When Realtor Lisa Brown was marketing a 7,800-square-foot home in Thunder Farms last year, a key selling asset was a video that offered aerial and moving images of the lakefront property shot by a an unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly known as a drone.
The two-minute video showcases the pool, patio, dock and entranceway to the two-story mansion on Thunder Farm Trails.
“There’s no way to capture a home like that except from the air and that really helps us market the property,” she said of the home that sold last November for more than $1.9 million. “It has totally changed the way we market our properties.You really can’t show acreage any other way.”
Lisa Brown and Diane Patty, who created the Chattanooga Property Shop in Keller Williams Realty six years ago, bought their first drone soon after starting the business and were one of the first real estate agencies to use the aerial flying cameras, which are operated by remote controls.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules have since been adopted to require operators to have an FAA license to use a drone in commercial enterprises, but that hasn’t deterred the growth of drone photography, both still and video.