Blogue · 26 septembre 2026 · 4 min de lecture

How many photos for a real estate listing? The right number for each property

25, 40, 60 or 90 photos? The number of photos a Centris listing should have based on property size, the order that gets clicks, and the rooms everyone forgets.

Too few photos, and the buyer wonders what is being hidden. Too many, and they drop off before the primary bedroom. The right number exists, and it depends neither on price nor on neighbourhood: it depends on square footage and the number of rooms.

Here are the benchmarks we apply on several hundred mandates a year, the order that makes the difference, and the rooms listings systematically forget.

The principle: one photo per "question"

Every photo in a listing answers a question the buyer is asking. "Does the kitchen have an island?" "Is the basement finished?" "What is the view from the deck?" A good gallery answers every question they will ask before requesting a showing, and none other.

A photo that answers no question (the second angle of the same hallway, the close-up of a door handle) dilutes the others. A question with no photo (the garage, the laundry room, the backyard) creates a doubt.

Benchmarks by size

Studio or condo up to 1,000 sq ft: 20 to 30 photos. Every room from two angles, plus the view, the balcony, storage and the building's common areas (lobby, gym, rooftop terrace).
Single-storey or house of 1,000 to 1,500 sq ft: 30 to 35 photos. Every room, the basement even unfinished, the garage, the exterior from three angles.
Regular house, under 2,600 sq ft: 35 to 40 photos. The most common format, and 40 photos cover a three-bedroom house with a finished basement without redundancy.
Large house, 2,600 to 3,500 sq ft: 50 to 60 photos. The room count goes up, living areas are bigger and need two angles each, and the lot deserves more attention.
Prestige property, over 3,500 sq ft: 70 to 90 photos, plus the 10 drone photos. Here the buyer is willing to look for a long time, and every space (wine cellar, home theatre, triple garage, landscaping) is a selling point.

These benchmarks match the caps of our photo packages: 25 for a condo (30 with common areas), 35, 40, 60 and 90 photos. That is no coincidence: the packages were built from the actual number of photos it takes to cover each size.

Centris has no limit, but the buyer does

Centris accepts up to 50 photos per listing, and buyers rarely look past the thirtieth. That does not mean delivering fewer: it means order matters more than count. The first 12 photos are seen by everyone; the next 30 by those already interested.

The order that works:

The facade (at twilight if you have one)
The room that sells: kitchen or open-plan area, depending on the property
The second strong room: living room, dining room, or the view
The primary bedroom and its bathroom
The backyard or deck
The other bedrooms, the other bathrooms
The basement, the family room
The garage, laundry room, storage
The drone and overviews of the lot
The floor plan in last position, or second if the layout is unusual

A buyer who looks at the first five photos knows whether they want to visit. The next 35 serve to confirm, not to convince.

The rooms everyone forgets

After hundreds of galleries, the omissions are always the same:

The laundry room. A buyer with two kids wants to see it.
The inside of the garage. Especially if it is double, heated or insulated.
Storage: walk-in, pantry, basement storage.
The entrance and vestibule. It is the first thing the buyer will see at the showing; not showing it creates a gap.
The shed, when it is in good condition.
The street and immediate surroundings, one single photo, from the sidewalk, to set the scene.
A condo's common areas: lobby, elevator, gym, shared terrace. A condo buyer buys the building as much as the unit.

None of these will be the first photo of the listing. But their absence is what makes a buyer say "there must be something".

What not to show

There are also photos to remove:

Two near-identical angles of the same room. One is enough, except for large open-plan areas.
The toilet on its own. A powder room is shot from the door, including the sink.
The unfinished basement from three angles. One photo is enough to say "it is there and it is dry".
The close-up of the faucet or the counter. Except on a prestige property where the material is a selling point.
Blurry, dark or crooked photos. One weak photo casts doubt on all the others.

And video?

Video does not replace photos: it complements them for the already-interested buyer. A listing with 40 good photos and a 90-second video converts better than one with 60 photos and no video. We explain the logic in our article on reels and vertical video.

The floor plan, for its part, replaces a dozen photos of hallways and transitions. On an unusual layout, it is the most consulted piece of information after the facade.

In short

The right number of photos is the one that answers every buyer question without creating new ones: about 25 for a condo, 40 for a regular house, 60 for a large house, 90 for a prestige property. And within that set, the first five do 80% of the work.

Book your session in the online estimator: the package it proposes matches the property, and therefore the right number of photos.

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