With interest rates on the rise, real estate agents across the country are looking for ways to get a leg up on the competition and sell houses. Hiring a professional photographer is a no-brainer for higher-end listings and 3D tours are great, as well. Open houses are an old standby, too.
If you're selling your home or if you are one of the above-mentioned agents, have you ever considered hiring someone to do an aerial video of your house and property? With over 762,000 new homes sold in 2021, the resale market is even more lucrative. Drone footage allows the seller or the seller's agent to show the house from a unique perspective and includes a host of other benefits, as well.
Read on to learn more about how using real estate aerial footage can help boost your real estate marketing plan to sell your property fast.
Capture Aerial Video and See Every Angle
Anything that can help you get a leg up and make your real estate listing stand out is important when it comes to real estate marketing. Here are some helpful tips on how to use aerial video to enhance your listing.
Keep Up With the Times
It seems like new technology is popping up every day and keeping up with it can be a challenge, for sure. With a little bit of homework, however, you can make your real estate listing stand out from the others through 3D virtual tours, augmented reality, and a number of other methods.
Using drone footage provides another layer of depth to that technology. An overwhelming majority of homebuyers search listings online before ever actually seeing the home in person, so the more positive angles that you can show of the home and the property online, the better.
The average age of first-time home buyers is 33, so technology has definitely become a vital part of selling a home or property to this young demographic.
Show the Scale
Pictures and 3D photography are great at showing the depth and contrast of the interior of a home, and most people understand the size of an acre of land. However, being able to provide an expansive vision of what the land looks like from above is far more impactful on a potential home buyer.
Additionally, if there are any flourishes of uniqueness or architectural oddities that may attract buyers that may not be visible to the naked eye from the ground, using aerial photography is a great way to show off these pieces.
Show Off Quality From Above
Often, one of a home buyer's biggest concerns about a potential new home is the condition and age of the roof. While giving the age of the roof is one thing, nothing can take the place of physically laying eyes on the soffits, fascia, gutters, and shingles up close.
Integrity Is Everything
Another major upside to providing aerial video with your real estate marketing is the fact that you can show all of the nooks and crannies of the hard-to-reach areas. For example, if your disclosure says that there are no issues with the roof, you can have proof via drone footage rather than having to physically climb up there and look at it.
Theoretically, you can even offer to do a drone footage inspection of the house from the foundation to the chimney.
It Looks More Impressive
Many home buyers scroll listings on their phones, going from picture to picture, virtual tour to virtual tour. If you provide something like aerial video, it helps to make your listing stand out and says to the potential buyer that you've pulled out all of the proverbial stops to sell the home.
How To Hire a Professional Drone Videographer
The first step in obtaining an aerial video for your real estate marketing is to find and settle on the services of a professional drone videographer. Just like a photographer, hiring a professional is always the best way to go to get the desired results. It can make or break your effort in making your real estate marketing plan work.
Check Their License
The single most important part of hiring a drone footage videographer is to ensure that they have an FAA license to operate commercially. Due to the fact that drones are airborne craft, getting FAA licensure is vital, especially in commercial situations. They should be able to present their license to you upon request before doing the work so as to absolve you of any responsibility, should there be any complaints.
Ask For Their Portfolio
Most professional photographers and videographers will have some kind of portfolio that showcases their previous work. You are completely within bounds to ask for each videographer's portfolio before even furthering the conversation about the job. You need to make sure that they have relevant experience and a keen eye for the work, after all.
Work With Your Real Estate Agent
Chances are that your real estate agent has a contact that you can use to obtain a quote for an aerial video of your property. In fact, they should be the ones to schedule it. It is important to shop around, however.
Some videographers may cost more than others, and some may or may not have the above-mentioned licensure to take drone footage of your home appropriately.
Aerial Video and Luxury Listings
Drone footage has found a lucrative niche when it comes to luxury home listings, as well. After all, when the home is the size of Disneyland, a simple walk-through just won't do!
Better Coverage
Because of the sheer size of many luxury homes, drone footage is helpful because potential buyers may not have the time or expertise to properly check all of the infrastructure. Since many luxury listings land in the range of six or seven figures, it's important for potential buyers or their representatives to see all of the property regardless of how out-of-the-way it might be.
More Impressive Views
Sometimes a luxury listing is a high dollar amount because of the surroundings. While a potential buyer may see the address and know the upscale neighborhood, it's tough to beat one of those classic drone footage pan-out videos from above. Imagine seeing your possible new home from the front yard and having it pan out to the beautiful scenery of the ocean surrounding the property. It's a game-changer.
The home may be several miles from the beach or a majestic mountain range, but a good drone videographer will be able to use the light and height to go up 50 or 60 feet and drive home the lifestyle and proximity to this scenery. It comes down to whom you’re targeting your real estate marketing toward, and with luxury listings, selling the beauty of the area can be very important.
More Bang For Your Buck
On average, drone videographers only charge a couple of hundred dollars per hour for their services. But there is also evidence that it helps sell a home much faster. Ultimately, it's just a good investment - especially if it's a large property or a luxury home, or if it is in a very desirable location.
It Works Both Ways
It's not just potential home buyers who prefer drone footage in real estate marketing. Homeowners who are considering selling their homes want to work with real estate agents who use drone footage, as well.
While 3D virtual tours and uploading tons of professionally shot photography is a good idea, not many agents have started the use of drones in their listings. This added touch of technology provides a bit more sophistication and trendiness to the listing.
Just think of how cool it'll look to a potential buyer when they see a Hollywood-style sweeping panorama of your home and the surrounding property. It is eye-catching, for sure, and the remote pilot can use tons of different dynamic angles and lighting to show off the unique features better than a traditional photographer.
Join the New Generation of Real Estate Listings with Aerial Video Footage
Real estate marketing is evolving with every new technological advancement, and those seem to come faster every year. Now that you understand the many benefits of using aerial videos as a part of real estate marketing or if you're buying a home, make sure you find a drone pilot photographer that produces high-quality work.
Most professional videographers will supply you with a portfolio or at the very least give you a link to their website with examples of their work. Once you've found the company you're looking for, hire a service that helps you enhance your listing with the latest technology.