away, that made me think “no wonder they’re struggling to sell this one”, and they are all things that form the absolute basis of the way we approach our listings at Eightfold Property. The big two stood out right away!
1. Photos
The photos on the listing are clearly taken on multiple different cameras, at different angles, in both landscape and portrait. A lot of the photos are grainy, and most are taken so close to walls and furniture, it’s not possible to see much of the room.
Property photography isn’t rocket science, but the absolute key is always uniformity. All of the online portals will show all photos in landscape, so the photos should all be in landscape, with the same camera, from the corner of the room, or a doorway; to see as much of the room as possible. Any camera, or smartphone, should be able to take a nice, clear, crisp photo.
2. Floorplan
Or perhaps, this should say “lack of floorplan”. There’s no floorplan on the listing at all. We have been advocates for some time, of putting floorplans on as many listings as possible, and especially for sales listings. They often mean fewer people come to see properties, but the effect they do have, is to allow those seeing a property online to understand the size and layout of a property, and whether it would suit them. Including a floorplan gives a better feel for a property before you arrive.
When struggling to move properties on, the description can also be a place to really sell how great a property is, or the potential it may have for someone making it their own. I might be being too critical here, and there may be problems with the property, that are holding any potentially interested parties at bay; however, the listing itself certainly isn’t making the job any easier!
If you’re not happy with how your property is being displayed online and would like to talk to us about giving the listing a new lease of life, please get in touch. Likewise, if you’ve got any more ideas you’d like to share to make properties look their very best online, we’d love to hear them!