Click to Enlarge Drones seem to be everywhere one turns these days, and real estate has not been left untouched. But is there a benefit or are drones just another gimmick to make the listing agent seem "hi-tech" and on top of the latest trends?
While I'm an early adopter of many technologies, I can't jump on the drone bandwagon. Most of the aerial shots of real estate that I've seen look exactly as you would imagine -- a picture from 50 ft. above the house, with a slight fisheye effect from the usually lower-quality wide-angle lens. I suspect if Google Maps/Earth and the the like weren't so prevalent, this might be beneficial, but we've all been able to get the same (or a very similar) perspective for several years by simply logging onto our computers. Would that view compel me as a buyer to consider a particular home over another? Probably not.
Recently I ran into another use of drones in real estate -- during a home inspection. The inspector used a drone to "inspect" the 2nd story concrete tile roof. Most inspectors will use binoculars if the roof is too tall and/or has too steep of a pitch on which to walk. Likewise, they will avoid walking on concrete or clay tiles to avoid breaking them. When the inspector first mentioned it, I thought the idea might have merit -- then I saw the photo (upper left corner of this post) included in the inspection report -- not much substance -- it would have to be a HUGE problem to even be noticed! But I guess now the home inspector has a cool toy that he can write off as a business expense as it's used in the course of his work. He's happy, his wife is happy, and the client believes that their inspector is "hi-tech"! Disclosure: This is not the inspector that I generally use -- this inspector was retained by the buyer of one of my listings.
While I'm an early adopter of many technologies, I can't jump on the drone bandwagon. Most of the aerial shots of real estate that I've seen look exactly as you would imagine -- a picture from 50 ft. above the house, with a slight fisheye effect from the usually lower-quality wide-angle lens. I suspect if Google Maps/Earth and the the like weren't so prevalent, this might be beneficial, but we've all been able to get the same (or a very similar) perspective for several years by simply logging onto our computers. Would that view compel me as a buyer to consider a particular home over another? Probably not.
Recently I ran into another use of drones in real estate -- during a home inspection. The inspector used a drone to "inspect" the 2nd story concrete tile roof. Most inspectors will use binoculars if the roof is too tall and/or has too steep of a pitch on which to walk. Likewise, they will avoid walking on concrete or clay tiles to avoid breaking them. When the inspector first mentioned it, I thought the idea might have merit -- then I saw the photo (upper left corner of this post) included in the inspection report -- not much substance -- it would have to be a HUGE problem to even be noticed! But I guess now the home inspector has a cool toy that he can write off as a business expense as it's used in the course of his work. He's happy, his wife is happy, and the client believes that their inspector is "hi-tech"! Disclosure: This is not the inspector that I generally use -- this inspector was retained by the buyer of one of my listings.
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