Drones are proliferating everywhere these days, and not just for recreation. More and more, real estate companies are making use of aerial drone photography and videography to create property photos and videos of homes for sale. Drones are the biggest advance in visual real estate marketing since the virtual tour became common in the early 2000s.
The stirring emotional appeal of a bird’s eye view
Especially in a master planned area such as Lakewood Ranch, drone photography and video can give home buyers a more complete impression of the home itself, as well as the surrounding community. It stirs excitement to see layout of the homes lot, community design, and proximity of unique lifestyle amenities such as lakes, golf courses, parks and recreation centers.
For properties with water frontage, for example, drone photography is especially beneficial. Being able to show the entire scope of the house and surrounding landscape features can produce a strong emotional appeal over more traditional ground-based photos, helping the buyer better envision the appeal of the home’s location.
What drones can tell you about a property
When used for real estate marketing, drone photography can show potential buyers a whole range of visual details that can’t be encompassed by the naked eye, such as
- The neighborhood and surrounding area, including the home’s proximity to amenities
- Encompassing aerial views of the entire property and land
- Unique features such as water or golf course frontage.
- What the drive home or the kids’ walk to school looks like
- Civic developments or local improvement districts (LIDs) that the buyer’s property taxes might cover
Drones must fly by the rules, and respect neighbors’ privacy
The idea of drones buzzing around your head or taking illicit footage of you through your window is disturbing, but is not a realistic concern. Few drones even have lenses that allow zooming, so a person with a camera-phone 100 ft. from your house has a better chance of invading your privacy than a commercial drone does.
Drones weighing over .55 lbs. are regulated by the FAA, and to operate a drone for commercial use a drone pilot must have a FAA license. The agency has a process for legal use of drones, and has issued operational guidelines and common sense rules. For example, operators must fly under 400 feet — plenty of height to capture a home’s features — fly only during daylight hours, and keep the drone within sight. They also are not allowed to fly directly over people or homes without permission.
The use of drones for real estate is still a relatively new thing, and the truth is that there are a lot of people out there using drones for commercial use without the proper credentials. We at LakewoodRachLife.com and Century 21 Beggins Enterprises have a FAA licensed drone pilot on staff, so you can be sure when you list your home with us you will get the highest quality, professionally licensed drone services for real estate.