New HomeJab Study Reveals 'Blue vs. Red' State Agent Marketing Spend

After studying more than 43,000 professional real estate photography assignments over the last five years, at HomeJab, we discovered a significant difference in the amount of marketing dollars agents spent for listings before the pandemic and what they spent coming out of the height of the COVID-19 outbreak.

First, we found geographic differences in the average listing photography order amount among the nation's five major regions. Second, digging deeper into the state-level data, we found a significant difference in spending by agents in prominent "Blue states" versus "Red states."

Prominent "Blue states," including New York, Massachusetts, California, and Illinois, show significant increases in marketing spend for real estate listing photography services since the pandemic. Our research shows the difference is significant:

• New York: +27.9%
• Massachusetts: +18.5%
• California: +9.7%
• Illinois: +7.7%

On the other hand, prominent "Red states," including South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, and Florida, show either decreases or modest increases in marketing spend for real estate listing photography services since the pandemic began. Again, the differences are significant:

• South Carolina: -23.4%
• North Carolina: -16.5%
• Texas: -0.1%
• Florida: +6.3%

These differences shouldn't be surprising – the fact that these Red states spent less. The banning of open houses happened faster and lasted longer in Blue states. Red states, as a result, were not as dependent on 3D tours and other real estate photography services that help remote buyers make home purchases.

Clearly, buyers and sellers in Blue states needed these services and needed them longer than those in Red states, where lockdowns typically ended sooner.

A previous HomeJab study looked at the impact of the pandemic on the type of photography services that real estate agents ordered. That study found evidence supporting these spending trends.

When the pandemic shutdown almost all open houses, the percentage of video and 3D virtual tours ordered by agents jumped significantly nationwide from 37% to 53% of all photo shoot orders. Last year, as open houses returned, this percentage went down slightly to 48% but remained higher than pre-pandemic levels for 2019.

We expect real estate agents using HomeJab to continue to include video and 3D tours as part of their "go-to" photo package for all listings because their reference level has changed. That's also true of the use of aerial photography for listings, and we expect its popularity will continue to grow. It makes sellers happy, and not all buyers are ready for a crowded open house, marking these marketing tools even more valuable for agents.

Regional differences

The new HomeJab study also found that real estate agents in the West, Northeast, and Midwest are spending more for real estate listing photography services coming out of the pandemic than before the start of the pandemic.

Specifically, the numbers show:

• West: Up nearly 9 percent (8.7%)
• Northeast: +7.5%
• Midwest: +5.6%

Real estate agents in the Southwest and Southeast either spent more or modestly less for real estate listing photography services since the pandemic began, specifically:

• Southwest: -0.6%
• Southeast: +2.8%

In terms of average marketing spend for listing photography, we also found that the average real estate listing photography services order was up 5.9% from post-pandemic orders from $216.50 and now averages $229 per order.

Regional pricing for average orders also varied. Real estate agents in the West spend the most for real estate listing photography services, averaging $279 per order. Midwest real estate agents spend the least, averaging $200 per order, or nearly 40% less than real estate agents in the West. Northeast real estate agents spend the second least amount, averaging $225 an order. Southeast and Southwest real estate agents' average spend for real estate listing photography services average $229 and $235, respectively.

Bottom line

Real estate agents' professional real estate listing photography orders proved to be a vital and durable marketing investment in many of the hottest markets during the COVID-19 outbreak.

HomeJab research shows that during a time when homes sales struck a frantic pace – and the average number of multiple offers hit a new high – real estate agents still understood the marketing power and client value of visual images for their real estate listings.

Post-COVID, we don't expect that to change, and because of COVID, real estate agents may appreciate the value of a professional real estate shoot better than ever.

If you are a real estate agent or a professional real estate photographer, you can learn more about HomeJab at homejab.com.

Joe Jesuele is the founder and CEO of HomeJab, America's most popular and reliable on-demand professional real estate photography and video marketplace for real estate pros, delivering over 4,000,000 images to help agents sell and rent more than $35 billion in listings.