Month: April 2025

4 Property Photography Mistakes and How to Fix Them: DIY Tips For Agents

Posted on by Eleanor Keech

Struggling with your property photography? Don’t worry, we’re here to help with our essential DIY property photo tips for agents!


Snapping high-quality property images is vital for estate agents aiming to attract potential buyers.
 
Professional-looking photos improve the perception of a property, often meaning a faster sale and higher price.

In fact, according to another survey by VHT Studios, property listings with professional photos can see an average increase in sale price of 3% to 7%. 
 
So, does this mean that agents should use professional photographers for every shoot? Absolutely not. 

Due to the advancements in mobile technology and software, agents can now take DIY photos which almost rival the quality of professional photos. 

However, a few common photography mistakes made by estate agents can drastically reduce the quality of property photos, and impact listing effectiveness.  

In this blog, I’ll discuss key DIY property photography tips that helped me transform this living room shot from shameful to snazzy, without any professional help!  

Table of Contents

Photo Mistake 1: Bad Lighting

We don’t need to tell you that lighting is one of the most important factors in capturing good property photos.

Images that are too dark or unevenly lit can make properties look cramped and uninviting – both of which your buyer/renter is definitely not looking for! 
 

How To Fix Bad Lighting In Property Photos

  • Maximise natural light by shooting in daylight. 
  • Open curtains and blinds fully to let in as much light as possible. 
  • Turn on all interior lights.
  • Adjust your ISO and aperture to balance exposure and avoid overexposure or underexposure. 

In the images below you can see how just opening the curtains fully has already elevated image quality and made the room look bigger and more inviting.  

Photo Mistake 2: Cluttered Photos And Poor Staging

Personal items, clutter, or poorly arranged furniture in photos distracts the buyer and makes spaces look smaller or messy. 
 

How To Prevent Cluttered Photos and Poor Staging

  • Declutter every room by removing family photos, mess, and excess items. 
  • Suggest the vendor or landlords clean thoroughly before the shoot. 
  • Arrange furniture to create a spacious, inviting flow without pushing everything against walls. 

In the before and after below you can see how taking two minutes to tidy up and stage the room’s furniture has completely transformed how the space appears.

I know which photo I would be more likely to click on! 

Photo Mistake 3: Misaligned Verticals And Horizontals 

Leaning walls or tilting floors look unprofessional and are disorienting for the buyer or renter.

Even if you’ve taken the time to create good lighting for the photo and staged the room, a misaligned photo will still scream amateur. 


 

How To Fix Misalignment In Property Photos

If you want to be ultra-precise use a tripod with a built-in level to keep the camera straight during shooting, or enable grid lines on your camera can act as a useful guide. 

Photo Mistake 4: Not Removing Sensitive Content

This point is less about the art of taking photos and more about your professionalism as an agent.

Photos including pets, reflections, or unusual elements can deter buyers and reflect poorly on your agency’s attention to detail.

However, images including sensitive personal data can have more serious consequences, with your client’s security potentially being compromised.


 

How To Prevent Sensitive Content Featuring In Your Property Photos

  • Remind your vendor to remove or hide distracting objects before the shoot. 
  • Ensure no people or pets appear in listing photos. 
  • Avoid reflective surfaces that show the photographer or clutter. 
  • Keep an eye out for any sensitive information like documents, or information that could compromise the homeowner’s security like key or camera locations. 

We have a whole blog about data protection in listing content. You can find this here, and also download an informative one-pager to help your agency stay responsible with client data.

Bonus Point: Not Editing Your Photos

This one might be the most important of our DIY property photography tips.

Photo editing is vital to ensuring your photos look as polished as possible.

With photo editing tech now making this step super simple and quick, there’s no excuse for having low-quality, dull property photos on your agency’s listings. 
 
Also, editing can help you with all the DIY property photography tips we have mentioned!

So, it doesn’t matter if you forget something whilst you are at the property! Phew.  
 
AI editing software like PropertyBox’s Photo Enhancement feature means lighting and alignment issues are automatically fixed in seconds with just a click. Plus you can remove clutter with the object removal tool, and our automatic GDPR privacy blurring feature will put your mind at ease in regard to client data privacy.  
 
Take a look at the difference between the two photos below. The right image has been edited using our PropertyBox magic!

Conclusion 

By avoiding these common mistakes and using these DIY property photography tips for bad lighting, staging, alignment and data protection you can ensure your DIY property photos look stunning and professional.

Prioritising high-quality visual content will help agents present properties in their best light, build client trust, and ultimately sell homes faster. 

Eleanor Keech Profile Photo

Eleanor Keech

Eleanor has worked in content creation across various industries, including tech, beauty, and fitness. She is excited to support both existing and potential BoxPros through content that will help them enhance their property marketing.

How to Protect Your Property Listings and Prevent Touting 

Posted on by Jessica Peckett

When the market has slowed down, winning an instruction can be half the battle. Keeping that listing and delivering results is where the real challenge begins.

One of the biggest threats to agents today is touting—when rival agencies attempt to poach your listings by undermining your efforts or luring vendors away with unrealistic promises. 

 
So, how can you protect your hard-earned instructions and maintain your pipeline? Here are practical steps every estate agent can take to reduce the risk of touting and keep their clients engaged and loyal. 

Table of Contents

1. Understand Why Touting Happens 

Before you can tackle the problem, it’s important to know why touting is so common. In hot or slow markets, the pressure to win new listings can push agents to cut corners or overpromise. Vendors, especially those who feel neglected or uninformed, may be easily tempted by flashy promises or reduced fees from competitors. 

The key takeaway? If you’re not actively nurturing your relationship with a seller, someone else might be

Tip: if your listing has been on the market for 6 weeks, update the main image with a dusk shot and let your vendor know you’re actively prioritising their property. 

2. Build Strong Vendor Relationships 

At the heart of any long-lasting instruction is trust. Make sure your sellers feel valued and in the loop. That means: 

  • Regular communication: Don’t wait for them to ask for updates—be proactive. 
  • Set expectations: Explain timelines, marketing efforts, and next steps from day one. 
  • Be transparent: If there’s a slowdown in interest, say so. If you’re adjusting strategy, explain why. 

When vendors feel informed and reassured, they’re much less likely to be swayed by outside interference. 

3. Showcase Your Value at Every Stage 

You might be working hard behind the scenes—but if your client doesn’t see it, it may not count in their eyes. That’s why it’s essential to: 

  • Present listings professionally with high-quality photos, floorplans, and descriptions – PropertyBox can certainly help you here! 
  • Highlight your marketing efforts across portals, email campaigns, social media, and more. 
  • Demonstrate results: frequently update your clients by sharing viewings booked, feedback from buyers, and market insights. 

Visibility is a powerful antidote to doubt. 

Tip: create a social media campaign and share this with your vendor. You can do this before the property is live with a “coming soon” campaign, when it goes live with a “now available” campaign or after it’s been live for a while with a “price reduction” campaign.

4. Use Technology to Stay One Step Ahead 

Smart tools can make a big difference in how you protect and promote your listings. For example: 

  • Use your CRM to schedule timely follow-ups and track communication history.
  • Platforms like PropertyBox can enhance your property marketing, making it faster and easier to produce professional assets that stand out – try it for free today!  
  • Automate vendor updates to show them exactly what’s being done to market their property. 

5. Monitor and React to Touting Tactics 

Keep an ear to the ground. If a vendor tells you they’ve been approached by another agent, don’t panic. Stay calm, and: 

  • Reassure them by restating the work you’ve done and your current strategy.
  • Share performance data—views, click-throughs, enquiries—to show tangible progress.  
  • Be honest if things need adjusting. Acknowledging and improving is far more powerful than being defensive. 

Showing composure under pressure builds confidence. 

6. Protect Your Reputation 

Touting can be aggressive and unprofessional. You don’t need to stoop to that level to win. What you should do instead: 

  • Continue to deliver excellent service. 
  • Ask happy clients for reviews to build social proof. 
  • Maintain a consistent and recognisable brand presence in your local area and online 

Tip: make sure all of your listings look great and highlight your brand by having great looking property photos with your logo consistently visible in the corner.  

When sellers see you as the professional, trustworthy choice, they’re less likely to entertain other offers. 

7. Educate Your Clients 

Sellers don’t always understand what’s involved in marketing a property. They may assume switching agents is a quick fix. 

It’s your job to explain: 

  • The investment of time, money, and resources that’s already gone into the listing.
  • The potential delays or confusion that can come with switching agents.  
  • How your current marketing strategy is designed to get them the best result—not just the fastest. 

When clients feel informed, they make better decisions—and are more likely to stick with you. 

Final Thoughts

Touting isn’t going away, but it doesn’t have to be a threat to your business. The best defence is a strong vendor relationship, visible value, and consistent communication. 

By putting the right processes and tools in place (like PropertyBox), you can stay one step ahead—and ensure your listings stay exactly where they belong: with you. 

Want to protect your instructions with better property marketing? Discover how PropertyBox can help you deliver standout listings, faster. 

Jessica Peckett - PropertyBox

Jessica Peckett

A data-driven creative, Jessica is a passionate marketer experienced in bringing brands to life on the global stage. With a focus on fostering exceptional customer and employee experiences, she is committed to excite,  engage and empower both in a positive and productive manner. Ultimately, Jessica cares about using marketing and technology to see PropertyBox build long-lasting relationships with customers and employee alike, so that they see real value add from both a professional and personal perspective.

The Best Hashtags for Estate Agents to Use on Social Media

Posted on by Eleanor Keech

Social media is becoming an increasingly important channel for agents to grow their brand and increase listing views.
 
However, social noise is making it harder to get your content seen on platforms. 

In fact a shocking 1.1 billion pieces of content are posted every day on social media!
 
So how can you get in front of your audience, capture their attention and grow your social media following?
 
One of the most effective strategies for increasing content reach and visibility on social media is the strategic use of hashtags. 

Here’s a quick introduction to what hashtags are, how they work and a list of the best hashtags for estate agents to use on social media.

Table of Contents

What Are Hashtags?

Hashtags are words or phrases preceded by the “#” symbol, often included in the caption of social media content.
 
They help sort content, making it discoverable for users searching for specific topics, trends or communities.
 
It might help to think of hashtags like an SEO tool for social media: Think about what your target market might be searching or engaging with on social media, and use this to inform your hashtag strategies. 

Using effective hashtags can significantly enhance the visibility of listings, attract potential clients, and build brand recognition. 
 

How Can Hashtags Improve Content Reach?

Social media can seem complicated and overwhelming, but we’re here to help simplify it. You can also read our Social Media Made Easy: 4 Tips for Busy Estate Agents blog post or try the PropertyBox free trial to see how our Social Media Campaigns can help here.

As for hashtags…

As previously mentioned, hashtags are a great way to get your content seen via the search function of social media platforms  
 
For example, a buyer looking for luxury properties in London may search ‘Luxury houses for sale London’ in a social platform search bar.  
 
If your post promoting a new high-end property listing in London has the hashtags #luxuryhomelondon #forsale #luxurypropertysale #newlylisted #homeforsalelondon etc. then this content may appear in that user’s search.

2. Recommended Content

Hashtags can also help your content reach your target audience through recommended content.

This occurs when social platforms display suggested posts on ‘For You’, and ‘Explore’ pages or in-feed.

Social algorithms are designed to maximise engagement by showing users content similar to what they’ve previously shown interest in.

Hashtags play a significant role in determining which content gets suggested.

For instance, if a user has recently engaged with content about estate agents in Cardiff, they’re signalling to the platform that they want to see more related content.

Even if they haven’t interacted with your agency’s profile before, using hashtags like #estateagentcardiff or #propertycardiff can make your relevant content appear in their suggested posts.

Types Of Hashtags For Estate Agents

1. Broad Hashtags

These are widely used and popular hashtags like #estateagent #forsale or #property.

They can help get your content seen by a large audience but may face high competition, however they are important to provide context to your content and also build brand awareness.


2. Niche Hashtags

Smaller, more specific hashtags such as #luxuryproperty or #firsttimehomebuyer target a more focused audience with less competition.

These can be useful to get in front of relevant audiences with high intent.

Examples of niche hashtags include #luxuryproperty, #investmentproperty #firsttimebuyer.

So, whilst you might be ‘casting a smaller net’ with niche hashtags, these are super important to your hashtag strategy to ensure you’re reaching convertible audiences.


3. Location Hashtags


Location hashtags are a form of niche hashtag, but they are particularly relevant to estate agents because of the nature of the industry.

Sellers or landlords will be looking for estate agents in certain areas, and buyers will be looking for properties in certain locations too.

Therefore, including the location of your agency or the property you are promoting in content is key.

Examples include #londonproperty #cardiffpropertymarket #birminghamforsale

4. Branded Hashtags

Branded hashtags are hashtags specific to your brand.

These can help with discoverability if social media users are searching your brand name and they could play a part in community building and brand awareness.

Examples include anything related to your brand name and potentially your slogan.


Quick PropertyBox plug: Did you know we make social media content creation, posting and distribution super simple? You can do it all from our platform. Take a look here!

The Best Hashtags For Estate Agents To Use On Social Media: 40 Ideas

Broad Hashtags

  • #RealEstate
  • #EstateAgents
  • #PropertyForSale
  • #HomesForSale
  • #HouseHunting
  • #JustListed
  • #JustSold
  • #NewHome
  • #DreamHome
  • #HomeBuyer


Niche Hashtags

  • #LuxuryProperty
  • #FirstTimeHomeBuyer
  • #InvestmentProperty
  • #PropertyManagement
  • #RenovationProjects
  • #SustainableHomes
  • #HistoricHomes
  • #ModernArchitecture
  • #PetFriendlyHomes
  • #FamilyHomes
  • #RetirementProperties
  • #StudentAccommodation
  • #HolidayHomes
  • #RuralProperties
  • #CityCentreApartments

Location Hashtags

  • #LocationProperty
  • #LocationHomes
  • #LocationEstateAgents
  • #LocationPropertyMarket
  • #LocationHomesForSale
  • #LocationRealEstate
  • #LocationEstateAgent
  • #LocationApartment
  • #LocationNewListing

Branded Hashtags

  • #YourAgencyName (e.g., #SmithsEstateAgency)
  • #YourCityEstateAgency (e.g., #LondonEstateAgency)
  • #YourPersonalBrand (e.g., #JohnDoeEstateAgent)
  • #YourTagline (e.g., #PropertyMarketingDoneFaster)
  • #YourNameEstateAgent (e.g., #JaneSmithEstateAgency)
  • #YourCityBrandName (e.g., #LondonBrandName)

Conclusion

Hashtags are an important social media feature for estate agents looking to expand their online presence, attract more clients and get their listings seen.

By using a mix of broad, niche, and location-based hashtags, agents can increase content reach and engage with their target audience.

Remember to monitor engagement and adjust your hashtag strategy accordingly to maximise your social media impact. 

Eleanor Keech Profile Photo

Eleanor Keech

Eleanor has worked in content creation across various industries, including tech, beauty, and fitness. She is excited to support both existing and potential BoxPros through content that will help them enhance their property marketing.