Successfully marketing a property involves a powerful visual component, and the manner in which you present your listing can make or break its sale. Compared to a street-level shot, capturing an aerial shot of a listing using a drone offers a sense of depth and dimension and a picture of what is around the property. In fact, a 2018 study on real estate drone photography found that agents with higher sales in the data pool preferred aerial photography 3.5 times more than agents on the other end.
It appears that the best agents realize the value aerial photography holds in making property sales. But what about photography’s impact on a property’s value? Could creative aerial shots increase your property’s value? Before we address this, let’s ‘capture’ some of the benefits of aerial photography.
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What can creative aerial shots do for property listings?
Being a robust marketing tool, drone photography can offer a real estate listing more than conventional photography. Even property sellers seem to be catching on to this shift in real estate marketing, with most of them preferring to work with an agent that uses drones. Here is why:
1. Create aerial maps of your property
Let’s say you have a property you want to sell that sits on a few acres of land. Simply showcasing a static photo of the front of your commercial property will not give potential buyers an idea about its scale. Now, let’s presume your property sits in the middle of a city or is on an important interstate highway. An aerial shot can be used to capture your property from above with this key topographical marker included. This gives interested parties an idea of proximity and the additional revenue they can generate. In other words, you can visually capture the size of your property as well as how close it will be to amenities nearby like a subway, bus stop, or other public transport.
2. Conduct virtual tours of your listings
Video is attractive for buyers when it comes to real estate, with video listings receiving four times the inquiries than listings without videos. Today with companies like Up Sonder you can go beyond taking traditional on-the-ground photos. We enable you to take aerial videos and photos of your entire property without the expenses associated with hiring an airplane or helicopter. We also have a fleet of drone photographers across the country and they’re ready to assist you in capturing your property even if you’re hundreds or thousands of miles away. This unlocks a new marketing avenue for your listings.
The combination of virtual reality with real estate marketing has led to a new untapped market. Using special cameras attached to drones, you can create an interactive virtual experience allowing potential buyers to move through the space however they please. The best part is that no in-person visits will be necessary. It’s also worth considering the novelty factor. A virtual real estate tour will likely be instantly more memorable than a standard one. By adding an aerial perspective, you get to open up this avenue and let your listing stand out from the crowd.
3. Highlight key property features clearly
Professionally shot listings using virtual tools can help properties sell 32 percent faster, as they fulfill the purpose of making a great first impression on potential buyers. Using aerial photography, you not only get to professionally capture your property build but also key features around it like parking or nearby landmarks. Digitally inaccessible features like a solar panel on the roof get their time in the spotlight with an aerial shot of your property.
Another great example of this is when your commercial listing offers added parking space, either inside or outside. While writing down your listing’s access to selling points like a parking lot can increase the value of your property, capturing it in pictures is much better. Buyers can get an immediate understanding of visual proximity, which can speed up their decision-making.
4. Capture large properties better
Aerial photography can be used on properties of all sizes, including larger properties. While static shots do not always do justice to the size of the property, aerial shots can bring scale into the picture. This might be why aerial shots are a popular choice for larger properties like commercial real estate. One of the biggest benefits of aerial photography is that the scale of large properties can be easily conveyed to buyers with a couple of aerial shots.
5. Get the creative freedom to pick your favorite angles
Drones give you accessibility to all kinds of creative visuals to represent your listing. Besides the virtual tours, which are a great addition to your marketing, you can use 360-degree drone footage. Some examples of using this feature well include a sweeping shot that puts a property in the context of surrounding areas, a panorama showing off the view from the top floor restaurant if you own a mall, or an aerial photo highlighting a section of a property that can only be admired from above. Drones let you capture your listing at different heights, sides, and angles all around your property to find the shot that looks best.
6. Widen your pool of prospects
Conventional photography doesn’t cut it to attract hordes of buyers for a listing. Aerial photography offers better immersion and perspective when it comes to examining a listing. If more people are likely to inquire about a listing that is professionally shot, using your arsenal of aerial shots and sweeping panoramas, you can reach more people and widen your pool of prospective buyers. Virtual tours can be used to reach those who could not make it in person. The more prospects you have for a listing, the higher its demand, which organically increases its value.
7. Make an impact on a budget
Drone photography makes aerial photography accessible to pretty much every marketing budget. With the onslaught of real estate agents using drones in 2022, the cost of hiring a professional drone pilot to help produce a video for your property has dropped. You need little to no fuel to operate drones for considerably long distances. What’s more, the images captured through drones do more than simply make a property look good.
They capture nearby amenities that add to the appeal of your listing. Serving as a ‘virtual vision,’ you get an immersive state-of-the-art tour of your commercial property. You can have stunning videos showcasing all that your property has to offer by hiring a professional drone pilot or legally piloting a drone yourself. Up Sonder connects you with professional drone pilots or lets you pilot drones so you can capture the best your property has to offer. Combine this budget-friendly feature with the impact drone footage makes on a buyer and you have a recipe for a solid first impression.
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How to make the most of aerial photography?
Using aerial photography, you can reach more buyers and increase the demand for a potential listing. With greater demand comes the likelihood of a better valuation. But all of this starts with being able to capture the value of your property. Here are a few tips to ensure you make the most of your aerial shots:
- Be picky about when to shoot. Sunlight will play a role in either enhancing or diminishing certain features of your listing. Certain properties look their best lit up at night, while others can look remarkable on sunny afternoons. If you own a mall, timing your aerial photograph will help you include traffic around the mall. Accounting for the best weather to fly a drone is also key.
- List down features you want to highlight. By keeping all essential features in mind, you can ensure you are capturing every selling point that can attract buyers. Try to find shots that capture as many features of your listing’s location as possible.
- Mix it up. Adding creative flair to your real estate marketing videos can help you stand out. Whether it is a timelapse of your street or a panoramic shot of your property’s view, these elements can generate a sense of excitement as they immerse potential buyers into what your property has to offer.
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Streamline real estate marketing with Up Sonder
Make the most of your aerial shots with Up Sonder’s state-of-the-art drone service for commercial real estate. Using our network of FAA-certified commercial drone pilots, get stunning drone footage to help you go beyond traditional marketing. With a diverse client portfolio and a sizable client base across more than 1,000 U.S cities, we’re the best option for you!