Diana Clement: Focus on use of drones

Real estate photography with aerial drone and video footage helps to sell a home. Photo / Getty

Great real estate photography has always helped sell a home, more so these days with aerial drone and video footage. This can tell potential buyers a lot more about a home than traditional ground level shots.

It's much easier to show the proximity of the foreshore, for example, with a drone shot than to describe the location in words, says Paul Foster, senior sales partner at Iron Bridge Real Estate. "If you can see the coastline in the shot that can really help market a property."

Some in the industry say that the drone is the next most important technological development for real estate after the internet.

A recent example where Paul ordered drone shots was of a development site.

"The drone pictures helped show the approximate boundaries and highlighted local features," he says.

But not every property is suitable for drone and video. "I am selective about using drones and it's not a blanket approach," says Paul. "Where I see it would be applicable is where standard photos don't show the features or size of the property. It is a case-by-case basis."

Jim Janse, director of property marketing agency MyAgent says aerial shots add another angle to visual marketing.

For example, drone photography can show a bird's eye view of the entire property out to the boundary.

Also common is a low-level shot focusing on the house, in cases where it's not easy to capture the entirety of the home from the ground.

"With some of those homes the footprint is quite large," he says, adding that the drone photo "gives you the overall size, build and style of the house".

Drone pictures are also useful in hilly or bush-clad suburbs where traditional photography is difficult.

The other good angle a drone can offer, says Jim, is the high shot. "Looking at the house in relation to the features of the areas. It might be motorway connections, sea, shops, schools, transport links, etcetera. The high shots are valuable."

Moving images from a drone make marketing videos much more interesting, showing views of the property , neighbourhood and suburb.

Jim recommends vendors check with their real estate agents to ensure drone operators carry a Civil Aviation Authority CAA 102 certificate.

To get and keep a CAA 102 certificate, operators must go through training, and the drone must be well maintained to ensure airworthines. Operators must keep minimum distances from people or property when using the drone.

The use of a drone adds from $175 plus GST to the cost of traditional photography, says Jim.