Pulse: For Land Buyers, Quality Photos Inspire Love at First Sight

According to the February LANDTHINK Pulse results, an astounding 76.6% of respondents indicated that PHOTOS of land for sale is the topmost helpful element when viewing land listings online. To sell land in today’s digital age, land agents must do some serious marketing. That’s because the first place potential buyers go when searching for land for sale is online. It’s important for land agents to engage them in the digital space in a way that translates into the prospect taking action and moving to the next stage of the buying process.

Last month, the February Pulse asked: Which THREE details are most helpful to you when viewing land listings online?

February Pulse Sponsored by

We’ve all heard the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words.” In real estate, first impression is everything. Low-quality or blurry listing photos captured with a smartphone won’t cut it. When buyers search for land for sale, if they aren’t sold on the images they see, chances are they will keep scrolling to the next listing. Take a look at Making Your Farm Shine through Photography for some great tips on taking photographs. If you’re not confident in your abilities to take pictures that show your listing in its best light, consider hiring a local professional photographer who has the expertise to take the high quality photos you will need to successfully advertise your land for sale.

Depending on the type of property being listed for sale, traditional photos may not be adequate. Top land professionals use drone photography to amp up their marketing and take it to another level. Drone photography can be particularly useful on very large parcels, like row crop farms for sale or a sprawling ranch for sale. Drone cameras are capable of capturing stunning aerial shots and videos. Drone images can show wet areas on a property, the condition of crops, fields and livestock, timberland, and also highlight the proximity of the property to green space, amenities, or public lands.

A 2017 LANDTHINK Pulse revealed that 30.3% of buyers preferred to see game pictures on a land listing they were interested in purchasing for hunting and recreation. If you’re listing hunting land for sale, adding some trail camera images can provide buyers with a unique insight into the wildlife that inhabits a property, the patterns of deer on a property, and help reveal the odds of harvesting a future trophy whitetail.

If you’re reluctant to hire a professional because of the cost, keep in mind that listings that include high quality photos can mean higher asking prices. Professional photographers can not only be tasked with taking stunning photos, but they can also take care of the technical details, like editing and providing the right size photos for uploading to listing sites. This can be important when marketing your land for sale on a mobile responsive platform such as the LANDFLIP NETWORK, which is optimized for viewing photos on multiple devices.

According to 61.8% of the LANDTHINK audience, the element they find most helpful when viewing an online listing is the DESCRIPTION of the property. Sometimes, properties can practically sell themselves—if they are priced right, marketed correctly, and the listing description clearly and concisely conveys why a buyer should take the steps to make it their own. In order to do this, private sellers and agents alike need to hone in their writing skills to motivate a buyer to pull the trigger. Taking the time to write a solid property description will create clear communication that sets the proper expectations for all potential buyers.

Most online land listings follow a simple formula:

Write an Engaging Headline: The headline is your first opportunity to capture the attention of the land buyer. The headline is where you want to jump right into the story of the property. 

Opening statement: A well-written opening statement piques a reader’s interest and compels them to continue reading the rest of the description.

Narrative description of features: Every property is unique and every property has a story. It can be helpful to make a list, starting with the best features and benefits that would be most important to a potential buyer. When writing a property description, it is important to accurately represent the property and not be misleading. Don’t completely omit less desirable features; offer suggestions for how a buyer could fix them.

It’s best to avoid abbreviations and acronyms (like QDMA, NRCS or NDA) that an unseasoned land buyer might not be familiar with- unless you write them out on the first mention. If you’re listing land for sale on the LANDFLIP family of sites, use key words in the title and description that relate to the type of land described. When writing the property description, don’t be redundant and avoid including statistical data that is already available in the listing’s data fields.

Before uploading, check the spelling and grammar of the listing to make sure it flows and reads well. Spelling and grammar errors can make agents looks less than professional and can also turn buyers off. ALWAYS proofread, proofread, and proofread.

Call to action: A call to action is a closing line in your description that will entice buyers to get in touch and take the next step toward land ownership.

The third most helpful part of a land listing, according to 42.8% of respondents, was an INTERACTIVE MAP. Mapping is a valuable tool for all prospective land buyers that will allow them to spend less time in the search process and concentrate only on those properties that fit the bill. 

LANDFLIP interactive maps allow buyers to:

• View land for sale in your local area
• Create a customized search area with click & drag drawing
• Get the elevation of any point on the map with a simple click
• Measure the distance and elevation changes between two selected points
• Point & click to set boundary limits, then click within the area to view approximate acreage
• Preview listings by clicking on a map pin or using the image gallery at the bottom of the screen

LANDFLIP integrates and has partnered with the top property mapping platforms out there, MapRight and TerraStride. Customers can simply copy and paste a map’s URL in their LANDFLIP listing and, just like that, land brokers and agents have a professional-quality map that highlights their listing’s best features, simplifies their work, boosts their credibility with potential buyers, and saves them a lot of time.

There’s an art to producing an effective online land listing, and it consists of various elements like photos, video, description, documents, and maps. All the parts of the listing work together to attract qualified buyers, demonstrate transparency and professionalism, and presents the property in the best possible light. But above all, REALTORS® must always comply with the Code of Ethics. Article 2 requires REALTORS® to “avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction.” Article 12 requires REALTORS® to “be honest and truthful in their real estate communications” and to “present a true picture in their advertising, marketing and other representations.”

Last month’s survey responses were all over the board, but an overwhelming 76.6% indicated that property Photos are the most important and helpful element of an online land listing. The second most helpful detail, coming in at 61.8%, is the Description of the property for sale. The third most helpful detail (42.8%) is an Interactive Map. This was followed closely by 36.5% who said an Aerial Tour, 31.3% who said Attached Documents, and 20.0% who said Video. Only 15.7% of our audience indicated that a Virtual Tour is a helpful detail of the listing and just 15.3% said Directions to the property.

We were pleased with the large number of Pulse responses, and we thank everyone who answered the Pulse and shared it on social media with friends and connections in the land industry. LANDTHINK would like to extend a big thank thank you to Southeastern Land Group for sponsoring the February Pulse and for coming up with a very interesting question to pose to our audience. If you’re looking for land for sale, or thinking about selling land in the Southeast, Southeastern Land Group is the name you need to remember. They are a full service land and farm brokerage company dedicated to providing the best service and the best results when it comes to buying or selling rural property.

Become a Pulse sponsor! It’s a great way to ensure your brokerage is the first one buyers and sellers call when they have a need to buy or sell property. You’ll get insane exposure on Social + Email + Web. That’s 500,000+ monthly eyes on you! Once you have it, you won’t want to give it up! Pulse sponsorships are offered on a first come first served basis and are subject to certain limitations. If your business would be interested in sponsoring a Pulse question, please contact us soon.

Do you have a suggestion for next month’s Pulse question? Submit your question and we might choose yours!

We want to know what you think about our March Pulse question, chosen and sponsored by Farm Credit Associations of Georgia: What is (would be) your primary purpose for purchasing land? Answer now.