Well, it is the year 2015. So a report about futuristic drones being used in Melbourne for selling property seems quite apt.
Real estate agents are increasingly turning to the aerial photography from the remote controlled un-manned drone planes to market property.
The drones are most useful in getting aerial shots of views that were once only achievable by helicopter which are obviously much more difficult and expensive to organise.
The drones can also capture and illustrate potential views from apartments not yet built.
Owner of aerial photography business Impress Air Tim Shaw explained his company’s use of the drones when he spoke to Domain.
“To get penthouse-level views…we can set the drone to tell us when it gets to exactly 90 metres and then get the shots in the directions that are required,” he said.
Mr Shaw says his clients include developers, advertising agencies and real estate agents are coming to him more and more.
There are certainly plenty of political and legal issues that the drones are raising, and Mr Shaw says commercial operators need a Civil Aviation Safety Authority licence to fly one.
“They are about eight kilograms of weight in the sky so it can do serious damage to people and property,” he said.
The issue of privacy is also a big one when it comes to the drones, most will remember the Mount Martha woman who hit the news headlines last year when she was filmed sunbaking topless in her backyard and the photos ended up on sales board for the million-dollar property next door.
“For a lot of people privacy is a concern and where we feel we might be getting photos or footage of a neighbouring property, we’ll blur around the property so you’re only seeing the property itself,” Mr Shaw told Domain.
According to Mr Shaw, drone operators need to get permission from property owners to fly over private property, and need council approval to fly over parks and public areas.
Mr Shaw said he liked to use signage when he flew drones so as not to freak passers-by out who may think the drones are a flying saucer or UFO.
Marketing director at Marshall White Sean Cussell told Domain that drone footage was a good way to give prospective buyers a proper idea of the property before an inspection for a fraction of the price of a helicopter.
He said he had used a drone on a property in Brighton near the beach that could clearly show the property’s proximity to the bay which was obviously a huge selling point.
Angelos Stefanis is from Biggin and Scott in Elsternwick and he spoke to Domain and said that while the use of drones is definitely flying so to speak, there are some properties that aren’t suitable.
“It allows you to present the property from various angles and aspects; very handy for large blocks of land and when you want to see how the house is sited on the land or where the property sits within a streetscape,” he said.
“You can highlight the features of a home very quickly with a number of visual images rather than the street facade and trying to describe it all in lengthy context.”
Well, it is the year 2015. So a report about futuristic drones being used in Melbourne for selling property seems quite apt.
Real estate agents are increasingly turning to the aerial photography from the remote controlled un-manned drone planes to market property.
The drones are most useful in getting aerial shots of views that were once only achievable by helicopter which are obviously much more difficult and expensive to organise.
The drones can also capture and illustrate potential views from apartments not yet built.
Owner of aerial photography business Impress Air Tim Shaw explained his company’s use of the drones when he spoke to Domain.
“To get penthouse-level views…we can set the drone to tell us when it gets to exactly 90 metres and then get the shots in the directions that are required,” he said.
Mr Shaw says his clients include developers, advertising agencies and real estate agents are coming to him more and more.
There are certainly plenty of political and legal issues that the drones are raising, and Mr Shaw says commercial operators need a Civil Aviation Safety Authority licence to fly one.
“They are about eight kilograms of weight in the sky so it can do serious damage to people and property,” he said.
The issue of privacy is also a big one when it comes to the drones, most will remember the Mount Martha woman who hit the news headlines last year when she was filmed sunbaking topless in her backyard and the photos ended up on sales board for the million-dollar property next door.
“For a lot of people privacy is a concern and where we feel we might be getting photos or footage of a neighbouring property, we’ll blur around the property so you’re only seeing the property itself,” Mr Shaw told Domain.
According to Mr Shaw, drone operators need to get permission from property owners to fly over private property, and need council approval to fly over parks and public areas.
Mr Shaw said he liked to use signage when he flew drones so as not to freak passers-by out who may think the drones are a flying saucer or UFO.
Marketing director at Marshall White Sean Cussell told Domain that drone footage was a good way to give prospective buyers a proper idea of the property before an inspection for a fraction of the price of a helicopter.
He said he had used a drone on a property in Brighton near the beach that could clearly show the property’s proximity to the bay which was obviously a huge selling point.
Angelos Stefanis is from Biggin and Scott in Elsternwick and he spoke to Domain and said that while the use of drones is definitely flying so to speak, there are some properties that aren’t suitable.
“It allows you to present the property from various angles and aspects; very handy for large blocks of land and when you want to see how the house is sited on the land or where the property sits within a streetscape,” he said.
“You can highlight the features of a home very quickly with a number of visual images rather than the street facade and trying to describe it all in lengthy context.”
