Technology is up in the air as drones help
some realtors sell properties
By The Baltimore Sun, adapted by Newsela staff
Real estate agent Robert
McActor uses a drone to make videos of exteriors of the homes he has listed in Fallston, Md., on
May 8, 2014. Photo: Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun/MCT
BALTIMORE — Real estate agents have long bragged about how far they will go to sell
properties and now some find that the sky’s the limit.
As unmanned planes, or drones, become more available, some agents have started to use them to
sell properties.
They invite buyers to view country homes, waterfront land and suburban houses, with images
taken by the drones from high up.
Robert McArtor, an agent with Re/Max Components in Maryland, uses a drone to take pictures
and make videos of his properties, with a camera mounted on the belly of the aircraft.
The images have helped him create the “wow factor" for his clients, he said.
Learning To Fly This Thing
McArtor, who does not consider himself a tech fan, was very nervous when he launched his first
drone this winter. That aircraft was a bug-like machine he flies by remote control. It can loop
around a house at an altitude of 25 to 50 feet. It took more than 20 hours of practice, and a few
crashes, to learn how to fly it.
McArtor is one of the few agents in the Baltimore region talking about his work with the drones.
That's because using a drone for commercial reasons is not allowed by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA).
The FAA, which regulates the U.S. airspace, has been working since 2008 on rules for small
flying machines, such as the drones. People flying drones as a hobby are allowed to fly them up
to 400 feet in the air.
The National Association of Realtors has advised its members not to use the drones until the
FAA issues final regulations. The group asked the FAA in April to come out with the new rules
as soon as possible.
Safety Regulations Have Been Slow Going
Ben Gielow is a general counsel for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems
International, an industry trade group. He said the longer the FAA takes to write the rules on
drones and real estate, the more difficult it may become to regulate the activities.
"This industry is starting to form itself, and the longer the FAA waits to write the rules, the more
difficult it’s going to be to get the horse back in the barn,” he said.
The FAA said it expects to publish the rules this year. Its original deadline was 2011.
The agency has issued at least 12 orders for people using drones commercially to stop, said
spokesman Les Dorr. The FAA spends about 80 percent of its time answering questions about
drones.
“It has a been a major challenge to write safety regulations that will ensure the safety of people
and property ... while not putting an undue regulatory burden on an emerging industry,” he said.
It's More Of A West Coast Fad
The FAA estimates that 7,500 commercial drones will have a license to fly by 2018. But a study
by Gielow’s group expects sales of 160,000 units per year by 2020.
In the Mid-Atlantic region, the number of drones used in real estate is small but growing. A
March survey by the MRIS multiple listing service of 1,300 real estate professionals found that
1.3 percent had used drones to sell properties.
But about 13 percent of the people who participated in the survey said they expect to use the
drones in the next 12 months.
Andrew Strauch, MRIS vice president of product innovation and marketing, said he has seen
drones being used to sell properties on the West Coast. He said it could make buying and selling
more efficient.
“We’re visual people,” he said, adding that the technology will help realtors save time because
they will only physically show homes to people who are really interested.
Drones Are Cheaper Than Planes
The technology is most useful when real estate agents are selling large properties. Buyers benefit
from a complete view of the area, said Ron Howard, who leads one office for Re/Max Preferred.
He used the services of a drone photography business when he was selling a Baltimore County
home in 2012.
The company is called Elevated Element and offers real estate photo packages with prices
starting at $199. Hiring a photographer and a plane can cost about $350.
It was a cheaper alternative to using an airplane and allowed for closer images, he said. Most of
the houses he is selling are in the city. For those places, he uses images found on Google.
“I don’t think you’re going to see a lot of city agents using drones,” he said. “If we were out in
the county with multiple-acre estates we would be using it all day long.”
McArtor said he thinks agents will want training on how to use the drones.
He is working to create a safety course he hopes to sell to other agents. In the meantime, he
hopes more people will use the drones. He’s not concerned about the FAA.
“I wanted this for all properties,” he said. “I have no worries.”