Considering the growing popularity of drones, realtors may be wondering – is real estate drone photography worth the hype? The short answer is yes.
Drones are steadily changing the way real estate is promoted and marketed. Professionally shot aerial photos provide a more accurate, 360-degree visual representation of a property and its surroundings – capturing all key selling points of the real estate listing in a way ground-level photos simply cannot. Realtors can leverage drone photography to ensure their listings gain increased visibility online and stand out to potential clients.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss the benefits of real estate drone photography and things realtors should look for when hiring a drone service provider.
BLOG TOPICS:
Benefits of drone photography for real estate
Why Hire a Professional Drone Photographer for Real Estate?
Things to consider when hiring a drone service provider for real estate
Benefits of Drone Photography for Real Estate
Drone photography provides realtors with many benefits that help drive the overall success of their real estate sales and marketing efforts.
Cinematic Aerial Real Estate Photos
Drones with high-resolution 4K cameras can deliver expansive, cinematic images and videos of a property’s interior and exterior areas from multiple angles. Aerial drone photography can truly capture and sell the ambience of a property and allow homebuyers to visualize the lifestyle that the listing has to offer.
Accurately Showcase a Property’s Roof and Surroundings
One major advantage of drones for real estate is better visual accuracy. Drones can deliver a bird’s-eye view of a property, allowing potential homebuyers to see a development in the context of its surroundings. Homebuyers get a better understanding of the property’s size and neighborhood, including tree cover and proximity to parks or other nearby outdoor amenities. This helps homebuyers feel more confident in their decision-making and makes the listing more appealing.
For large commercial developments, condominiums, and apartment buildings, drone photography can be especially beneficial to fully showcase a property and its outdoor features, such as parking facilities, which would be tough to capture from the ground level using a handheld camera.
Further, real estate drone photography is also a relatively safe and inexpensive resource to provide potential homebuyers with a closer look at a property’s roof. Using a drone to get aerial shots of the roof as opposed to having someone physically climb up and take photos minimizes the risk to human life as well as associated labor costs.
Boost Real Estate Marketing and Sales
In this digital age, high-quality real estate visuals are key to attracting potential homebuyers online. Standard, cookie-cutter property photos are not enough to capture the attention or imagination of today’s tech-savvy homebuyers.
Drones can deliver breathtaking visuals of different properties and capture footage from a new perspective, which can help elevate a real estate company’s marketing and sales performance. In fact, according to MLS research, property listings with aerial images are 68% more likely to sell than those without. So, to ensure their listings stand out in the competitive real estate market, realtors would benefit from incorporating drone photography into their promotional campaigns.
Why Hire a Professional Drone Photographer for Real Estate?
All commercial drone operations are legally required to be conducted by a Federal Aviation Association (FAA) part 107-certified pilot. So, drones should not be a do-it-yourself approach in any commercial market because this unlicensed drone operation would be non-compliant with FAA regulations.
Realtors can certainly launch an in-house drone program, but this approach would cost them both their time and money to cover the necessary training and equipment. Hiring a drone service provider guarantees that realtors have a pilot with the requisite expertise and gear to capture polished and professional real estate photos and videos that will help property listings gain traction online. Besides, certified drone pilots also have knowledge of FAA regulations and safety best practices to minimize operational risks.
Ultimately, real estate companies that work with a professional drone photographer benefit from a quick turnaround as well as skillfully shot and edited property visuals that deliver the impact and return on investment they’re looking for.
Things to Consider When Hiring a Drone Service Provider for Real Estate
Here are the three major things real estate companies should look for when hiring a drone service provider.
Expertise and Communication
Realtors should evaluate a drone service provider’s expertise by reviewing the pilot’s portfolio of real estate photography and video work. Skillful execution is key to capturing eye-catching photos and footage of property listings, so it’s essential that realtors hire experienced service providers who can find the right lighting and angles to ensure stunning aerial real estate visuals.
Besides expertise, a realtor should ensure the drone service provider maintains open communication regarding the scope of the project, potential challenges, applicable FAA 107 rules, final deliverables, time frame for project completion, and other key factors to successfully manage expectations and ultimately bring the realtor’s vision to life.
FAA-Certified Drone Pilot
Realtors should always hire an FAA-certified drone pilot to capture promotional visuals of their property listings. FAA regulations mandate that drone operators should have a Remote Pilot Certificate if they are flying the drone for commercial purposes. So, working with a drone pilot that does not have the necessary certificate puts a realtor at risk of hefty penalties.
Besides, licensed drone service providers are also reliable and focused on safety because they are well versed with the FAA Part 107 rules, flight restrictions, processes to secure airspace authorization, and other operational factors.
Liability Insurance
While insurance is not mandated by the FAA, working with a drone service provider that has extensive liability insurance coverage protects realtors and homeowners in case of any accidents that cause property damage.
Looking for Drone Photography for Your Real Estate Project?
GraVoc is an FAA Part 107 Certified Drone service provider. We are licensed to fly drones for commercial use throughout the United States. Our licensed drone pilots can deliver breathtaking photos and videos to showcase your property listings in the best light. Check out our drone services for real estate or contact us today to get started!
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