According to information compiled by REALTOR® Magazine, the official publication of the National Association of REALTORS®, almost every Realtor owns some kind of camera - 35 mm, video camera or digital camera.

Realtors take photos of homes to market listings in feature sheets and ads, and they also use them for buyers. They take photos of home amenities so that the buyer can more easily distinguish homes they have viewed.

But there is one area in which the Realtor is seriously underusing techno logy. Although over 10 percent of Realtors have E-mail, less than seven percent own a digital camera, and are missing an easy opportunity to market listings to both buyers and sellers in this cost-effective, quick and efficient manner.

These days home sales are moving quickly. The nation is experiencing a record high in resale and new homes. Some homes are selling before they even have a sign in the yard in markets such as San Francisco and Dallas.

Imagine the ease of snapping pictures, slipping a disk into a computer, downloading the pictures in an easy few steps, and E-mailing the resulting files for customers to view. It could make the difference in whether your customer gets the home, or not. And whether you get the sale.

When digital cameras were introduced, prices were high and the learning curve to use them was steeper, but since then, technology has overcome both of those obstacles. Not only are today's digital cameras barely more complex than point and click, they allow you to put immediate images directly into your computer so that you bypass the expense and trouble of filling a roll of film, and taking it to be developed. You can even bypass scanning into the computer.

According to Jesse Berst, of ZDNet, the digital camera is one of the "hottest gift items around."

Prices for low resolution cameras have dropped to the $200 range, and others are under $500.

According to Berst, there are three important criteria for choosing a digital camera - resolution, image storage and options.

For the professional presentation, Berst recommends a resolution range of 1,024 by 768 or 1,152 by 864. If you are going to use the photos non-professionally, a range of 640 by 480 will suffice.

Berst writes, "Most cameras store images via either built-in or removable memory. Removable is the most convenient. Some feature full PC cards and others mini-cards or floppies as a counterpart to traditional film. If you take the built-in route, get one with the largest memory possible. At least 4MB."

He points out, that currently there is no standard for getting photos into your PC. Some devices use cords, cards and others use floppy disks.

Because digital photos lost quality when blown up, Berst recommends getting the most from each pixel (tiny picture elements like dots that together form the photographic image.) A zoom lens will help you get the most from each pixel. Lithium batteries will not drain as quickly as regular batteries. An LCD monitor will allow you to view photos immediately after you have shot them.

The advantage for the Realtor is that you don't have wasted money on film and development for pictures that don't come out the way you wish. You can simply erase the image and reshoot the picture when you see it didn't come out the way you planned.

You can seek additional information on the following sites, listed alphabetically:

• Casio
• Kodak Digital
• How-to's
• Sony
• Olympus

If time is not of the essence and you prefer to get a good deal via auction

Allen F. Hainge, trainer, recommends the following site for the best photo editing softwares under $50. http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reports/Reviews/PhotoEd/?dd.cn.

If you think you can't afford a digital camera, the market and the expectations of the consumer have changed. You can't afford not to.

Published: December 22, 1998

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.