Bird’s Eye View: Drones in the Real Estate Industry

Drones aren’t just for spying on Americans anymore. They’re also good for hunting prime real estate. The excitement  is heating up, and for good reason. Unmanned drones are a simple way to capture large expanses of real estate. If you’re selling land, one of the most breathtaking views may just be from above.

Octocopter for aerial drone photography
Image/Video Screen Shot

The Cool Factor

So, there’s a cool factor associated with selling real estate using drones. For starters, real estate agents who start adopting this technology will be ahead of their peers simply by the mere fact that they will be seen as technologically competent. It’s true that today’s buyer isn’t necessarily demanding drone flyovers of their property. But, they are tech-savvy and smarter than consumers 10 or 20 years ago.

A lot of that has to do with the Internet, the easy-availability of knowledge and information, and the fact that most consumers hunt for property online before they meet with an agent.

Any edge you have will be a good one. And, there are no drone flyover videos out there just yet, so the first to adopt this technology will be seen as the “go-to” person for property.

Festo Smartbird photo drone

The Technology

The technology for drones is well-established. In fact, many of these devices can be easily equipped with a small camera with excellent resolution. The control is pretty precise, so a movie-style shot shouldn’t be too difficult to obtain with them.

The problem arises when it comes to actually flying the drones though. While the tech is solid, a human still needs extensive training to maneuver them. This isn’t something most real estate agents will be able to do themselves. You’ll need a sort of special pilot training.

There’s a lot that can go wrong with lying a drone – think aerial dive bombs, mid-air collisions, and surface-to-air interference from nervous or overly cautious country folk with shotguns.

Hobbyists are already aware of the technical challenges of flying these things.

Regulatory Hurdles

Another issue is the regulatory hurdles. The FAA is the government agency that regulates all aircraft in the U.S. It’s what’s keeping companies, like Amazon, from delivering on its idea of drone-delivered packages. It’s also the roadblock for awesome aerial flyovers of large properties and tracts of land.

There are strict limits as to what constitutes hobbyist use, and this is where the regulations are more lax. Other uses that are permitted by the FAA include research, public safety, and limited commercial use.

But, when you delve into the realm of commercial use, approval is done on a case-by-case basis. Regulation is often seen as necessary, since there are so many concerns over privacy. For example, there are concerns over unauthorized photos or video being taken using drones. There are also concerns over weaponized drones being used on U.S. soil.

Because drones are relatively new in the world of commercial aviation, the FAA has a lot to sort out when it comes to the implementation of sane restrictions. Really, what many advocates of drones are hoping for is a somewhat lax approach to regulation – fewer restrictions mean more creative use of the technology.

 Guest Writer: Annette Goree

Annette Goree is studying for her real estate license. She enjoys writing about the modern home market from technology uses to professionalism.