Before You Lower the Price, Take Another Look at the Photos

The Los Angeles real estate market has changed.

Homes are still selling, but buyers are taking more time, looking at more options and thinking carefully before scheduling a showing or writing an offer. In June 2026, the median Los Angeles listing price was down 7% from the previous year. Recent market data also shows Los Angeles homes taking roughly 48 to 52 days to sell.

Mortgage rates aren’t making the decision any easier. As of July 23, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.58%, its highest level in nearly a year. For buyers already dealing with Los Angeles home prices, taxes, insurance and everyday living expenses, every dollar matters.

This doesn’t mean homes aren’t selling.

It means buyers are becoming more selective, and the way a property is presented online matters more than it did when nearly every decent listing received immediate attention.

The First Showing Happens Online

A buyer’s first experience with a home usually isn’t at an open house.

It’s while they’re scrolling through listings on a phone, tablet or computer. They may spend only a few seconds deciding whether to stop, open the listing and look through the rest of the photographs.

That first impression can be affected by things that have nothing to do with the actual quality of the property:

• Rooms that look darker or smaller than they really are

• Crooked walls and distorted vertical lines

• Windows that appear completely white

• Inconsistent colors from one room to another

• Photographs that don’t show how the rooms connect

• A missing floor plan

• Too few images to properly explain the property

• Too many repetitive images that don’t add anything

The home may be attractive, well maintained and correctly priced. But if that doesn’t come across online, some buyers will never see enough value to schedule an appointment.

Good Photography Doesn’t Fix an Overpriced Home

I want to be clear about that.

Professional photography won’t make an overpriced property suddenly become a great deal. It won’t repair a bad roof, change the neighborhood or solve a difficult floor plan.

What it can do is make sure a good property isn’t being overlooked because of poor presentation.

Before recommending another price reduction, it makes sense to look at the entire listing from a buyer’s point of view.

Are the main photographs strong enough to stop someone from scrolling?

Does the first image show the home at its best?

Do the interior photographs feel bright and inviting without looking fake?

Can buyers understand the layout?

Are the backyard, view, pool, guest house or other important features properly represented?

Does the listing look comparable to—or better than—the other homes competing for the same buyer?

Those are important questions because a price reduction can cost the seller thousands of dollars. Improving the presentation may require only a fraction of that amount.

Different Properties Need Different Media

Not every listing needs every service.

A smaller condominium may need a clean set of professional interior and exterior photographs, a floor plan and a few vertical images for social media.

A larger property with a pool, guest house, view or unusual lot may benefit from aerial photography and a 3D tour.

An empty home may need virtual staging to help buyers understand the scale and purpose of certain rooms. When virtual staging or other digital changes are used, they should be clearly disclosed and accompanied by the appropriate original images.

The goal isn’t to add services simply to make the marketing package larger.

The goal is to determine what buyers need to see in order to understand the property.

Floor Plans Help Answer Questions Photographs Can’t

Photographs show what a room looks like.

A floor plan shows how the home works.

That distinction matters, especially with older Los Angeles homes that may have additions, converted spaces, split levels, separate entrances or layouts that are difficult to understand from photographs alone.

A floor plan can help buyers see:

• How the bedrooms relate to the living areas

• Whether a home office is separated from the main activity

• How the kitchen connects to the dining and family rooms

• Where a guest suite or accessory dwelling unit is located

• How someone might use the property for children, relatives or working from home

It can also save agents time by answering basic layout questions before a showing.

Drone Photography Should Explain the Property

Aerial photography is useful when it reveals something buyers need to understand.

That could include the size of the lot, the relationship between the house and pool, the location of a guest house, nearby open space, neighborhood positioning or a view that can’t be appreciated from ground level.

A drone photograph shouldn’t be included just because it looks dramatic.

It should help explain the property.

The same is true for twilight photography, 3D tours and property websites. Each part of the marketing should have a purpose.

Professional Media Also Saves the Agent Time

The value of professional real estate photography isn’t limited to the photographs themselves.

A complete media package can give an agent the material needed for:

• The MLS

• Property websites

• Email announcements

• Social media posts

• Printed flyers

• Listing presentations

• Seller updates

• Future portfolio examples

Instead of trying to photograph the house, correct the images, create social media graphics and organize the files, the agent can spend that time preparing the listing, talking with prospective buyers and following up with clients.

That’s where professional media becomes part of the agent’s service—not simply another expense.

Sellers Notice the Difference Too

Professional presentation can also help an agent during the listing appointment.

Sellers want to know what an agent will do to market their home. Showing examples of professional photography, floor plans, aerial images and property websites gives them something specific they can evaluate.

It demonstrates that the agent has a process and isn’t going to put the home on the MLS with a few phone pictures and hope for the best.

Even when the market is strong, that matters.

When listings are taking longer and sellers are worried about price reductions, it matters even more.

Take Another Look Before Changing the Price

There are times when a price adjustment is necessary. The market ultimately determines what buyers are willing to pay.

But price shouldn’t automatically be the first—or only—thing blamed when a listing isn’t receiving enough attention.

Look at the photographs.

Look at the first image.

Look at the order of the gallery.

Look at the floor plan, description and supporting media.

Then compare the listing with the homes buyers are seeing beside it.

Sometimes the price needs to change.

Sometimes the home simply needs to be presented better.

I’ve been a professional photographer since 1991, and one thing hasn’t changed: people respond to what they can see. My job is to help agents show a property clearly, honestly and at its best.

Have a Los Angeles-area listing coming up? Send me the property address and approximate square footage. I’ll recommend the photography and media that make sense for that particular home.

Dan Scott
Real Estate Photos Los Angeles
RealEstatePhotosLosAngeles.com

Market information current as of July 27, 2026.