Why Online Presence is so Important
How to use styling to enhance your property online and attract buyers.
It doesn’t seem that long ago that searching for a property involved trailing through the paper, marking which places to inspect that weekend, and hoping that when you drive up to a property, it’s exactly what you imagined. Information was limited and searching for a property took time, luck and patience.
Today, the internet has taken over the way we advertise, and with that comes opportunity. These days, people are house hunting from the comfort of their homes, while cooking dinner or watching TV. Buyers expect detailed, accurate information to be at their fingertips with the click of a button. In fact, a lot of decision making happens before people even step foot inside your door.
Staging a property for sale should involve styling not only for open homes, but also to maximise the impact of your online presence. When we style a property for sale, it’s our job to take buyers on a journey from the moment they click on your listing.
As Sydney Property Stylists, our advice to vendors is to make sure your online presence tells the story you want it to. Remember that you get one chance to make a first impression, and it only takes a second for buyers to swipe past your property if they don’t like what they see. In competitive property markets like Sydney, a great visual online presence makes a huge difference. It’s the most powerful tool in your property marketing campaign, so make sure you get it right.
Clever interior styling ensures a great online presence, setting expectations and attracting more of the right buyers to your open homes. We’ve listed below our top tips to bring your online presence to life and send your property well on its way to stand out from its competitors.
1. Is Your Agent Online?
What platforms does your agent use or is active in? Will they be advertising your property on real estate platforms such as realestate.com.au or domain.com.au? Do they have a database where they regularly send out online info, property news or updates on properties coming to market soon? It’s important to ask these questions of your agent so you know how they intend to promote your property.
2. Photos Speak a Thousand Words
High quality photos are what’s going to draw attention. Your photos are going to be the reason why a buyer clicks on your property to find out more and ultimately turn up at the scheduled open home. A professional photographer will show the best angles and assets of your home.
They know how to take the shot at the right angle, and what areas need to be photographed. And, because they’re the experts in their field, they’ll have the right equipment to take the perfect shot and know how to retouch images to help make them more appealing and striking. From a property stylist’s perspective, good photographers really help make the most of your home styling efforts.
If you could imagine looking at two photos. The first one is cluttered, with dark areas, showing areas of your home with clothes on the floor, dishes in the sink, and an overgrown backyard. Then the second photo showing a beautifully organised home, with a harmonious look that is showcasing a lifestyle that you can see yourself in, one that you want to be a part of. Which property do you think would go on your list to inspect?
3. Hire a Property Stylist
Property Styling is not just about putting nice cushions on the sofa or making sure a bed has the perfect throw rug. In our staging process, we also take into consideration which angles the photos will be taken, how we can configure furniture placement to allow for this, and how to create a focus in the room to then have the potential to be photographed. It is, however, also normal for furniture to be moved slightly to work in with the perfect angle.
Hiring a property stylist will enhance your property photos even more by giving a harmonious look throughout your floorplan, creating a lifestyle that is calm, well-maintained and liveable. And lastly, we know what buyers like to see in photos and what helps captivate that lifestyle for them to visualise themselves in.
Ready to plan your online campaign? Contact our property styling team today to make sure you get maximum impact.
To see how styling can enhance your property’s photos, take a look though our Portfolio below: