Luxury Real Estate

By Brian Langhorst

Photosynth is one of the latest projects from Microsoft to come out of their Live Labs group and development business.

This unique program will take photos that you specify from your camera or computer desktop and find the similarities in each photo and create a visual presentation piecing these photos together. It might be hard to see what the big deal is based on this short description, but I encourage you to visit the Photosynth site and you will better understand just how fascinating this new tool is.

I feel this tool will be great for luxury real estate agent and brokerages. How many times have homebuyers or sellers commented that photos do not properly capture a unique or special high-end listing? This new tool from Microsoft could be a great way to create more eye-catching presentations to allow potential buyers to see the luxury property in its true form.

Our team here will be sure to continue to present our members with the most innovative tools and opportunities, such as Photosynth, for their business.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback on this new tool!


Editor’s Note:
Brian Langhorst is LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Membership Manager. He meets members’ unique needs through the dynamic services LuxuryRealEstate.com provides. It seems like there are endless possibilities and new technologies being created all the time. It will be very exciting to keep an eye on this Photosynth program and other innovative Web tools coming out. Thanks for the heads-up, Brian! The photo above is from www.flickr.com/photos/tommybart2000/2688931093 and it is the copyright of Thomas Barthelet.

By Robert Lockard

“Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gismos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn't make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel.”

So says Ilya Moshenskiy, the Principal Photographer of Ilya’s Photography in Washington state. I love that quote because, as a writer, I can definitely relate to his point about great works being written by people and not by keyboards or computers.

Ilya is an amazing photographer in a variety of fields, including luxury homes, weddings, events and cuisine. He has been the Official Photographer of the past nine Luxury Real Estate conferences and he always produces the finest photographic masterpieces. Just ask Jim Walberg, a LuxuryRealEstate.com member in the Caribbean.

Check out these amazing photos that Ilya took at this year’s Seafair, Seattle’s big summer festival.

To see more of Ilya’s photos from Seafair 2008, click here!

I’ll end with one more quote from Ilya. He uses only the finest photographic tools in his work, but he also notes, “It doesn’t matter what kind of camera you are shooting with; the real issue is who is behind the camera. Great photography requires perfect lighting and composition. It will always be a human behind the viewfinder. High-end photography demands exceptional skill and not every photographer is up to the task.”

Ilya certainly is up to the task. Contact him at ilya at ilyaestate.com or 425.883.2246 today!


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. All of the photos above are the copyright of Ilya’s Photography.

By Janice Ridge

There are studies that indicate that both buyers and their agents are attracted to online listings that include photos. In fact, when I am searching MLS for a property for a client, I won’t even look at a listing that doesn’t have photos! And I am a real-estate professional! Truth is, most MLS photos are not that good. That’s why most real estate professionals go directly to the agent’s website to see better photos. I imagine the online consumer does, too.

In general, you would think that with the huge marketing opportunity of presenting photos online the quality would be better, but it isn’t. At LuxuryRealEstate.com, we are committed to making our photos stand out. I think we do a great job, don’t you?

But what I want to know is this: Does anyone know of any studies that show that videos on the Internet help to sell real estate? Is this something in which LuxuryRealEstate.com should invest for our members’ listings? Or are you as happy as I am with the quality of the online photos on LuxuryRealEstate.com?


Editor’s Note:
As the Director of Membership & Relocation at LuxuryRealEstate.com, and herself a licensed REALTOR®, Janice Ridge is devoted to coordinating the efforts of all of the LuxuryRealEstate.com membership and Account Managers, so that each of our members is given superior service. Photos are essential for advertising luxury homes for sale, whether in print or online media. I can’t think of a better photographer than Ilya Moshenskiy, the Principal Photographer of Ilya’s Photography. He is one of the finest luxury photographers in the business, and he can bring out the most amazing qualities in your homes. Jim Walberg recently gave some wonderful praise for Ilya’s fine photography. The photo above is an example of Ilya’s work and it is copyright of Ilya’s Photography.

By Robert Lockard

Check out this great article I recently read in the Arizona Daily Star, entitled “Home, art inside are both for sale.” I think the sellers in this article are onto something pretty smart by joining forces with a local art museum to sell their property.

Author Christie Smythe points out that showing art in a home can be beneficial for both the artists and the home sellers. Beautiful paintings, sculptures and other pieces of art can add something special to a home that makes it more memorable to potential buyers. Plus, the artists receive exposure to new viewers and their works of art are sold with the house.

This takes home staging to a whole new level. Ordinarily, a staged home isn’t sold in the condition in which it is first shown to buyers. But in this case, all of the art will stay with the house when it is purchased. That’s a pretty novel idea, I think. This is a smart solution because both art and real-estate markets in many parts of the United States are falling on hard times at the moment. Perhaps by joining forces, these two industries can prove that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The photo above is courtesy of Ilya Estate Photography.

Barbara Stahura, a talented freelance writer, brought this article to my attention. She recently interviewed John Brian Losh, the CEO/Publisher of LuxuryRealEstate.com, for an article she’s writing on “green” luxury homes for an upcoming issue of Steinway & Sons Magazine.


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. What do you think about this creative idea? What are some other ways brokers and agents can attract luxury real estate buyers in tough markets?

By Robert Lockard

After taking more than 400 fabulous photos at the 6th Annual Luxury Real Estate Spring Retreat in April, Ilya Moshenskiy, the Principal Photographer of Ilya Estate Photography, is showing off his versatile talents in another field. On the left is a recent photo he took at Salty’s Seafood Restaurant in Seattle. The dessert is called the Ooey Gooey Ice Cream Sandwich.

It’s quite amazing that, in addition to his talents as a real-estate photographer, Ilya is also able to take world-class photos of gourmet food. To take advantage of Ilya’s expert services, contact him at ilya at ilyaestate.com.


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of LuxuryRealEstate.com’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. You can see all of Ilya’s photos of the 6th Annual Spring Retreat here.

By Allyson Metters

We have all seen listings on the MLS with photos that are less than flattering. Some photos I have seen make me question: a) what the real-estate agents could possibly have been thinking, and b) what in the world they are trying to sell. In today’s market – particularly the luxury market – presentation is so important. In fact, its importance can hardly be overstated. After all, with more than 80 percent of buyers starting their home search online, agents and sellers need to get the best photos possible to remain competitive and attract buyers.

Connecticut agent Athol Kay has a popular blog dedicated to bad MLS photos. Kay says his purpose is to “rid the world of bad real estate photos that ultimately cost unsuspecting sellers money,” and he has developed quite a following. Take a look when you are in need of some entertainment. And remember that a picture is worth a thousand words …and maybe a million dollars.


Editor’s Note:
Allyson Metters is the Relocation Manager for LuxuryRealEstate.com. She helps people who are moving to find a perfect broker to meet their needs in their new area. Athol Kay’s blog is very funny, and I highly recommend it, as well. It’s a good reminder of what not to do. I tend to live by the old adage, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” However, sometimes it can be better to point out serious flaws, instead of letting people make the same mistake time after time. By the way, if you want to have only amazing pictures of your properties, visit Ilya Estate Photography, the official photographer of Luxury Real Estate conferences. He’s very good!

By Joey Pauley

Have you ever heard the expression a picture is worth a thousand words? Google hasn’t, and neither has Yahoo. That’s right — search engines cannot view images. What does that mean?

When you see a picture of Brian Losh at our fabulous European Conference in Salzburg, Austria you see this:









Brian laughs as he prepares to go skiing because he knows that Joey is back at the office.

But what a search engine will see looks much less handsome:

<img width="154" height="115" alt="John Brian Losh in Salzburg"  src="johnBrianLosh.jpg"/>
a> Brian laughs as he prepares to go skiing because he knows that Joey is back at the office.

What search engines find attractive may not be so great for people viewing your site. What can you do to please them both? Make sure you use alt tags that describe the image (i.e. John Brian Losh in Salzburg, Austria). Also, make sure the image name and text around the image is relevant.

Marketing your site for consumers and Search Engines is a balancing act. By adding the proper text around an image you can make them both happy. How happy? ...As happy as Brian is skiing while I am in the office.


Editor’s Note:
As a Technical Account Manager with LuxuryRealEstate.com, Joey Pauley helps members with their Web and technology needs. At last our weeklong wait has come to an end and we have been greatly rewarded with this excellent bit of information from Joey. Amazing! So search engines are like Mr. Magoo: blind, stumbling around and mumbling goofily until they run into exactly what they’re looking for. What a funny image.