120 Green Street, Santa Cruz, CA

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then save your breath and show me. Don’t tell me.

A property’s “pix appeal” or attractiveness in photos posted in online listings, lures buyers and drives sales. “The photos are the most important thing,” says Linda Charman, broker/owner of Vanguard Realtors in Santa Cruz, Calif.

“I do not post a listing without 9 pictures.”

Charman, who hires a professional photographer, posts the maximum number of photos on PropertyMinder. “Savvy agents realize that quality visual content, like professional photography, reaps a much higher return on marketing investments," according to a survey by VHT, Inc., a provider of visual marketing services.

Tell a story

To capture leads, an advertisement needs to transform a house into a home. Storytelling pictures help depict a resident’s lifestyle.

Take 120GreenSt.com as case in point. 25 photographs illustrate the amenities of a four bedroom/three bath estate with separate guest quarters. The photographer walks the viewer through the home – varying her composition and point of view. This effect causes site visitors to linger.

“ The more you have to look at, the longer they stay on your site,” Charman says.

120GreenSt.com could go even farther in its storytelling. In addition to a map, panoramic photos of cross streets give buyers a sense of place and an entry point into the community.

Photo essay

The following shot list includes the kinds of pictures necessary to showcase a property and win listings.

1. Overall: A wide angle or aerial photograph that establishes a scene.
2. Detail: A close-up shot.
3. Sequence: A series of photographs with a beginning, middle and end. In the example of 120GreenSt.com, a sequence of pictures from the point of view of a visitor touring the property helps direct the user experience.
4. Signature: An image that features an amenity or asset of property.