Author: Rachelle Moore

What are the Best Real Estate Listing Sites in 2019 and Why?

When you’re searching for a home, there’s so much work that needs to get done. It is a big financial investment that can affect your future and your family’s future. Making sure that you purchase the right home is of high importance.

In addition to that, searching for a home is time-consuming. If you are in an urban area, you might need to pour most of your time for weeks or months looking into different websites and doing property visits. To speed up your search, make sure that you’re looking at the top real estate listings online.

From 2018 to 2019, Phixer still recommends to check out these top sites when looking for a house.

1. Zillow. The great thing about Zillow is that it has millions of property listings that often come with Google Earth views. This can be useful especially if you want an accurate image of how the property looks and not just an edited photo. The site has Zestimates, which is an estimated market value of a property that uses public data. There is also a forum for potential home buyers to interact with other people and get helpful advice. Zillow is a great tool if you’re a homeowner who wants to know the value of your home.

2. Redfin. This site has a coverage on 75 different metropolitan areas in the US and is updated every 30 mins or less. It has a pretty robust search tool that has interesting features like marking a home that is not for sale yet as a favorite where you can get an alert once it gets listed. You can also specify the fixer-uppers and homes with views that you want when you search. It has a “Last Call” option that updates you when a competing buyer gives a bid so you can counter. As a home buyer, you can view a home in person with a Redfin agent and they also have free home-buying classes if you are in their area of service.

3. Realtor. This listing is available on every state in the US. Realtor is sponsored by the National Association of Realtors which gives you access to hundreds of multiple listings services. You are sure that with this site, you are looking at a credible real estate resource that is frequently updated throughout the day. Their listings provide adequate marketing summaries to your chosen neighborhood, as well. The site is a good information resource and has useful services such as finding a realtor and search assist wherein you are matched to a real estate professional in a specific area.

4. Trulia. It is a user-friendly real estate listing site that allows you to view listings in map formats or in photos. You can get information on the neighborhood of your choice, like its price trends, school reviews, crime reports and others. Trulia also has interesting features, such as find an agent, compare it, and price reductions. It has an online community where potential buyers and home sellers can interact and discuss the buying and selling processes. Users can also blog about their experiences.

5. Homes. If you just want the basics, then Homes.com is where you should look. It has an easy way to look for properties for rent, homes for sale, the home values of recently sold properties, and a directory of real estate professionals in different areas. The site also has demographic information about different neighborhoods. The great thing about Homes.com is that it has different mobile search options no matter what your device is. Its mobile site is also robust so you can easily drive around the neighborhood and search for available homes.

January 2, 2018
Top 5 Best Cameras for Real Estate Photography

When it comes to real estate photography, having the right gear is indispensable to creating really good images. Although having a good eye and knowing composition are necessary skills, investing in superb gear will be a game-changer for your work.

If you’re in the market for the best cameras in your field, here are Phixer.net’s top choices for you:

Canon M3 EOS

photo credit usa.canon.com

This point-and-shoot compact camera is super easy to use. This is a budget-friendly camera that is great for those who are just starting with real estate photography. It comes with the 15-45mm wide-angle lens that fits perfectly with shooting properties and interiors. Even if it’s considered a beginner’s camera, you can always shoot it like a professional. Make sure that you have the right accessories to accompany your Canon M3. Shoot with a tripod and an external flash or some lights. Having the bases covered ensures that you can start shooting with a simple camera and still create amazing photos for your clients.

Sony Alpha a7R III

photo credit sonyrumors.co

This camera is best for low-light and interiors. It’s a full-frame mirrorless camera that can be used with interchangeable lenses. It has a resolution of 42 megapixels and an ISO range of 100 to 3200. The camera is powered by an EXMOR R BSI CMOS sensor and BIONZ X processor. It creates amazing photos with a size of 7952 x 5304 pixels. Sony has installed the five-axis sensor shift for shake compensation.

Nikon D5

photo credit Nikon USA

It’s an all-around great camera that you can shoot anything with. It has 20.8 megapixels and full-frame CMOS sensor. The camera has an ISO range of 100 to 102400. It also has 12-bit RAW S and 14-bit RAW format support. Since it has a large sensor and a smaller resolution, it creates lower noise on images and has a better dynamic range in low-light situations.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

photo credit usa.canon.com

This is one of the top DSLRs today. It has a 30-megapixel CMOS sensor and it comes with a digital lens optimizer. The camera captures amazing photos with a great amount of detail. Its smart optimizer technology reduces the optical defects. If you’re going to shoot real estate video, this camera allows you to capture 4K videos, as well.

Panasonic Lumix GH5

photo credit CNET

This is an excellent camera for shooting 4k video. It has a 20.3-megapixel sensor that’s great for high-quality videos and for photos. This comes with a large OLED viewfinder and an advanced autofocus system. Its image stabilization allows you to create steadier shots while reducing the motion blur. It’s also designed well and is comfortable to use.

With a good camera for your business, you also need to invest in accessories. External flash, tripod, extra batteries and charger, UV filter and lighting are necessary for supplementing your camera. This allows you have a good setup every time you’re out for a project. You’re also assured that you have all the bases covered when it comes to gears so that you’re primed to capture the best images for your clients.

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Featured photo credit: https://www.nyip.edu/

December 29, 2017
Top 5 Architects of All Time

The following famous architects changed the way we think about construction and gave us some the most breathtaking buildings to photograph.

Frank Lloyd Wright

George Barton House

Easily the famous American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright designed 1,114 works of various types which turned into 532 completed projects. Over 7 decades he was one of the most innovative, prolific designers ever and changed the way we live by changing the way we build.

Antoni Gaudí

Park Guell

Antoni Gaudí believed the essence and the meaning of architecture are found in the very patterns of nature and its laws. Gaudí himself once said: “originality consists of going back to the origins.” Gaudí tremendously impacted subsequent generations of modernists architects. His genius created a unique, personal and incomparable style that defies typical classification.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Chicago Federal Center

Starting as an innovative architect in 1920’s Germany, Mies was the last director of the Bauhaus, a seminal school in modern architecture. After Nazism rose to power, due to it’s strong opposition to modernism, Bauhaus was closed. Mies emigrated to the United States and accepted the position to head the architectural school at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Mies sought to establish a new architectural style that could represent modern times just as Classical and Gothic did for their own eras. He created an influential twentieth-century architectural style of extreme clarity and simplicity. He made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces and strove toward an architecture with a minimal framework of structural order balanced against the implied freedom of unobstructed free-flowing open space. He is often associated with his quotation of the aphorisms, “less is more” and “God is in the details”.

Philip Johnson

The Crystal Cathedral

Johnson’ role as the founding director of Museum of Modern Art’s Department of Architect meant that he helped to shape architectural trends from 1935 onward. In 1979, Johnson was the first recipient of the Pritzker Prize. From his early modern structures to his later postmodern buildings, Johnson defined several architectural movements over the course of his decades-long career.

Eero Saarinen

The Gateway Arch

The modernist ideal of simplicity became a form of corporate conformity after the war, and it is against this backdrop that Eero Saarinen’s mid-century designs provided a fresh perspective. In contrast to the standardized box adopted by the International Style, Saarinen employed swooping curves that gave his architecture a sense of soaring transcendence which is evident in projects such as his 1947 design for St. Louis’s magisterial Gateway Arch.

December 28, 2017
A Guide on How to Optimize Your Real Estate Listings

With the internet becoming an indispensable platform for selling, you cannot afford not to be found online as a business owner. Especially when you’re in the real estate industry, the competition can be tough. You need to be ahead in the game to outsell your competitors and reach your market faster.

In order to outsell your competitors and reach your market faster, you need to establish a strong presence online and make your listings accessible to potential buyers. Aside from just posting, you also need to ensure that your listings are optimized.

Here are some considerations that you need to take into account in order to optimize your listings:

1. Add relevant content.
Make sure that you have effective copy and text for your listings. This is a must if you want to sell your properties quickly. Aside from that good copy also ranks well with search engines. Make sure that you add an adequate description of the property and include the address. Use local keyword phrases, as well. This is necessary especially if you are servicing a specific area or state. Use common local search terms and customize these depending on your specific area. Making sure that these are included will help buyers find your property easily online.

2. Include reviews.
As a business, it is essential to establish your credibility with your potential customers. To do so, add positive reviews from previous clients. Make sure that you have solicited feedback from happy clients every time you make a sale. This is something that many potential buyers look for when checking out listings. They want to know if you have a good reputation as a broker and have given home buyers many positive experiences during the long grueling path to home purchasing.

3. High-quality real estate photos and videos.
Do not underestimate the power of good property photos and videos. These are necessary in order to encourage potential buyers to check out the property in person. The majority of the buyers get persuaded by the photos and videos featured in listings. Most consumers are visual. So having photos will definitely help your bottom-line, as well. Relevant images and videos also help you in improving your online search ranking. Make sure that these enhance the visitor’s experience and encourages them to take a look at the property. Take advantage of the professional photos and videos that you have invested in and might as well ask some help from real estate photo editor to make your photos stand out.

4. Put listings on major sites.
Posting your property listings on the major listing websites can also help in optimizing their visibility. These sites are usually credible and are high ranking in most search engines. Having credible links to your listings will help boost your own ranking. This also helps in making a sale faster and gets your property to as many potential buyers as possible.

5. Incorporate your social media.
If your business is active on different social media platforms, it’s also best to incorporate these into your listings. This helps build client relations and act as a key platform for addressing customer service concerns. Make sure that you are available on the major social media platforms that your customers are using. Posting available properties on social media platforms also will help to spread the word. This optimizes your listings and links back to your listings.

6. Keep your listings (on your site).
If you are running your own website, don’t delete previous listings. Mark them as sold and keep the content and images on your site. If you can get reviews from buyers, then update your listing to include status and the feedback from the buyer. This helps in optimizing your site, especially in keeping relevant keywords on your website. This also shows potential buyers the properties that you had success in selling and gives them a glimpse of the type of service that you provide.

December 25, 2017
How HDR and Flash work together

Which Is Better for Real Estate Photos?

There are strong opinions in the photography community about the usefulness of HDR vs Flash photography. Before we get into that debate lets take some time to define HDR. An HDR image is commonly made by taking three photos of the same scene, each at different shutter speeds. The result is a bright, medium, and dark photo, based on the amount of light that got through the lens. A software process then combines all the photos to bring details to the shadows and highlights both. High dynamic range processing includes any photo in which you are extending the luminance values beyond what the camera initially captured. The great Ansel Adam’s used the Zone System to extend the dynamic range of his photos. You are also extending the dynamic range of your photos by pushing up shadow detail and bringing down highlight detail through luminosity masking, exposure blending, curves, levels, or pumping sliders in camera raw.

by Diana Eftaiha

HDR, or “High Dynamic Range” photography receives a lot of negativity on the internet, particularly from photographers who prefer the use of traditional flash or ambient lighting techniques. So why does “HDR” elicit so much disapproval? There’s a lot of hate because HDR photos sometimes don’t look realistic but when trying to capture the perfect sunset over an ocean it would be impossible to get the detail in the foreground, while also bringing out the colors of the sky without the use of HDR. Good HDR is about finding a proper balance and requires some forethought and patience to avoid the over-saturated or washed out and flat looking photo that induces cringes from your fellow photographers. The goal is that when you look at an HDR photo you can see exactly what you would see were you to be standing there looking at the subject with your own two eyes. HDR is a process, not a genre. It’s another tool in your bag of tricks that you can use to create art and sell images. Instead of writing off high dynamic range techniques, take photos knowing that you can use HDR as a tool when it’s appropriate for the subject. There are some subjects that naturally lend themselves to HDR, and others that don’t. If you are shooting anything that has texture and depth (especially metal), then HDR can look great.

Photo by Alberto Restifo on Unsplash

Flash photography refers to the technique in which a flashbulb or electronic flash is used to provide momentary illumination of a dark or insufficiently lit subject. Flash photography has been around for more than a hundred years. It started with a dangerous and manually controlled technology that used a powder that was lit by either fire or electrical current. Why use flash when you are already shooting brackets? Well, the ability to control contrast and brightness will almost always produce better photography. Contrast refers to the difference in brightness between the darkest and lightest portions of the photo. The distribution of the light source is the primary determinant of the overall contrast. Even though artificial light sources offer you more control over photo shoots, it is associated with the burdens of needing more gear, and time to set it all up. Depending on the photo you have in mind, you may need multiple artificial light sources to balance your image out. Also, with flash photography, if the dynamic range of a scene is greater than one to be captured with only one shot, you have the choice to sacrifice either the highlights or the shadows of a photograph.

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

Taking multiple exposures, with one good flash shot can make things a lot easier in post-production.

Photo by Phixer

As evidenced by the image above, the strengths of these two techniques complement each other well and therefore the results possible after post-production are exceptional.

December 20, 2017
Top 3 Secrets: How to Sell Your Home Fast

For every homeowner, taking on the challenge of selling one’s home can be tough. This can be frustrating especially if you’re in a rush to close the deal. It can be difficult to wait day after day for the perfect buyer who’s going to put down the money for your home. You have to stand out especially if you are in a competitive market.

However, there are some tricks that you can do in order to sell your home faster than usual. Although there is no one solution for all real estate needs, you can do what you can to improve your home and be smart about the investments and the choices that you make for your home.

Here are the top three tricks to sell your home quickly:

1. Improve curb appeal. How your home is presented often speaks a magnitude of its value. Never take shortcuts on the appearance of the exterior of your home. The curb appeal can be everything. It is the first thing that people see. Give potential buyers an positive experience as soon as they see your home, drive into the driveway and walk up to the front porch. Make sure that your yard is tidy and that you have a good-looking lawn. Invest in fresh paint, new walkways, or pressure washing the exteriors. Add color to your home with flowering plants or new shrubs to make your home extra inviting. You can also ask suggestions from real estate professionals or from friends to look at your home for a fresher perspective. While your home is out on the market, you need to make sure that the landscape is in tip-top shape. An inviting exterior will most likely encourage more potential buyers to take a peek in your home.

2. Have professional photos and videos of the property. Hire a professional to stage your home and ready it for photos and videos. This person looks into your home from the perspective of the buyer. A professional stager will enhance your property’s strengths and cover its flaws. This ensures that your house is given a makeover in a marketing perspective to make it appealing to potential buyers. Once your home is beautifully staged, you need to hire a professional real estate photographer and videographer to take images and videos of your home. Having professional photos is a game changer, especially if you’re posting your listings online. Great photos make up for more than 80% of the decisions made by buyers. Making sure that the photos depict your home and bring out the best in your property. Hiring professionals is an investment that you have to make, especially if you want to sell your home quickly.

3. Put your listing on major portals. If you want to get a buyer real fast, then you have to put your home in all of the major portals in your area. This is a must to get maximum exposure for your home. Armed with your professional photos and videos, you have nothing to worry when putting your home out there to the public. Make sure that you post good photos and have plenty of them in your listing. Aside from the major listings online, it will also help to put your home on sale on social media or post it on your area’s online forum or community. The more eyeballs that you can get, the better. This increases the likelihood that people who are interested in purchasing homes can see your listing.

In selling your home fast, you need to be ready all the time for surprises. Make sure that your home is in good shape 24/7 just in case you have potential buyers who want to see your home.

Featured photo by huffingtonpost.com.

December 18, 2017
Realtor’s Guide: Real Estate Photography Pricing

In the world of real estate, competition can be tough. As a realtor, it is essential to make sure that you rise above your competitors and are able to sell your properties fast. Marketing the properties in a certain way would help you attract more potential buyers. More importantly, using superb photos to depict and sell the properties is a must. This is the key to keeping your business flourishing.

To do so, you need to hire professional photographers to make sure that the property is given justice and that you can get amazing photos for your listing.

How much does real estate photography cost?

One of the major considerations, when you are hiring a real estate photographer, is the price. This usually varies depending on the area and the experience of the photographer. Other things that would affect the pricing are your specifications for the shoot, including the frames and images that you want and the number of photos that you want.

Real estate photography pricing will vary on the city that you’re in. For the 50 largest cities in the US, the photography price range is from $95 up to $300. This pricing is usually based on typical 3,000 square-foot property or less. You should scout the price range within your area. Ask around to become familiar with how much you should be paying your photographer in your region.

Aside from that, photographers also charge differently. There are those that charge on a per image basis while others charge per day. The time of the shoot will also affect the pricing. Most photographers charge double for shoots that have to be done on dusk or twilight often ranging from $750 even up to $900.

Mid-rise office buildings are also charged higher and can go up to more than $2,000. Large mixed-use developments, on the other hand, are priced at more than $3,000 due to the number and quality of the spaces. This type of property might also require a day or two depending on how large it is. Retail properties can be priced around $1,300. This type of property doesn’t usually need interior shots as the location and amenities should be highlighted instead.

The inclusions and your needs

For the most commissioned real estate photo shoot, you can get around 10 to 25 ready images. However, you can always ask the photographer if he can do virtual tours or aerial drone photos if your property needs it. This will definitely affect how much the photographer will charge you.

Identify your needs and how you want the property to look like. You need to be specific with the number of photos that you need and the list of rooms that you want to be shot. Inform the photographer if you want a 3D tour, aerial shots, videos, and if you want the images to be rushed.Usage license is also another thing that you have to talk to your photographer with.

An extra aerial drone photography can be priced up to $300 or more for 10 photos. 3D tours on the other hand can go from $300 up to $500. An extra video tour will take you around $250. An aerial video tour will also be priced around $150 or higher.

Make sure that you know the current rate in your area and that you’ve identified your needs for the property. Find a way to marry your needs with your budget while not sacrificing the quality of the output. Always prioritize the wow factory of your listing and making sure that your needs are met.

Choosing the real estate photographer

Don’t just go for the cheapest real estate photographer that you can find. Although it is important that you stick to your budget but you arguably will get what you pay for. You have to make sure that the photographer that you hire will deliver the quality of work that you want. There is a big difference in the quality of output that an amateur photographer and a professional photographer respectively produces.

Research. Before you jump right in, ensure that you do your research first. Look online for suitable photographers. You can also check other listings and find the photographer who took the photos. Ask around for recommendations from your friends and those who have recently hired a real estate photographer. Look for photographers within your area that have good reputation and are experts in the field. You can also look for real estate photographers from photography associations or artist directories in your area.

Experience. Look for experience. This is something that is important for any projects. Ask potential photographers for their portfolio and how long they have been shooting real estate projects. Make sure that the quality of work that they do matches the kind of quality that your business represents. Their output should not be amateurish. Some photographers also specialize in a certain sector, like condos or commercial development. This is something that you need to ask first before you hire a photographer.

Work ethic and professionalism. Being an excellent photographer is only one thing. Another factor to consider when choosing the right photographer for your projects is to find one that can handle different types of working situation. Real estate photography can be challenging and there will be times when the shoot won’t go as planned. It is a must to have a photographer that can cope with any given situation. You need someone you can work well with and you are comfortable with throughout the shoot, as well.

Pricing. Aside from making sure that the rate is within your budget, you need to scout if the photographer’s price is within the pricing scale in your area. Ensure that the price is worth the quality of the output and how the photographer works.

After you’ve got everything checked, you are now ready to hire a photographer for a real estate photo shoot and maybe after you need to hire a real estate photo editor, we also have tips for it found in this other blog post.

December 12, 2017
Outsource Real Estate Photo Editing Services: Step-by-Step Guide

As a real estate business or a photographer, outsourcing can be your best friend. This is the reality in a highly competitive real estate industry where every minute is of the essence. You have to make the most of your time and do the most important tasks first. You have to put a monetary value on your time so you know if it’s worth spending hours on time-consuming tasks such as photo editing.

If you are considering outsourcing your real estate photos, there are certain steps that you need to follow in order to find a company that delivers your needs.

1. Identify your goals. First, you need to figure out what you want to accomplish with your photos. Are you going to use these for sales? Will these go in your portfolio? Are these for a broker? These questions will help you in assessing how your edited real estate photos should look. In addition to that, you need to know the output that your client needs.

2. Know the scope of work. Once you know your goals, you have to identify the work that needs to be done. You can be specific about what changes you want to be done or instead give more general direction on the feel and look of the images after the post-processing. This will allow you to relay to your photo editor the specifics of how you want the images to be and so they have a clear vision of what they need to work on.

3. Work with your budget. Find out how much you are able to spend on your photo editing. This can help in finding a company who can do the work while still keeping within your spending limits. It is best to figure out the usual rates for this type of work, especially if you have no idea how much it costs. Ask peers and get quotes from different professional photo editing companies. This helps you in setting the right budget without skimping on the quality.

4. Ask for their portfolio and a possible sample. Once you have a budget, ask for quotes and for the post-production company’s portfolio first. This is essential before you make your choice. This will help you in narrowing down your options so that you may find one that has the best output for the price that you’re able to afford. You also need to ask if they could do a sample retouching. Send them two or three of your images so you can see the quality of their work. Make sure that you specify the changes and the look that you want and at the right time.

5. Narrow down your choices for a photo editing company. Research and look for the best photo editing companies that specialize in real estate. You can also ask for recommendations from peers. However, keep your list to a minimum if possible in order to prevent choice fatigue. With the portfolios in hand, you will be able to decipher which companies can help you retouch your images in order to achieve your goals. Check their policies and their turnaround time. Next, make sure that you pick your top five companies.

6.Choose the best one for your needs. From your list, pick one that fits your budget and needs. Make sure that they provide you with quality work and fast turnaround time so you can meet client deadlines. Look into their policies and set a working timeline for your images. Go for a company with great support so you are able to communicate with them in case of any urgent requirements.

December 8, 2017
How Photo Editing Helps Real Estate Business

The real estate world is a hectic industry. It’s cutthroat and highly competitive. From representing the best properties to making a successful sale in a matter of hours, every task is of high importance. You need to be constantly moving forward in order to reach your quota or get ahead of your competition.

Because there are a lot of tasks involved in keeping your business afloat and ahead, you need to be smart in managing and delegating the tasks. One of the best decisions that a real estate photographer can make for their business is to outsource real estate photo editing.

Here are the reasons why photo editing can help your business:

• Helps businesses focus on the important things.

As a business owner, there are a million things that you have to do in order to keep your business alive. Instead of spending your time on the most time-consuming task, you need to know how to delegate so that you can focus on the important things that help bring the money in. Once you outsource photo editing to the professionals, you can focus on booking the next shoot or finding the next property. You remove the tasks from your to-do list that are not your strengths so that you may find the time for the tasks that build your business and improves your bottom-line.

• Increases sales.

Since you’re leaving photo editing to the professional editors, this helps in boosting your sales. You can book more clients without having to worry about spending your time in editing and retouching your work. Having professionals work on your photos, you are able to get high-quality images that will help in selling the property quickly. Often, home buyers base their decisions on the images that they see online. Making sure that you have great photos to represent the property helps in enticing more prospects which in turn helps increase your referrals and re-orders.

• Frees up time.

Time is the most valuable commodity for your business. You need to spend more time making your operations more efficient and increasing your client list. When you delegate tasks and outsource the photo editing, you save yourself from the tedious task of going through every single photo. Instead, you have precious time to do what you do best. Having that extra time will allow you spend time on your personal interests as well. A successful personal life is necessary to maintain your sanity and actually increases the odds of having a successful business.

• Builds up your brand.

Great photos of properties can make your brand look credible. Once your photos are edited by professionals and you have a specific style, you can slowly build a specific kind of branding to your photos. This signature look can build up your branding and help in improving how your business will look like to potential customers. People will tend to have a better perception of your company.

• Adjust photos for high conversion.

Although photographers do their best in making sure that they take the right photos with the right angle and lighting to project the property in the best light, editing is still mandatory in order to make the images even better. By letting the professionals do the photo editing, you deliver amazing and high-quality photos that increase sales. You are convincing potential clients that you have the best product and you are able to help sell properties faster.

• Keeps you on top of the competition.

Once you have the best photo editors under working with your company, you are then able to keep up with competitors. The best images coupled with fast turn times will help you stay ahead in the real estate game. You can keep up with the best and earn the top spot in your market.

December 4, 2017