How Real Estate Drone Training Will Benefit Your Business

You might be asking yourself if using drones in your real estate business is practical. Is it worth it to get real estate drone training and certification? Will it pay off and take your business to the next level? Drones for real estate have really changed the whole market. Real estate professionals are opting in on commercial drone training as a marketing tool to attract new clients and boost sales. Check out these numbers:

• Homes sell 68% faster when using aerial imagery (source: NAR)
• 73% of homeowners prefer to list with an agent who uses aerial video (source: NAR)

What are the benefits of real estate drone training?

Present the whole neighborhood and surrounding areas

Many buyers want to get a feel of the area as a whole. Being able to embrace aerial views of the entire property could grab a lot of attention and generate sales. Keep in mind – the FAA does not prohibit a certificated operator from flying over private property, however, some local laws have been put into place that do limit where a commercial operator can fly their aircraft. These laws are often put in place in response to privacy concerns. If you are capturing images for commercial real estate listings, there’s no reason you should be flying low and close enough to a neighbor’s home to raise their concerns. Bottom line – know the local rules and fly responsibly.

Generate new business

Most home buyers are shopping online first. Use your real estate drone training to create aerial photos and virtual tours as a way to have buyers look at a house in awe and to keep them looking at the listing for longer. Short 30-60 second video clips are also a huge attention grabber and can be easily put together using raw footage captured with your aircraft.

Create organic social media engagements

Use your drone footage as a digital marketing strategy. Post your aerial photos, videos, and virtual tours on all social media platforms. Some main platforms being Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, and Google +. This will create organic content and social engagement which will attract people to your profile and listings.

Create better curb appeal

Instead of having one-dimensional images of a listing, fly your drone to capture shots to highlight scenic views and landscaping of the property. If you’re flying low (window level) make sure to only stay around the property you’ve been hired to capture. Low level flight near a neighbor’s home is the quickest way to have someone accuse you of flying your drone irresponsibly and violating their privacy. If the neighborhood is densely populated, it’s a good idea to knock on the doors of the homes next to the property you’re capturing to introduce yourself and explain what you’ll be doing with your drone. Who knows…it may just lead to another business opportunity!

Give an exact view of what the kids walk to the school bus will look like

Use your commercial drone as a tool to give the buyer detailed information. Imagine launching your drone from the front porch and flying along the route to the kids bus stop! Just remember to avoid flying directly over any public roadways if vehicles are travelling along them, and again, be cautious of flying at low altitudes in the vicinity of neighboring properties. Even though it is not necessarily against FAA regulations, it may violate local laws and may also raise unnecessary privacy concerns.

Save money

Before drones, real estate agents had to use helicopters and airplanes to obtain these great aerial shots that we now see every day. This process can be very expensive and limit the agent to shooting one or two property’s. Real estate drone training will give the agent flexibility to shoot multiple listings. Drones also allow agents to showcase features of a property from “tree top” level, which highlights specific details of a property when shown in an aerial perspective, but would not be possible if using manned aircraft flying at a thousand feet or more above the ground.

As you can see, there are many ways drones can benefit your real estate business and take it to the next level. Drones are continuously being implemented in real estate agencies, and we believe the number will keep growing!

For more information on real estate drone training, flying your drone commercially, and becoming Part 107 certified, call us at 800-264-3907.