Real Estate Photography Business Market Research
This report covers the market overview, size, drivers, and growth.
Operators?in this industry offer a
?range of exterior and interior photos of a property to businesses, homeowners, construction companies, and real estate agents.?Professional photographers use systematically collected data to improve agents' work decisions and fast-track potential buyers' search experience. For starters, 68.9% of agents believe professional real estate photography helps them brand their business.
The industry rakes in a whooping sum of $10 billion annually, with an annual growth rate projected at 0.3 percent between 2015 and 2022. Please note that aside from Shutterfly Inc., the Photography industry has no other company with major market shares in the United States of America
Recent research conducted by IBISWorld shows that growing per capita disposable income and corporate profit have driven growth for the Photography industry over the five years to 2019, as both commercial and portrait photographers have benefited from increased demand for their services.
Over the past decade, improvements in digital technology and its increasing affordability made it possible for individuals to start their photography businesses. Meanwhile, newspaper and magazine publishing has driven a decline in employing photography enterprises.
Over the next five years, slower corporate profit growth is expected to make the industry more vulnerable to external competition. Meanwhile, consumer demand for professional photography services is anticipated to increase alongside growing per capita disposable income, driving marginal growth in revenue.
?Key trends in real estate photography
- ?Online searches. Nearly all home buyers today begin their home searches online, and most find photos highly useful. Stunning imagery is the number one feature that grabs and holds their attention. Quality photographs attract potential buyers, but they keep them on the page longer, especially if there is an ample supply.
- Social media. In today’s market, the influence of?social media
?cannot be overlooked. Forbes suggests that social media is “the biggest factor in the new real estate market.” And why not? Many buyers will search on social media for homes that match their preferences, using hashtags to help them find all the little niches they are interested in.
- Mobile devices. Nearly three-quarters of buyers use a mobile device – a cell phone or tablet – to search for properties online. That fact makes it essential to ensure your photographs are mobile-friendly and optimized for the technology.
- Professional photography. Many real estate agents are turning to professional photography services in a hurried world, with far more responsibilities than hours in a day. That way, an agent can focus on cultivating leads and building relationships rather than figuring out which?photographs
?to get right and then spending hours editing for print and digital publication.
- Editing services. Of course, plenty of agents prefer to take their photos. Some are pretty skilled. But snapping the pictures is not the end of the job. For a photo shoot to be successful – and professional – a considerable amount of time with tedious editing is still necessary. So, for agents with a knack for a camera, subletting that process to a professional photo editing service is a solid option.
- Virtual staging. Putting together a photo shoot begins long before the lens cap is removed from the camera. Time spent cleaning up the clutter, setting up a living room, or?preparing a
?kitchen
?for photography gives the lens something worth capturing. Even better, home staging can put a set of images over the top. But time and budget do not always allow for the stage. Virtual?staging
?is handy, where a picture of a relatively empty room can be digitally rearranged to appear fully furnished.
- ?Image enhancement. Sometimes, a shoot does not go entirely according to plan. A stray sock is left on the floor. A mark goes undetected until it is too late. Or the sun refuses to come out when it is time to take the pictures. Image enhancements can allow images to be altered after the fact to accomplish anything from removing a scuff mark to creating a?blue sky
?in the background to augment the view through a window.
- Twilight photography. Another emerging trend in real estate is giving some listings a boost. Photos shot during the “golden hour” (also known as?Twilight photography
) shortly after sunrise or just before sunset can yield stunning images of outdoor spaces, waterfront views, landscapes, city skylines, etc.
- Drones. Videography from a bird’s eye view can capture the imagination of home buyers as much as any marketing tool. More and more agents are finding that they can use?drone
?footage to feature property and highlight area attractions, update buyers on the progress of their new construction project, check out the roof's condition, and other property details that are not accessible from the ground.
- Walk-through videos. People love a good story. It is no wonder that three hundred hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and five billion videos are viewed daily!?Real estate videos
?allow an agent to tell a story while highlighting a home – or the route to the neighborhood elementary school, coffee shop, or other attraction.
- 3D virtual tours. Agents learn that homes sell faster and often at higher prices when their listings come with?3D terms
. Although the technology has been trending upward for years, services like?Matterport
?have become the?new open
?house
?in the wake of the?COVID-19
?pandemic.?
