A sleek, spidery drone lifts off from Robert Nicholson's driveway, strafing the front of his colonial-style home while he tracks the vehicle's flight via a handheld view screen. The high-definition footage recorded by the drone's swiveling camera gives the landscape a cinematic quality, potentially catching the eager eye of a prospective buyer should the owner put his house up for sale.
Nicholson, founder of Aerial Visual Technologies and a recently minted real estate agent with Keller Williams, has no plans to sell anytime soon. But according to Nicholson and other area agents, drone photography and videos are becoming a potent industry tool — perhaps the most important innovation to enter real estate marketing since the internet — providing a visually compelling advantage in a marketplace congested with static two-dimensional photographs.
"With drones we can scale a property, put it into a video, and give you exact measurements based on GPS coordinates," Nicholson said. "As a seller, you can make it more functional for a buyer to say, 'This is what I'm getting.' In today's society, I have about 25 seconds to get your attention. You have to give people something different, because they get tired of the same thing."
Real estate professionals are employing these airborne cameras to produce swooping shots of homes or commercial buildings, showcasing properties from dramatic angles previously limited to expensive helicopter fly-bys.
As the technology is still relatively novel, using drones can raise an agent's profile and bring much-needed excitement to a listing, said Matt Gunn, owner of Gunn Photography Services, a Parma-based commercial drone company with a focus on real estate.
"If you have 1,000 homes, you'll have maybe 30 using aerial photos (in their listings)," Gunn said. "Drone photography is a unique way to market a property."
Gunn's company also made a teaser video using a drone for commercial brokerage firm Avison Young. The two-minute clip offers a bird's-eye view of the University Square shopping complex in University Heights, illuminating the 10-acre parcel's attributes as a mixed-use boon. Voice narration, graphics and low-key music lend the video an additional professional polish aimed at would-be development partners.
"Drone footage helps us hype the property that we're marketing," said Avison Young vice president David Horowitz. "We want to stand out and catch people's attention."
The technology has practical benefits as well. Cleveland production company Aerial Agents created a video of a large Avison-brokered industrial property on Cass Avenue, adding graphics to outline specific areas of the parcel ready for redevelopment. Still shots of the highlighted parcel were then used in the firm's printed marketing materials.
"It's geared toward developers who could assess the parcel and know what they have to work with," Horowitz said. "There's not many brokerages using videos with different angles and zooms."
Most homebuyers begin their search online, so differentiating properties through a high-quality "virtual tour" is key, drone proponents said. Keller Williams' Nicholson points to a ground-level photo of a lakefront colonial from a real estate magazine. While there's nothing wrong with a traditional curb-appeal shot, some choice overhead images would make the property pop in the mind of a buyer, he said.
"With a drone you could see the lake, the horizon, and the beach that sits behind the house," said Nicholson. "But you can't because this house looks like every other house on the block."
Drone imagery also saves time, as it displays details of a property a buyer may not glean until they get on site.
"Maybe a family doesn't want to deal with an in-ground pool because of the maintenance," Nicholson said. "If I'm a buyer's agent, I don't want to drag them to 15 different houses they're not going to want."
Howard Hanna real estate agent Susan Smith said drones are best suited for expansive single properties or sprawling developments. For instance, Howard Hanna flew a drone over the Bridgeport luxury home complex in Mayfield Heights, giving viewers insight on individual dwellings along with the overall layout of the neighborhood.
"It's exciting because it's interactive," said Smith. "You can start from a home's entrance and literally pull someone through the property."
For all its benefits, a drone can't shoot all the photography and video needed to market a listing. The technology is not well suited for interiors of smaller spaces, or properties shrouded by trees and other buildings, noted Gunn of Gunn Photography.
"I don't do interiors unless it's for large warehouses where I can fly safely inside," he said. "I've been asked to do mansions, but the risk isn't worth the reward. I don't want to crash into somebody's chandelier."
Realtors hiring a drone photographer should be aware of legal and safety risks, area experts said. Any professional company will have a Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 UAV Operator's certificate as well as liability insurance that specifically covers piloting a drone for commercial photography purposes. The National Association of Realtors even offers a guide to help agents navigate the ever-growing realm of flying cameras.
Regarding privacy concerns, Nicholson will inform a client's neighbors if he's shooting a house, and will make sure to block particular lines of site — if there are children outside, for example — upon request.
With the spring home buying season underway, drones will continue to be a valuable asset utilized by the forward-thinking real estate company, he said.
"This technology is not going away; it's only getting better," Nicholson said. "Sooner or later, drones or going to take over the industry. It's one of those things where you either jump on or you get left behind."
Get some quotes for a drone operator
✔ 100% free service✔ Featured in the SMH, The Age & WA Today
✔ 1,800+ online recommendations
