Developments in technology are constant in the modern day, not only giving consumers a bunch of different new gadgets and gizmos to try out, but also helping businesses and industries the chance to become more efficient and forward thinking. As is the case with a ton of different new pieces of tech, drones might have started off in a completely different industry originally, but are now an integral step in property investment and real estate, not just in the marketing and showcasing of homes, but in how they are built and planned, too.
For more information, here’s a short description of some different drone usages in the real estate sector, as well as some quick tips for anyone looking to use a drone in order to market their property professionally.
Usage in the construction stage
Drones can be an extremely useful precautionary step for property developers to take when surveying their workspace and construction site, as it allows them to get an unparalleled, birds-eye view of a given area that was not possible before, other than perhaps with some expensive and downright adventurous helicopter photography.
In the future, it also isn’t too farfetched to expect drones to be a little bit more ‘hands on’ with the construction process, too. Drones are already being developed to carry steel beams and poles which can be safer and extremely helpful, and in small concentrated swarms they can be fast and responsive. We’re probably a while away from this happening in mainstream construction projects in cities and alike, but much like how drones are predicted to be used for deliveries in the coming years, it doesn’t seem too far away.
As part of the consumer journey
In property investment and real estate, particularly in fast-moving markets such as those in city centres or regeneration zones, drone technology can also be used to give investors and buyers a well-rounded and insightful look at their property in progress, keeping them on-board every step of the way. Better still, these sorts of immersive, high-quality images can also help overseas investors, and those that can’t get to their chosen property’s construction site, to view their build remotely.
HD video capture and still images can also be used in order to form an immersive experience that will show what a property might look like upon completion, as well as how it is progressing as it reaches completion. RWinvest, a property investment company with developments across the UK, for example, uses the combination of virtual reality technology and drones in order to give investors a modern insight into their modern developments as they are progressing.
Using a drone to market your property
Thinking about marketing your property to buyers/renters and want to get those distinctive, professional-looking drone shots? Here are some steps that you might want to think about.
- Find the right drone for you – There are hundreds of different drones makes and models out there, that can do anything from taking stable, high-quality images, to hovering on the spot and following you around like some sort of drone butler. Take a look around at some of the best units out there in terms of camera quality, and make sure you find something that’s easy to maintain and control, so it doesn’t smash to pieces when you accidentally veer it through a window or down a chimney.
- Get the right footage – When capturing drone footage for your property, you want to make sure that you’re getting it from the best possible angles, showing it from the best perspective and how it fits in in relation to the surrounding area. This is particularly important if you have a city-centre property that you’re trying to market, as it will show how central the building is in relation to other points of interest. For best effects, get a birds-eye view of the property as it is being developed, allowing you to see everything from a unique perspective. This is also a brilliant way of display progress over time through a construction update, particularly if you’re going month by month. On a construction site, drones are often a lot safer too, as you can fly them around remotely capturing footage, without having to go on yourself and risk getting injured. Just make sure that you inform those working on the construction site first.
The best drone footage comes from drones that have gimbal mounts, which are support pivots attached to their cameras that stops vibration, resulting in that ‘shaky cam’ effect. These are what make videos that you often see online or on television from drones look so smooth and professional. Without this attachment, you might struggle to get your footage looking as elegant as it could be, although as expected these mounts will cost you a little bit more. If you’re using it for real estate purchases though, the initial investment might be worth it in the long run.
- Avoid Legal Troubles – While the ‘impending terror’ of drones filling the sky isn’t as much of a concern as some make it out to be, you still need to take the correct steps to ensure that you aren’t causing disruption or breaking laws while in the sky. This is particularly important if your property is in an urban area, such as a city, or nearby to an airport/landing strip etc. Sometimes you might need to get a license/permit to control a drone in a certain area, or at least perhaps notify the surrounding locals.
- Get it done professionally – You might decide that the stress of controlling your own robot might not be in your personal wheelhouse, and there’s also no point in spending all of that money on a commercial drone if you don’t know how to get the best pictures out of it. There are plenty of done companies out there that specialise in capturing steady, professional-grade footage of whatever you so choose, and a lot of property companies will hire these teams as a third party on their developments rather than trying to sort it out themselves first-hand.
