They Say A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. In the housing market these days, no agent would consider taking a property on to their books without having some kind of visual representation, whether it’s a photograph of an existing building or an artist’s impression of a new-build yet to be completed.

However, photographs can be deceptive. The angle and focus of a picture can make a room look considerably larger than it is, and you can’t see beyond the edges of the image. In the past decade or so, more agents have been incorporating floor plans into their property selling tools. Now many sellers insist on having a floor plan. In fact, most home-buyers rate floor plans as being as important as any photographs.

What’s in a Floor Plan?

Architects and builders rely on plans. Professionally produced drawings to scale, using standard symbols and measurements, are essential to convey a true impression of the shape, size and purpose of a building. Drawings of all elevations and floor plans showing the intended use of each room are just some of the requirements for obtaining planning permission to build or alter a property. Planning departments use them as part of their assessments of health and safety, privacy and other aspects of building proposals before giving building projects the go-ahead.

The detail and accuracy that go into a floor plan have brought a new dimension to property viewing, enabling the potential buyer to see through all the current furnishings and look at the bare bones of the property – to see beyond the walls and view the layout of the rooms in relation to one another. The advantages become clear: a floor plan can give an impression of how the layout would impact the way you would live as well as show smaller details, such as the depth of a fitted wardrobe, the size of a bay window or the direction in which a door opens. Moreover, the accuracy of floor plans in the housing market has taken on a new level of importance in some areas, particularly in London, where floorspace is becoming an increasingly common method of valuation.

Floor Plans to Sell Homes

To meet the demand for floor plans for use in the housing market, a number of solutions are available to agents. These range from professionally produced plans based on the agent’s measurements through to DIY software, which has estate agents drawing floor plans from scratch and having them ready to publish in minutes.

Standard symbols for doors, windows, bathroom furniture and other fixtures and fittings mean that the floor plans are easy to understand and more than complement photographs of the property.

Floor plans have proved themselves to be an effective selling tool. For this relatively recent development in house selling, there is already a wide range of floor plan drawing software available, with some of the more sophisticated solutions already coming fully integrated with estate agents’ property management systems. It proves that one thing is for certain: in the housing market, floor plans as a marketing tool are here to stay.

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