Drones in real estate
Real estate agents are now adding a new skill to their portfolio: drone photography.
UAV photography is all the rage in Europe and real estate agents abroad are using drones to amp up their business by getting unique aerial pictures of the homes they’re trying to sell.
In America, the national trade association for real estate agents has drawn up a set of guidelines for agents who wish to add drone photography to their repertoire.
Aerial photography is sometimes necessary for prospective home buyers to fully see the property they are interested in.
Before drones were an option, real estate agents would have to hire a helicopter to take top-down pictures of the homes they were representing.
This was very costly as helicopter rentals don’t come cheap. Realtors who were afraid of heights or those with poor photography skills would have to hire a photographer.
Their photographer would have to be willing to take the pictures they needed from the helicopter and also have the equipment necessary to take clear pictures, as helicopters are legally only permitted to get so close to the building of interest.
Luckily for today’s realtors, drone photography is available as a more cost effective solution.
NOTE: To learn more about how drones are being used in real estate marketing, check out Andrew Nixon’s excellent real estate drone marketing guide on BestDroneForTheJob.com.
Realtors with drones
The FAA is currently responsible for the rules of flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Anyone flying drones for profit must be a complete a detailed registration process and be mindful of the laws that pertain to drone usage in particular districts.
Drone regulations are a frequent topic in court and laws regarding commercial drones are likely to change again soon, hopefully, to make things easier when it comes to professional operation.
No matter what the law dictates, drone operator training is advised for anyone looking to pilot a UAV.
Aerial photography
Many of today’s real estate agents who already use drones are thought to be unregistered and simply keeping hush about how they acquired their exceptional aerial photography.
A realtor from Tierra Antigua Realty in Arizona recently applied and was granted permission to fly a Phantom 2 Vision Plus drone.
He requested to fly his UAV for the purpose of increasing community awareness and enhancing real estate commercial videos.
This particular drone is one of the most purchased drones on the market today. Professional photographers gravitate toward it because of simplistic operational controls, and generally low purchase price.
Real Estate agents may not feel confident enough to fly a drone themselves or may not want to invest time and money into buying a drone and getting registered.
For those who do not wish to complete drone operator training, plenty of start-up businesses are offering their services in taking aerial photography. UAV businesses are limited to photography only.
Some drone business provides consulting services, data analysis, and FAA regulatory instruction.
The Better View is a blossoming UAV consulting agency that is based out of California. Their helpful associates aim to help businesses in need of drone pilots find the professional that can best meet their needs.
These client requests are not limited to mere photography, they even help clients find the data analyzing personnel needed to interpret information received from their drone photography and videography.
This company’s first repeat clients were reportedly real estate agents hoping to get a high-quality top down photos of the properties they were representing.
Today the majority of their clients are either insurance providers or professional roofers. Both of these types of clients are hoping to get aerial footage to locate damage that could go unseen if aerial photography was not available.
The company’s past work in linking professional photographers to real estate agents was highly successful.
Realtors were consistently praising their aerial photography and lots of the pictures taken by the drones were showing up in magazines, internet listings, and pamphlets.
The company’s change to insurance and roofing had nothing to do with a loss of demand in real estate photography, The co-owner of Better view simply had more experience in the insurance arena and thus attracted more clients of similar background affiliation.
UAV photography abroad
Most countries are not as strict when it comes to drone flight regulations. In fact, most European countries have been utilizing UAV real estate photography for years.
AirVu is a well known UAV firm based out of the Cayman Islands. Their aerial photography has been helping real estate agents sell Caribbean properties for years.
Some of these gorgeous waterfront properties would not have been advertised adequately had it not been for their aerial photography.
Realtors utilizing UAVs to sell properties should undergo drone operator training before ever taking a drone onto a property. Taking the time to get proper training will mean better pictures and safer maneuverability.
Drones are helping many people in a wide array of jobs and now real estate agents are reaping the benefits of their remarkable aerial photography.
Learn More
To learn more about how drones are being used in real estate marketing, check out Andrew Nixon’s excellent real estate drone marketing guide on BestDroneForTheJob.com.