Insights for Homebuilder Marketing Teams

Builder Photo Blog

Photography, virtual staging, and marketing strategy from Chad Davies and the team at DIG.

Strategy

What Does Homebuilder Photography Cost?

Spec photography should run 0.1% of list price. Model photography between 5% and 10% of merchandising. The rules that scale, and what the $200 option costs your team.

September 8, 2026 · Chad Davies

Strategy

What Does an Unsold Home Actually Cost You?

A finished spec costs about $1 a day per $4,000 of list price. We looked at nine homes that sat an average of 279 days. Presentation, not price, is what helped moved them.

September 4, 2026 · Chad Davies

Trends

Chad Davies on Just Make It Pretty podcast

Builders invest heavily into model homes, but photograph listings with restraint. Buyers find the spec first. A summary from the Just Make It Pretty podcast.

September 3, 2026 · Chad Davies

Strategy

Buyer Doubt Grows with Price

Buyer doubt grows with the price. Photography shrinks it. So why does a $10 product get a studio shoot while a $600,000 home gets whatever is most affordable?

September 2, 2026 · Chad Davies

Strategy

California's AB 723 Is About Trust. Here's What It Means for Builders.

California's AB 723 requires labeled virtual staging and access to the original photographs. What the law says, what CRMLS added, and where it lands for builders.

September 1, 2026 · Chad Davies

Strategy

You Already Bought the Answer

Builders spend six figures on one model home and treat the two hundred specs behind it as an afterthought. Here is why you should reconsider that strategy.

August 31, 2026 · Chad Davies

Trends

Your Model Homes Already Solved This…You’re Just Not Using Them

Your model homes already prove what sells. Most builders never carry that strategy across to spec listings. Here is how to scale what works.

April 16, 2026 · DIG Team

Trends

Why Your Spec Homes Aren’t Selling (And No, It’s Not the Market)

When specs stall, the blame lands on rates and buyer hesitation. Usually the real problem is presentation. Here is how to tell the difference.

March 26, 2026

The Spec Home Marketing Gap Most Builders Ignore

Spec homes need to sell fastest but get marketed the least strategically. What the listing-and-wait approach costs, and what to do instead.

March 5, 2026 · DIG Team

Four DIG Projects Earn National Recognition at IBS

Four DIG projects earned national recognition at The Nationals during the International Builders Show. A look at the winning communities and teams.

February 23, 2026 · DIG Team

Stop Creating Content. Start Creating Assets.

Most builders do not lack content. They lack assets that work in more than one place. The difference between content disposal and a real strategy.

February 11, 2026 · DIG Team

Davies Imaging Group Launches FrameFlow Sell Faster Challenge for Homebuilders

DIG launches the FrameFlow Sell Faster Challenge, a structured program measuring days-on-market change across five vacant spec homes per builder.

January 28, 2026 · DIG Team

How Top Builders Are Cutting Days on Market Without Discounting

Days on market is a presentation problem more often than a pricing one. How leading builders cut DOM without touching price or adding incentives.

January 20, 2026 · DIG Team

Why Top Homebuilders Are Rethinking Their Photography Partners in 2026

Photography used to be a check-the-box task. In 2026 builders are asking a different question of their partners, and it is not about prettier photos.

January 3, 2026 · DIG Team

The Detail That Sells the Story

Buyers decide fast and online. Why clean, balanced, intentional visuals build confidence, and what crooked lines quietly cost you.

December 15, 2025 · DIG Team

DYC Exclusive: Capture Architecture Like a Pro

Smartphone photography tips for shooting buildings well: light, angles, lines, and composition, from a photographer with 15 years behind the lens.

October 2, 2024 · DIG Team

Introducing FrameFlow to DYC Summit

FrameFlow generates high-quality video from still photography, letting builders create virtual walkthroughs without booking a full production.

October 2, 2024 · DIG Team

MAME Awards Photography Special

A premium photography package built for MAME awards entries: 10 architectural images, 7 day turnaround, unlimited retouching, royalty-free usage.

June 4, 2024 · DIG Team

DIG Alpha Announcement | Photography Success System for Builders

Introducing DIG Alpha, a photography success system built for the world's best builders, and why we are releasing this content to the industry.

May 1, 2024 · DIG Team

DIG Promotion Announcement

Jason Crider joins DIG as Photography Manager after five years on select projects, alongside additional promotions across the DIG team.

April 15, 2024 · DIG Team

Rock the Block Season 5

DIG photographed every home from Season 5 of HGTV's Rock the Block after filming wrapped. See the full set now that the season has aired.

April 11, 2024 · DIG Team

Best in American Living Awards 2024

Six Platinum BALA awards for DIG client projects at the International Builders Show, including work with Toll Brothers and Taylor Morrison.

February 28, 2024 · DIG Team

Hero Home Key Ceremony

Garman Homes dedicated a Hero Home to Ava Bradley and her family, honoring the service of US Army SSG Juantrea Bradley, Sr. DIG covered the ceremony.

January 20, 2024 · DIG Team

DIG Post-Production Team Announcement

DIG expands its Mexico-based post-production operation, adding a project lead and specialists to protect quality and turnaround times.

January 18, 2024 · DIG Team

ProBuilder Forty Under 40 Announcement

Chad Davies named to Pro Builder's Forty Under 40 class of 2023, recognizing next-generation leaders and innovators in the homebuilding industry.

October 21, 2023 · DIG Team

2023 DYC Summit

DIG sponsored the Do You Convert Summit for a third year, providing event coverage and portrait photography across the two-day conference.

September 25, 2023 · DIG Team

DIG Welcomes Makenna Lloyd

Makenna Lloyd joins DIG as a Production Coordinator, bringing a journalism background and deep education experience to the production team.

June 7, 2023 · DIG Team

2023 Housing Innovation Summit

DIG covered the 2023 Housing Innovation Summit in Denver, documenting neighborhood tours, developer demonstrations, and the PropTech pitch fest.

April 27, 2023 · DIG Team

Rock the Block Season 4

DIG photographed every home from Season 4 of HGTV's Rock the Block after filming wrapped. See the full set now that the season has aired.

April 10, 2023 · DIG Team

2023 Gold Nuggets Awards

Kimberly Timmons Interiors and Woodley Architectural Group won a Gold Nugget for Vineyard Views in Best Custom Home over 5,000 square feet.

March 14, 2023 · DIG Team

DIG Welcomes Thomas Brigantino

Thomas Brigantino joins DIG full time on the post-production team, bringing a career managing global hospitality photography production.

February 16, 2023 · DIG Team

2023 Nationals and BALA Awards

Three DIG client projects took gold at The Nationals and BALA in Las Vegas, including Vineyard Views and the Clubhouse at Lake Las Vegas.

January 31, 2023 · DIG Team