How Drones May Change the Status Quo of Real Estate

We’ve known for quite a while that technology is rapidly influencing real estate in both good ways and bad. Whether it’s helping real estate agents find better ways to market their listings, or it’s putting them out of work by making transactions easier without an agent, technology has no doubt kept those in the industry on their toes. But, there’s a new revelation about technology and real estate that will actually take it right off the ground, as drones are planning to take real estate to the next level. 

Construction and Maintenance 

Even though drones haven’t become as widely-used as, say, laptops or cell phones, it’s only a matter of time before that will change. Because drones are still not so commonplace yet—whether that’s because their prices are restrictive or they’re difficult to learn how to use—only a certain group has taken advantage of their uses, simply because there are benefits in knowing how to use one effectively. For instance, we see many photographers, travelers, video editors, and military fully utilizing a drone’s capabilities, but that’s not the case for the ordinary citizen. 

However, slowly but surely, drones are seeping their way into other industries, one of those being real estate and development of real estate. Drones have remarkable advantages when it comes to construction tasks, like surveying land. Whether that means using the drone to understand the state of a specific property, getting an idea of how much land is available for construction, or seeing the dangers of a natural disaster in an area, the advantages are plentiful.  

The same goes for maintenance purposes. Especially in commercial real estate, development projects can be safer and faster by the use of drones. Drones are able to analyze what needs to be fixed, cleaned and updated, and they can also help deliver equipment and supplies to workers directly reducing the potential danger of constantly walking around at vertigo-inducing heights. All this, in turn, could help make development, construction and maintenance of properties more efficient, thereby making it easier for agents to close more deals in less time. 

Marketing and Convenience 

Drones can also make marketing easier for real estate agents. Many have already begun to take advantage of this, by using drone photography to capture amazing images and video footage of a listing. Drone footage provides another perspective for potential clients, allowing them to literally get the whole picture of what it would be like to live on a prospective property.  

But, it’s not just agents who are learning to use drones to their benefit. It’s also the buyers themselves.  

One of the reasons that there has been a decline in mortgage applications and development of single-family home may not be currently due to drones, but it’s likely heading in that direction. For instance, statistics show that people are opting to buy duplexes instead of a single-family “dream” home likely because they prefer the convenience of things like being closer to work, closer to a cool neighborhood, etc. If a duplex can provide that, when a single-family home can’t, then people are fine with that. Because people will eventually be able to utilize drones to get things delivered to their home right away — goods like food, clothes, etc. — the pressure to live near a big shopping plaza or city center is simply no longer a necessity.  

While this isn’t necessarily bad news or good news for real estate agents, it’s definitely something to be aware of. Many in the industry are weary of technology and how it might take away from their jobs. But, as the saying goes, “If you can’t beat them, join them” and those who learn to use technology — like drones — to their advantage, might actually come out much more successful than those who fight against it.