Great question, and it is absolutely worth investing in professional photography, especially if vacancy rates are a little higher in the patch where you own the investment property. 

 Take an example of a recent landlord whose property in Sydney’s Inner West wasn’t finding any love with tenants. The landlord purchased the property in 2001. The two-bedroom apartment was fully tenanted ever since – bar a day here and there over the last two decades.

 However, in October last year, the tenant moved out. Despite the property manager’s advice that the local market had an unusually high vacancy rate due to a shortage of international students and visitors, the landlord stubbornly refused to spend extra money on the rental property’s presentation. He was also somewhat reluctant to price the rental property according to prevailing market conditions.

 By December, the property was still vacant. At that point, the landlord consented to spend the princely sum of $160 on some professional photos. The previous images were taken by the property manager, who is excellent with supervising tenant applications and open for inspections but perhaps not so hot behind the camera.

 Lo and behold, once the professional snapper was commissioned to take the money shots and some styling tweaks were added, the property was leased within the first couple of days of the new year starting. Indeed, at the first open for inspection in 2022, the property attracted nine groups and three applications. Before the photographer focussed his expert lens on the property, some of the twice-weekly inspections attracted no interested parties. Better still, the landlord also achieved a weekly rent close to his October expectations. 

 The bottom line is that market conditions change, and what worked in 2002 may not work in 2022. So, to put your rental property ahead of the pack, often getting in some extra help, whether it’s a professional photographer, a stylist or even a copywriter, to whip up some cut-through text will give your property a leg up. 

 Also, don’t forget that the services of a stylist or photographer are tax-deductible, a factor that can ease some of the financial pangs. Likewise, if you need to advertise the property in future, you’ll be able to reuse these images. 

 If you want to know more about possible marketing hacks that can help your rental property find a tenant, talk to your local Raine & Horne Property Manager.