A photo I took out my backyard window this Fall. Winter makes me dream of warmer weather.
From the category archives:
Photography
Yes, we get snow here in Minnesota.
The other night I was fortunate to take a three hour boat ride around Lake Minnetonka. It was the perfect crisp autumn night and the sunset didn’t disappoint – blues then to reds.
Downtown Minneapolis from Lake of the Isles, Summer 2013
It’s amazing how many beautiful areas there are in Minneapolis, and in the summer, the Chain of Lakes is one of the hot spots in town. Minnesotans can take a stroll or bike around the three lakes, Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun, or Lake Harriet, canoe, paddle board, sail, and more! And all this with the Minneapolis skyline as a backdrop even though it feels like you are NOT in the city.
I usually don’t like to get close to bees, but this one was so busy he didn’t realize how close I was with my macro lens.
- Nerstrand State Park Wildflower Spring 2012
I went down to Nerstrand State Park last week to see what was blooming and found the Marsh Marigolds in full bloom.
…if your home is currently for sale and the main MLS photo shows your home in a winter wonderland. It’s June people! There are numerous homes, including multi-million dollar luxury homes, in the MLS as of today that still have snow on the ground. If your agent is too lazy, or too cheap, to take the time to re-shoot the exterior of your home, FIRE them!
Current Million Dollar Home For Sale in MLS
Here’s the thing. When a buyer sees snow on the ground in Summer, they have a pretty good idea that the home has been on the market a while. They might pass the home over, or decide to see it and offer you less. The thought might also occur to them that the seller really doesn’t care much about the marketing of their home, or better yet, that the listing agent doesn’t really care about the home either. With a down market, even the smallest things matter when marketing your home for sale. Personally, I think photos can either be your greatest asset, or your worst enemy, and it is pretty easy to figure out which one it is if you have a snow filled photo of your home in MLS.
Contrary to what you might think, when you get the call from your listing agent that a buyer wants to look at your home for sale, the buyer already knows what your home looks like. They have toured it, peeked in the windows, driven by it at night, walked through your bedroom – you name it, they’ve done it. Surprised?
Today’s real estate market is shopped by buyers from the convenience of their living room couch, from their office, or on their lunch break. In fact over 45% of Minnesota buyers, according to a survey conducted by the Minnesota Association of Realtors, found their home on the Internet. Buyers are touring your home before they even make the call, so in this case, don’t you think it best to put your best foot forward from the very beginning?
I recently wrote about the old saying, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression”, which was in relation to how you have a buyer enter your home. This can also hold true for photography. So many times I see photos like the one below of a multi-million dollar home ( in the photo below, the home is listed for sale at $2.9 Million) where the lazy real estate agent has gone in with a point and shoot camera and done the work themselves. Sadly, high-end buyers are going to pass this home up when they are searching online because it doesn’t grab their attention. Instead of seeing the beautiful architectural and historical details of the home, they see a lop-sided photo of some wood and a partial table.
Example of a bad MLS photo of home currently for sale in the Twin Cities
As a seller, you would think you would be pretty upset to find out your agent is marketing your property in this manner. But believe it or not, I find that in most instances where I ask a seller whose home has not sold, to take a look at the photos in MLS, the first thing they say is that they have never seen the photos of their home. What? A good real estate agent should be showing a seller their marketing pieces, and as a million dollar listing, a good real estate agent should be having a professional photograph the home. Sellers have only one chance to grab a buyers attention, so proper angles and lighting are extremely important to highlight every detail of the listing.
When it comes time to sell your home, please make sure you choose an agent who specializes in luxury home marketing. It’s not about selling your home, it’s about marketing your home. Any agent can try and sell a home, but it takes a true professional to market it correctly.
So, when is your first showing? As soon as the buyer clicks the mouse. Do you want that buyer to click on through to the next home, or stay on yours for a while and enjoy the view?
Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis
Many people don’t know that there is lage waterfall in Minneapolis. In the winter, it freezed completely and is a wonder to behold. At the time I shot this photo, there was still a little bit of flow left….by now, it is completely frozen.
There are plenty of places around town to view Christmas Lights, and with the cold, many are drive through tours so you can keep yourself nice and warm. There are also Santa displays, and maybe a parade or two. Here are a few to check out:
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Lake Phalen Christmas Lights, St. Paul
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Minneapolis Hollidazzle
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Macy’s Minneapolis SantaLand
