Do your agents use professional real estate photographers to shoot every listing? They should if they want to stay competitive, as today, 73% of all agents use professional photography to promote every property they list.
Professional photos, video, virtual staging immersive 3D tours, aerial photography, and the use of twilight photos by agents are all covered in a brand-new survey from HomeJab.
If you use professional photographers and other visual assets to promote your property listings and don’t know HomeJab, you should. Go to HomeJab.com and see for yourself how they connect you with top local photographers and deliver a lightning-fast 
24-hour turnaround.
Founded in 2013 by real estate industry veteran and real estate photo and video expert Joe Jesuele, HomeJab has emerged as America’s most popular and reliable on-demand professional real estate photography and video service for real estate pros.
HomeJab is also one of the hottest startups in its category. The new HomeJab study uncovered some fascinating recent tech trends, including:
- Video tops 3D tours: While immersive 3D interactive tours continue to soar in popularity, real estate agents pick video over 3D. 36% said they preferred video tours versus 21 percent for 3D tours. Additionally, 30% said they use both video and 3D tours, depending on the seller.
- Virtual staging narrowly beats traditional staging: HomeJab found that 30% of agents now prefer virtual staging, slightly more popular today than traditional staging at 29%.
- Only 7% of agents shoot their own listing photos: Despite the advancements in smartphone camera technology, professional photography still beats DYI – by a wide margin. Agents know that pro photos positively showcase their personal brand, HomeJab notes.
- Aerial photography is hot and getting hotter: 67% of real estate agents said they had used aerial photography with their listings. 55% of agents said their use depends on the property. Twelve percent said they use aerial photography with every property listing.
- The newest trend is the growing popularity of virtual twilight photos: 76% of agents have used them to promote their property listings or are interested in using them. 40% percent of agents said they use twilight photos. 35% say they love them, and 5% say they use them but don’t love them.
This new data from HomeJab showcases how high-quality and innovative imaging assets have become the cornerstone in property listings marketing.
More importantly, it’s great to see new data points on this hot topic, as much of the existing research is mostly dated. Here is their full news release on the recent HomeJab survey:
HomeJab Study Says Video Tops 3D Interactive Tours
Survey also shows 72% of Real Estate Agents Use Pro Photos for Every Listing
Cherry Hill, NJ – October 20, 2021 – A new study released today by HomeJab found that while immersive 3D interactive tours are soaring in popularity, video tours remain more popular among real estate agents. More than a third – 36 percent – said they preferred video tours versus 21 percent for 3D tours. Thirty percent said they use both video and 3D tours, depending on the seller.
The new survey of nearly 300 agents also found that nearly three out of four real estate agents hire a professional real estate photographer for every property listing, according to HomeJab. Despite the advancements in smartphone camera technology, only 7 percent of agents surveyed shoot their own photos.
New imaging technologies – from virtual staging to aerial photography – are rapidly being adopted and used to sell homes faster, the survey found. The HomeJab study notes that virtual staging (30 percent) is slightly more popular today than traditional staging (29 percent).
“Photographers play an essential role in today’s real estate market” said Joe Jesuele, founder and CEO of HomeJab. “With 97 percent of home buyers using the internet when searching for homes, according to the National Association of Realtors, professional photos, video, and other advanced imaging tools are more important than ever. Using professional imaging can mean a faster home sale and enhance a real estate agent’s reputation in the marketplace,” he added.
HomeJab, which provides on-demand professional real estate photography and other visual production services nationwide, also measured the popularity of aerial photography, one of the fastest-growing trends for online listings to help sell a home.
More than two out of three (67 percent) of real estate agents surveyed said they used aerial photography with their listings. The majority (55%) said their use depends on the property, while 12 percent said they use aerial photography with every property listing.
The study also uncovered an emerging trend: using “virtual twilight” photos to help showcase a home sale. Virtual twilight photography emulates the beauty of sunset lighting, casting shadows just as they would in real life.
“While virtual staging showcases a home’s interior features, twilight photos grab the viewer’s attention. How sweet is life during a sunset? It’s one of those moments in which everything looks its best, including your home,” explained Jesuele. “And other HomeJab research shows listings with twilight photos get three times more engagement from buyers” he added.
Most agents – over 76 percent – have either used twilight photos to promote their property listings or are interested in using them. Currently, 40 percent of agents said they use twilight photos, with 35 percent saying they love them, and 5 percent saying they use them but don’t love them.
Finally, HomeJab polled agents on the average number of photos they provide to consumers via their local Multiple Listing Service. For a typical listing, 79 percent of agents surveyed said they upload at least 30 images to the MLS.
About HomeJab
HomeJab is America’s most popular and reliable on-demand professional real estate photography and video service for real estate pros. Lightning-fast high-end visual production offerings also include immersive 3D interactive tours, floor plan creation, affordable virtual staging, and turnkey aerial services. Its efficient one-stop-shop for real estate listings at HomeJab.com features affordable and customizable shoots that create the most engaging visual content for faster home sales and to enrich the listing agent’s personal brand. HomeJab is available in every major US market in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Toronto. Learn more at HomeJab.com.
If by professional photographer you mean those who get paid to take real estate pics, I think used by 73% of agents is a stretch – certainly for agents in the Greater Philadelphia area.
If by professional photographer you mean those who do “not” digitally edit inserting a telltale fake sky with clouds and/or over-saturate the colors, etc. then used by 73% if agents is a very, very long and significant stretch – certainly for agents in the Greater Philadelphia area.
Is no one ever curious about how homes, in widely different parts of a county can have the same clouds hovering above? Or how the same home when photographed from the left, eight, front and back can have the same clouds in the picture? How “professional” is that? Perhaps real estate agents don’t notice … but I guarantee that many prospective buyers and sellers do.
Hi Ronald,
Thanks for your comments. Just to clarify, this was a national survey so percentages will vary market by market. Also keep in mind that agents who respond typically are active agents who are selling homes. WAV Group research has found that only 60 percent of agents sign into their local MLS annually.
As for photo enhancement, it sounds like you are referring to blue sky replacement, not virtual twilight. If the sky is overcast, editing to create a blue sky is standard with many professional photographers. As for the clouds being the same in every photo, again, that is sky replacement, not at all what was being surveyed here. HomeJab is fortunate to work with many of the best local professional real estate photographers in every major US market in all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Toronto.
Kevin, Thanks for the reply.
I appreciate that markets vary — that’s why I wrote, certainly” … Philadelphia …” All one has to do is compare a gallery of homes for sale in say Arizona with one in New England.
I sincerely believe that excellent, professional photos are of more value for Real Estate listings than ever, if only because there are so many less-than-excellent and far-less than excellent photos bombarding browsers online.
Looks like the WAV group post expanded since I read it originally. (???)
I see the comment regarding “video tours” — again, in my region, a lot of promoted “video tours” aren’t video at all, rather they are slide shows using the Ken Burns effect.
To me, digital twilight images (like over-saturation) do not enhance (rather, in some way take away) from the overall listing presentation.
As for so-called “immersive” virtual tours like Matterport, I personally find them disorienting. Perhaps I have toured too many “real” homes of all types over the past decades to be sensitive to the digital manipulation.
Excellent photos, taken in a roughly 1.6 to 1 (golden mean, the frame which most resembles the way we humans see) trumos all the digital techno-nerdery in my unsolicited opinion as a prospective home buyer/seller. I don’t think so-called “portrait” images often used for row homes does anyone any favors. It’s like a photographer laying on left or right size with a normal lens and then rotating the pic. If you “must,” edit the row home image, take it at what we see (1.6 – 1) and then digitally edit so that the area of main intention is in focus and the surrounding area perhaps slightly blurred.
Good, natural photography may be all we have to remind us what real homes look line in the age of work-at-home-groceries-and-necessities-front-porch-delivered.
Thanks for the opportunity to “sound off.” I do recognize and respect the techno image wizardry that’s been adopted by so many … but I lament the price we may end up paying down the line. It’s one thing to want to “stand out,” but another to put too much value on the un-natural.
Hi Kevin,
Thank you very much for your guidance.
When taken by a professional photographer, real estate photos and 3D tours can significantly help real estate agents sell listings faster. We only use professional photos and we are in process of immersive 3D tours.
I am an AI model and I do not have agents. However, it is common for real estate agents to use professional photographers to shoot their listings. High-quality photographs can help to showcase the property in the best possible light and attract potential buyers. Professional photographers have the equipment, skills, and experience to capture the property’s features and layout in an attractive and accurate way. They can also use advanced techniques such as HDR and panoramic shots to create a sense of space and show off the property’s best features. Additionally, using professional photographers can save real estate agents time and energy, allowing them to focus on other aspects of the listing process.