Are you a real estate professional wondering whether drone services could be worth investing in?
Or are you simply curious about how drones are used in the real estate industry?
In this article, I will discuss what real estate drone services are, what they usually include, and the eight benefits of using them.
Additionally, I will cover whether real estate companies use drones and provide an overview of more than 50 drone service companies from all states.
Plus, I’ll delve into the pros and cons of using drone services versus doing drone photography and videography yourself and provide information on how much real estate drone services typically cost.
Sounds interesting? Then, please keep reading.
What Are Real Estate Drone Services? What Do They Usually Include?
Real estate drone services are a subset of services usually offered by photography service providers and involve unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also called drones.
These drones capture aerial footage and images of residential and commercial properties.
The produced content can then be used for real estate marketing and lead generation purposes and can be virtual tours, promotional videos of properties, and 3D models.
By using drones, you can capture images and videos from unique angles and heights, resulting in an improved impression of the respective property, location, and neighborhood.
Real estate drone services are used mainly by real estate professionals such as real estate agents, brokers, and property developers.
A typical drone service company often includes the following in its offers:
- 3D Mapping and modeling, involving 3D modeling software to convert the property and the location into 3D maps and models
- Aerial photography and videography
- Promotional videos
- Virtual tours (see my article on virtual tours here
- Consultation and planning to develop an individual plan for the real estate drone services
- Marketing and advertising the properties showcased in the created drone footage
- Post-production services such as editing and processing the footage
8 Benefits of Using Real Estate Drone Services
In my article about how to write a property listing description that pops here, I discussed already available stats about how aerial photography can increase your persuasive power and, thus, your conversion rates.
What Can Drones Do for Real Estate (Is It Worth It)?
According to this source, aerial photography increases the odds of selling a property by 68 percent more than properties without it.
Additional benefits of using drones and real estate drone services not directly related to increasing the persuasive power of your property listing include the following:
1) Improved Visuals
As mentioned above, you will get better images that capture the property and neighborhood from unique angles.
2) Cost-Effective
Compared to you doing drone photography and videography alone, it is more cost-effective to put a real estate drone service company in charge that can provide you with high-quality visuals.
You will save on expensive equipment and production and post-production costs.
3) A Time-Saver
Related to the cost-effectiveness is the benefit of saving your valuable time.
The capturing of the footage itself is already a bit quicker than traditional photography.
Still, you will also save the time of not having to do it yourself and again spending time on the production and post-production.
4) Differentiation
While more and more real estate agents and brokers use aerial photography and videography, you will likely still stand out on the market by showcasing your listing in this still unique way.
While this is not that important in a seller’s market to find buyers, it still can give you an edge with potential seller clients who see you go the extra mile for their homes.
5) Improved Safety
This may not apply to the typical residential real estate market but to real estate niches such as bigger commercial properties, high-rise buildings, or remote locations.
A real estate drone service company can help you access these otherwise difficult or dangerous properties.
Do Real Estate Companies Use Drones?
Yes, real estate companies use drones.
Specifically, 53% of real estate agents use drones for marketing real estate listings, and of these, 36% use drone real estate services to operate them to produce content, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Using Drone Real Estate Services vs. Doing Drone Photography & Videography Yourself (Pros and Cons)
Based on the statistics of the earlier section, we know that only a minority (36%) of real estate agents that use drones for marketing their listings use a drone real estate service.
So you, too, may wonder whether you should produce the drone footage yourself. And there are pros and cons to using real estate drone service versus doing this type of photography and videography yourself.
That’s why I added two pro and con overview tables for both scenarios to help you make an informed decision should you be on the fence.
The Pros and Cons of Using Real Estate Drone Services
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Have professional-grade equipment and experienced operators, which can result in higher quality footage and images | Can be expensive, especially for larger properties or more complex projects. |
| Real estate drone service companies can quickly capture footage and images, which can save time compared to doing it yourself. | Using a real estate drone service means relinquishing some control over the creative process, as the operator will be making decisions about flight paths and camera angles. |
| Real estate drone service companies are knowledgeable about regulations and legal requirements for drone use, which can help ensure compliance and avoid legal issues (e.g. FAA regulations). | Coordinating schedules with a real estate drone service can be difficult, especially during peak seasons or in busy markets. |
| Can provide you with a range of services, including aerial photography, 3D mapping, virtual tours, and post-production editing. |
The Pros and Cons of Doing Drone Photography and Videography Yourself
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Doing drone photography and videography yourself can be less expensive than hiring a real estate drone service. | Unless you have professional-grade equipment, the quality of the footage and images may not be as high as that of a real estate drone service. |
| You can be more creative and have more control over the footage and images captured. | Getting professional-grade equipemtn can be a significant cost. |
| Allows for more flexibility in terms of scheduling and timing. | You may be at risk of violating laws and regulations if you are not knowledgeable about regulations and legal requirements for drone use. |
| It can be time-consuming, especially if you do not have much experience with drone photography and videography. |
The Big Overview of Real Estate Drone Service Companies From All States
Generally, you find two types of drone service company websites: local businesses flexible to travel to where you may need them and larger state-wide drone service match-maker websites (basically brokers).
In the below overview table, I only included local businesses and, in the end, a short list of the larger state-wide “drone service matchmakers.”
Since I don’t want you to feel like drinking from a fire hose when reading through all of it, I capped the first list to a maximum of one local real estate drone service per state.
Most drone service companies don’t serve the real estate industry exclusively.
However, I only included the ones in the below overview that have worked already for the real estate industry besides others or state that one of the industries they operate in is real estate.
| Real Estate Drone Service Company | State | Pricing Information |
|---|---|---|
| Daniell Drone | Alabama | undisclosed |
| Northern Lens Photography | Alaska | 0-15 images: $149.99 |
| Phoenix Drone Pros | Arizona | undisclosed |
| Ozark Drones | Arkansas | undisclosed |
| Drone Cameraman | California | undisclosed |
| Drone Pro Media | Colorado | undisclosed |
| Photoflight Aerial Media | Connecticut | undisclosed |
| Kurtz Aerial Photography | Delaware | undisclosed |
| Suncoast Aerials | Florida | undisclosed |
| Cherokee Drone | Georgia | from $200 |
| Hawaii Drone Imaging | Hawaii | undisclosed |
| BoiseAerial | Idaho | undisclosed |
| Art of Home | Illinois | $250 - $799 |
| Indiana Drone Photography | Indiana | undisclosed |
| Pro Property Media | Iowa | $95 - $350 |
| KAN Aerial | Kansas | undisclosed |
| Aerial State | Kentucky | from $115 |
| Drew's Drone Services | Louisiana | undisclosed |
| Maine Drone Imaging | Maine | undisclosed |
| Picture Perfect LLC | Maryland | undisclosed |
| HouseSnappers | Massachusetts | from $350 |
| Great Lakes Aerial Video Services | Michigan | undisclosed |
| Share media | Minnesota | undisclosed |
| Skyflex | Mississippi | undisclosed |
| Bird's Eye View | Missouri | undisclosed |
| Missoula Real Estate Phtography | Montana | undisclosed |
| Advanced Aerial Solutions | Nebraska | from $100 |
| Flying High Aerial Imagery | Nevada | from $139 |
| flylisted | New Hampshire | from $599 |
| Cinemaflight | New Jersey | undisclosed |
| Lazmarq Drone Solutions | New Mexico | undisclosed |
| Aerial VP | New York | undisclosed |
| South Charlotte Drone Inc. | North Carolina | from $150 |
| Pictoflight | North Dakota | undisclosed |
| Buckeye Drone | Ohio | undisclosed |
| Dronesforhigher | Oklahoma | undisclosed |
| Cascade Real Estate Phtography | Oregon | $310 |
| AA Aerial Imaging | Pennsylvania | undisclosed |
| Birdlike | Rhode Island | undisclosed |
| SkyCam Production | South Carolina | $265 |
| Elevate Drone Services LLC | South Dakota | undisclosed |
| Clear Lense Photography | Tennessee | undisclosed |
| Professional Drone Services of Texas | Texas | undisclosed |
| Benaccinelli | Utah | undisclosed |
| Vermont Real Estate Photography | Vermont | undisclosed |
| Hampton Roads Real Estate Photography | Virginia | undisclosed |
| Taku Media | Washington | undisclosed |
| U.A. Vision | West Virginia | undisclosed |
| Wyoming | undisclosed |
These are the three state-wide drone service match-maker websites you may also consider when looking for a real estate drone service for your area:
How Much Does Real Estate Drone Footage Cost (Pricing)
After wading through almost a hundred real estate drone service websites, one trend became visible quickly.
Only a minority discloses their pricing.
This is understandable because the costs can vary depending on several factors, such as the property location, the footage required, the shoot duration, and the drone operator’s experience and expertise.
From the above overview table, 25% (12 out of 49) disclosed their pricing, so I could calculate an average.
I know my statistics professor would cringe, but with a sample size of 12, we can at least catch a slight trend.
So the average real estate drone footage cost based on this data is in the ballpark of $276.
As already said, this cost may be higher for more complex projects that require additional equipment, editing, or post-production work.
This article has been reviewed by our editorial team. It has been approved for publication in accordance with our editorial policy.
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