Buying a home is a major life event. It requires research, financial savvy, finding in-depth information about the neighborhood, the schools, traffic, transportation--it's enough to get any potential home buyer's pulse racing. Buyers are increasingly astute and have the internet at their disposal for research. As an agent, you need to have a lot of data that can help close the sale, but buying a home is also very emotional. When people think of a home, they think of a personal expression of themselves as well as the safety and comfort of their family. Anything you can do to add emotional impact to your presentation of a property is going to give you an edge.
The use of aerial photography has exploded in the past year or so. Initially seen as viable primarily for commercial and luxury properties, the use of aerial imagery to sell residential properties of all kinds has increased rapidly, making it the key technology that is transforming the real estate business. In order to remain competitive, agents will need to incorporate aerial photography and video into their marketing plans. Drones provide the opportunity to obtain beautiful and dramatic footage of residential properties and their surroundings at a fraction of the cost of a helicopter.
Everyone has had the experience of trying to capture a photo of a breathtaking site, only to discover the photograph doesn’t do it justice. It’s also extremely difficult to invoke emotion with a single picture - or a collection of pictures from different perspectives. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the photograph failed to capture how you felt about what you saw.
That is frequently the problem with ground-level photographs of residential properties. Most are too large to capture in a single image, and multiple images of the property and its surroundings don't create the emotional response that a potential buyer feels when he or she is looking at the property. When a buyer is touring the property with you, they can see it from multiple angles, giving them a great sense for the property - even if they don’t see every square foot. Images taken from the ground can never really compete with what a person can see first hand.
Aerial photography is better at showcasing properties because it goes beyond (and above) what people can see for themselves, meaning that it can enhance the emotional experience people have when they are actually walking around the property.
Maybe you remember the conclusion of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when an amazed Charlie flies over his house in Wonka's glass elevator. Putting a home in perspective, showing its surroundings and pinpointing it from above fascinates people and gives them a real sense of the place. It's another way of creating an emotional bond between people and the property.
This kind of unique flyover imagery is really only possible using a drone to obtain images. Drones can get you unique footage that provides great detail. They are also ideal for when you want to use the camera to show movement, such as panning up the side of a building. Using a drone, a good pilot can fly under bridges or take shots that come through a line of trees, providing a very dramatic effect. They can also be used for 360 degree views, which are dramatic and professional-looking.
A drone is excellent at providing tracking shots to show what surrounds the property. Nearby golf courses or beaches help to put a property in its best context, but remember that buyers can also see things like power lines, water towers, and highways that may not be to their liking. It's important to make the property look nice just as you would for a still photograph. This means putting away trash cans and children's toys or bicycles, raking leaves, and other spiffing.
Using real estate drone photography to sell residential properties can help you to create an image as an agent or business who is innovative and technologically savvy. Buyers and sellers are attracted by aerial footage of properties and you can leverage the emotional impact of such footage to interest them into working with you. More and more agents see this as an important marketing tool, and drones are filming property somewhere every day. It won't be long before you'll be left in the dust if you're not providing this kind of imagery to your potential buyers.
It makes sense to hire professionals to pilot a drone and shoot the aerial imagery you require. Even if you were to determine that the cost of a drone would be a worthwhile investment for your real estate business, you still need someone to fly it, shoot the imagery that you need, and deal with any associated risks. Again, you could learn to do this, but why would you? Hopefully you're too busy following up on leads, showing properties, and closing deals. That's what you do best, so it only makes sense to hire someone who can pilot the drone, get the raw footage, and create a finished professional video and package of still photos for you.
You may also have heard about FAA restrictions on the use of drones to obtain footage for commercial purposes, but when you hire a professional or company to handle your shoot, you will not have to worry about this.
DroneBase can provide you with a complete package of high-resolution aerial images, HD aerial video clips, and a 60 second marketing video complete with branding, text captions, music, and contact info for $599. Other packages are available and new customers receive a discount on their first flight! Get in touch with us today to book your flight and take your residential listings to the next level.