Real estate photography pricing

[DigMe]

Hey, guys. After seeing the photos I took to sell my own house my realtor has asked me what I would charge to do her photos for her properties. I'm interested but I'm an amateur photographer that has done a couple of jobs by request. I've searched and tried to find any Waco area real estate photographer websites to try to find out what the going rate is but I haven't been able to find such info. I'm just getting into it but I don't want to undervalue myself.

Any advice either private or public would be greatly appreciated. I looked at the sticky on pricing but I'm no so sure that it is so relevant to this and I would like to give her sort of a per-property price that can vary with size of the property.

Here's a link to the gallery of the pics of my house. These are the only real-estate pictures I've done and she's basing her interest on these.
House Pics - BradCookPhoto's Photos
I'm a fast learner and I expect that I will get better quickly.

Thanks!

brad

[d2creative]

Real estate agents are cheap-arses!
Typically they don't want to pay more than 50 bucks or so. 100 tops.

[texkam]

How much does a good realtor make a year? Calculate that as an hourly rate. That's what you could charge. Your expertise has as much value as her's.

[d2creative]

Originally Posted by texkam

Your expertise has as much value as her's.

Too bad they don't see it that way.

[tukaniray]

I've lucked out once or twice where someone gave me a bit over 100 for the 2 houses I have shot.

-Ray-

[prncfarquad]

My good friend in Dallas was a realtor and when people saw his listings they wanted him to take images of their listings. He charged $80 per house and quit doing it shortly after he started because he realized that was not enough.

I do construction photography for a friend and I charge $65 per hour starting when the key hits the ignition and stops when I get home. Then $65 per hour for editing, the $190 for a 16x20 print ( collage of 4 images).

[ChrisTX]

There is a place called Mosaic Media in DFW I think that does it. They charge based on square footage. It's like $150-$200. I stumbled on their site yesterday, so I have no idea if that's a good price or not.

[DigMe]

I'm definitely going to have to charge less to get business in Waco.

brad

[DigMe]

Here's another one - for this type of photography would you charge per room, per square foot or per hour?

brad

[d2creative]

Hour.

Sq footage has nothing to do with how many shots you'll be doing, and neither does the number of rooms. You may be shooting one shot of a room, or two, or three, or....
Unless you work something out in your pricing that says it includes two shots of every room, and more than that is additional $.

I shoot for private architects and commercial businesses though so take my advice with a grain of salt.

[bryanlindsey]

Per hour. I'd estimate 30 minutes to pack and drive, 60 minutes to shoot, 30 minutes to drive home and edit. Two hours at, say, $30/hr for an ameteur, so $60?

[TXAvi8tor]

I've shared this before, but the question keeps coming up, so here it is again.

Please, before I start: 1) I realize the OP isn't planning on making real estate shoots a full time job b) The world is different from the 1970's, when a now-forgotten (by me) pro photog shared this schema. III) It's one concept or framework for how to value your time. Not the only one, but when someone is asking a fundamental question such as "How do I charge for ..... ?" it's a way to get your head around what your time is worth.

A full time job is 2,000 hours a year (40 hrs x 50 weeks, with 2 weeks vacation). Figure half (or more) is non-billable - filing, emails, phone calls, meetings (!), equipment maintenance, whatever. That leaves you 1,000 billable hours annually. So if you want to make $100K / yr, your time is worth $100 / hr.

Say in your 'real' profession, you gross $75K / yr. Maybe you look at photography as side income, and you know you don't want to give up your benefits to do photography full time. But still, if you gross $75K in that real job, would you give up personal / family time for a side job that paid the equivalent of $25K a year? Probably not. $50K a year? Maybe. $200K a year (or some multiple of your 'real' job)? Most people would at least consider that. So figure your time for a shoot, from prepping your gear bag to windshield time to shooting to post and emailing the finished images. And don't forget you need to average in face time with your customers / prospects, and all the other time and effort that isn't directly attributable to a single job.

Lastly (and I expect any real estate folks on here will jump in), residential brokers used to earn 6% commissions (3% if they split with a listing agent). I understand that all sorts of fees and charges come out of that. But if a property sells for $100K (and most residential properties sell for North of that), an agent should be netting a decent chunk of change. Otherwise, why be in the business? So if the images you provide help sell the property, or help turn it faster, then your service is worth more than a hundred bucks , no matter what market you're in. I bet the average residential property in Waco sells for >$100K, and the low-end listings aren't your target market anyhow - it's the $150K and up properties, where a really great set of images could cause someone to fall in love with the house before they ever see it in person.

If you tell yourself "I'm definitely going to have to charge less ... in Waco," you're defeated before you begin. Weddings don't cap at $500 cause they're in Waco instead of the Metroplex. If a real estate agent told me "You're too high," I'd reply "I don't want you listing my home, cause you don't know how to sell."

[texkam]

Thanks again Larry.

if the images you provide help sell the property, or help turn it faster, then your service is worth more than a hundred bucks , no matter what market you're in.

Bingo. Your service will put money in her pocket.

Realtors have no problem suggesting to their clients to invest money to make the house show better. Hire someone to freshen up that overgrown landscaping and plant annuals, paint the front porch/door, update lighting fixtures, perhaps even carpet. They seem to understand the benefits of marketing the property except when it's on their dime.

I've searched and tried to find any Waco area real estate photographer websites to try to find out what the going rate is but I haven't been able to find such info.

Exactly. So how many people does she know who can do what she's asking you to do? And by using you how much will this set her apart from her competition? I agree with Larry, your "specialized" service is worth more than a hundred bucks. Good luck.

[tc95]

Brad....Ok as a realtor...here we go...

1. Have you done this, do you have a proven track record in helping to sell the houses?

2. Every city is different in Texas, figure out what the major market is in Waco...In Houston where I work the mean house price is 150K to 225K right now...what is it in Waco?

• Check Zillow.com
• Find a Local Realtor that may help you understand what is selling
• Talk to Title Companies
• Look at your local MLS

3. What service will you be doing?

• Take the pictures and give it to them
• Take the pictures and do minor edits
• Take the pictures and help them with marketing

4. Where do you want this to go?

• How much income do you want to generate
• How much time do you want to spend on each property
• How will you deliver the pictures

Now that I have those items out of the way....

As a realtor, everyone has there hands out for money...the subject was brought up on a 100K house...lets look at the numbers...lets say the listing agent gets 6% commission 3% for them 3% for the agent that brings the buyer...that nets the agent 3K, they work for an office that takes 30% off the top...they now net 2,100.00...taxes are based on this at 33% (at the end of the year it could be less depending on your write-offs)...which now nets you 1,407.00 your inherent costs for a listing say 30%...$984.90...when it is all said and done...yes that is still a nice chunk of money...but in actuality most listings are at 5% right now...consumers...are more demanding...so if you take this the listing agent gets 2% which after everything above nets...$656.60....again still a nice chunk of change...people always think we make tons of money off of one listing...the agent that looks at one listing...is an agent for a year at most...this is a numbers game just like any other buisness...

OK now for my take: Yes I don't think 100 to 150 is bad for someone that is going to take pictures, edit them, and deliver them to me...in fact I used to pay over $200.00 for this service...but myself...since I do photography as a hobby, (and can use some of the equipment as a write-off) have turned to taking my own pictures...why...three reasons...

1. The people doing it for me got sloppy
2. I need pictures fast...they would take a week to deliver...makes me look bad...I loose clients
3. Worst of all, they started talking ugly in front of the clients...about there job...there pay...and even about the house they are shooting...

This happened on several occasions....with several different people...so I decided to do it myself...

Now for a few things I think that can make this work for you...figure out packages...no more than three (more than that and it gets confusing)...explain the services with each package...have the agent sign an agreement...in which you give them the rights to use the photos as long as payment is submitted...(important just like any other business people will take advantage of you)...VERY IMPORTANT...stick to your guns about what you do and what you charge...you start wavering...and we will try to negotiate you down, just in our blood...( what can I say)...(but for repeat buyers give them a discount or extra services...these are the agents you want to keep happy because they are doing high volumes)...When you meet with clients at homes to take pictures...give them advice...act professional...keep it professional...and never, never talk about money...Lastly...I do think in this market...people would love the eye of a professional Photographer, if you can make it now, when things turn around you will have more work than you know what to do...

You have to believe in yourself and your skills, you have to your presentation down...and you have to ask for the sale...don't be timid, don't waver, and understand we know our business, and are always looking for a way to make it smoother for us...

Sorry all this was so long...but there were several points I wanted to share...

[bryanlindsey]

Originally Posted by tc95

you start wavering...and we will try to negotiate you down, just in our blood...( what can I say)

A way to counter this is to add $50-$100 bucks worth of "wiggle-room" to your price, so if the haggler comes along you can pretend to go lower.