A new study reveals geographic differences in the amount of money real estate professionals spent before the pandemic on capturing their listings and the amount they’re willing to spend now. As more buyers look online first or even show more willingness to buy sight unseen, real estate pros are prioritizing good imagery on their listings.

In certain regions of the country, real estate pros are putting even more emphasis on photography. For example, real estate professionals in the West, Northeast, and Midwest tend to spend more for real estate listing photography services now than they did at the start of the pandemic, according to a new study from HomeJab, which provides real estate agents on-demand professional real estate photography, 3D virtual tours, aerial, and other visual services.

Real estate pros in the West have increased their use of photography services by nearly 9%, in the Northeast by 7.5%, and in the Midwest by 5.6%.

On the other hand, real estate professionals in the Southwest and Southeast tended to spend more or modestly less for real estate listing photography services ever since the pandemic began, according to the study.

HomeJab analyzed more than 43,000 real estate photography assignments from 2017 to 2021 across five major regions of the U.S. (Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and West).

Nationally, the average real estate listing photography services order was up and averages about $229 per order, according to the study.

Real estate professionals in the West tended to spend the most for real estate listing photography services, averaging $279 per order.

“Professional real estate listing photography orders by real estate agents clearly remained a vital marketing investment in many of the hottest markets during the COVID-19 outbreak,” says Joe Jesuele, founder and CEO of HomeJab. “Our research shows that during a time when homes were flying off the shelves, and multiple offers hit a new high, agents still understood the power of visual images for their real estate marketing.”