From 12 Photos to 16 to 24 to ????
Thankfully, the new listing sporting those 59(!) photos (see lower left corner of photo, above) is an upper bracket home — a Wayzata condo that just came on the market for $3.5 million, in fact — that can actually take advantage of the new, unlimited number of photos now allowed on MLS.
But, I suspect that will very much be the exception, not the rule.
Overshooting (Literally)
Instead, Buyers’ agents (and their clients) should brace themselves for more modest properties suddenly awash in redundant photos.
Given that an average, 3 BR/2 Bath home with around 2,000 finished square feet has at most 8-10 different rooms, overshooting the old maximum (24) means taking multiple shots of the Kitchen, Living Room, Master Bedroom, etc.
Or even worse, pantries, hall baths, and even furniture and art work (I’ve seen examples of all those recently).
Can you say, “overkill?”
Agent Learning Curve
I think it’s safe to say that it will take area listing agents a little while to adapt to the new, unlimited number of photos.
At least in the short run, I predict that the biggest impact will be on brokers’ printing budgets: when the maximum number was only 24, I used to print out copies — along with the standard MLS listing report — to give my Buyers before going out on showings.
Longer term, my expectation is that agents will only use the extra capacity for: a) truly exceptional (and very big) properties in equally impressive settings; and/or b) to showcase nearby amenities and the local lifestyle (think, shots of the local café, bookstore, bike trails, etc.).
