Why is the real estate industry so chintzy?

[R.Perry]

I've been doing real estate photography for some time now. Realtors are like most people they want as much as they can get for as little as possible. I find on lower end homes they just don't want to spend the money, (300k to 400k) but on the higher end they will. If you can deliver high quality RE photos and get a local good reputation you can make good money. My price for interior/exterior and aerial is $400.00 and when the market is good I have plenty of work.

 

[karaemurphy]

Is your broker 107 certified?

Yes.

 

[aerialimagery]

I've been doing real estate photography for some time now. Realtors are like most people they want as much as they can get for as little as possible. I find on lower end homes they just don't want to spend the money, (300k to 400k) but on the higher end they will. If you can deliver high quality RE photos and get a local good reputation you can make good money. My price for interior/exterior and aerial is $400.00 and when the market is good I have plenty of work.

Thanks for your post. Could you give us an idea of what you do regarding interior photos, such as what you do with lighting and how much coverage you do of each room, etc.?

 

[mdurbanek]

I believe most of the replies have been about individual realtors but aren't most associated with an agency? Has anyone tried (or is it possible) to create a contract with an agency to do all or a percent of their aerial media?

The broker is interested in one thing: their cut. They encourage their sales staff to market with their own money, but they will only occasionally invest even in their high producers.

 

[Mike Nevins]

I'd be happy to do $99 jobs, so long as they can be done quickly and there are many of them.

But years ago when I used to market my aerial photography services, I started out very cheap and then experimented with raising my prices, and I found that I got as many or more customers at high prices than with low prices. But that was then. I'm a little confused about the market right now.

No reason to be confused. RE agents are cheap. I would not do any aerial photo shoot of any kind for $99.00. They can go get certified themselves. Of course the ones that are cheap are the ones that take interior photos with cell phones and point and shoot cameras.

 

[Mike Nevins]

Realtors are very cheap as someone else noted. The money comes out of their pockets. Many realtors in my area bought drones before the 107 rules went into effect and ignore the fact that their using them now for commercial purposes is illegal. No enforcement by the FAA leads to widespread ignoring of the laws.

I agree with you. They also hire out the hobbyists to do their dirty work. This will not last long. The FAA will be enforcing the laws because we (Certified Pilots) will be letting them know whats going on. There need only be a couple of examples made.

 

[Aerial Rogue]

Realtors have always been cheap. They comprise the bulk of my business. For me the key has been to connect with Realtors who handle more "upscale" properties. They are more willing to spend a little to make a sale. Professional photography sells homes. It is a fact and aerials just add to this. The trick is getting them to realize it. And, there are too many part-time Realtors. They are the worst.

 

[tracer]

I agree with you. They also hire out the hobbyists to do their dirty work. This will not last long. The FAA will be enforcing the laws because we (Certified Pilots) will be letting them know whats going on. There need only be a couple of examples made.

How is the FAA going to enforce this? Will they have agents waiting by the phone to hop in a car to catch someone flying?
Some cops from the local police force asked *me* what the laws were regarding drones. They said that there are no KY statutes on the books regarding drones. Until someone gets hurt, or a drone crashes into a stadium (which did happen here), the FAA doesn't get involved. So kids with drones fly RE jobs without insurance or licenses, and I can't compete with them. Well, I won't lower my price to compete with them because I have a day job that pays better.

I think what we'll see is the industry regulating itself. I hear that some of the DJI drones make you take a quiz before you fly (which I find strange, but, ok..). One day, consumer drones will be locked down and will only fly with approved coordinates at approved altitudes which the drone receives from a cloud server at the moment it is turned on. I'm sure there will be a big push for all drones to be like that, but hopefully the DIY and open-source segment will live on..

 

[ianwood]

Real estate and weddings = a race to the bottom.

 

[Mike Nevins]

How is the FAA going to enforce this? Will they have agents waiting by the phone to hop in a car to catch someone flying?
Some cops from the local police force asked *me* what the laws were regarding drones. They said that there are no KY statutes on the books regarding drones. Until someone gets hurt, or a drone crashes into a stadium (which did happen here), the FAA doesn't get involved. So kids with drones fly RE jobs without insurance or licenses, and I can't compete with them. Well, I won't lower my price to compete with them because I have a day job that pays better.

I think what we'll see is the industry regulating itself. I hear that some of the DJI drones make you take a quiz before you fly (which I find strange, but, ok..). One day, consumer drones will be locked down and will only fly with approved coordinates at approved altitudes which the drone receives from a cloud server at the moment it is turned on. I'm sure there will be a big push for all drones to be like that, but hopefully the DIY and open-source segment will live on..

As a retired LEO, I can tell you that enforcement will happen. In fact, the FAA is working with local LEO to establish reporting to them to address illegal flights. I don't think it will be (Kids), but those adults that want to work "Under the Radar" to make a buck here and there. Once LEO comes up to speed about FAA guidelines for both hobbyists and commercial pilots there will be enforcement. Too much at stake for them not to. I know about the quiz DJI used to qualify the operator, (I was forced to take it), the problem is that they DJI are not a regulatory agency, nor do they have authority to do such "Testing" on people that purchase their products. I have nothing against tests, just that DJI is overstepping their bounds.

As far as regulating itself, I agree. It's up to legitmate operators to report suspected violations in the right way to the correct authority (FAA). I'm sure that if I started to sale Real Estate without a license, it would not take long for others to report me. It will take time though. Won't happen overnight.

 

[tracer]

I don't know what an "LEO" is.

Regardless, the city police here enforce laws for the state of Kentucky, not the FAA. That's what they told me. They were clueless about the FAA regulations. I'm sure this will vary from state-to-state, but it will be a long time before that kind of oversight hits this area.

I've sold real estate without a license - its called "for sale by owner".

 

[Mike Nevins]

I don't know what an "LEO" is.

Regardless, the city police here enforce laws for the state of Kentucky, not the FAA. That's what they told me. They were clueless about the FAA regulations. I'm sure this will vary from state-to-state, but it will be a long time before that kind of oversight hits this area.

I've sold real estate without a license - its called "for sale by owner".

An LEO stands for Law Enforcement Officer. Second, DIY ((For sale by owner), is not the context of what I meant. You don't go around selling homes for other people using "For Sale By Owner". Have a good day.

 

[BigAl07]

I've sold real estate without a license - its called "for sale by owner".

You've completely missed the point. FSBO does not require a license but the moment you do it for someone else it does.

 

[Casale Photography]

OK, I admit I have not done much business with real estate people, but the few times I have been approached by them, they seemed to want much for very little.

Two recent examples:

1) I was approached by a commercial real estate company who had a whopping $100 to budget for the aerial photography of an industrial building and grounds near me. Besides doing thorough drone photography, he also wanted ground pictures from all sides. I suggested maybe I could do some very low photos with the drone, but he wouldn't go along with that. I finally negotiated the price to $200 and I would do some ground photos with my dslr, which I think is way too low for two sets of photos, but I thought perhaps it could lead to more work. At any rate it didn't work out because I didn't have clearance to fly in that area and someone else did.

2) Another realtor contacted me and had two large homes to photograph on adjacent parcels, each to be photographed as an individual subject, so naturally she wanted it priced as "2 for 1" and I agreed to do it for $200, once again with the idea that it was too low but hopefully it would lead to more business, and I wouldn't mind doing lots of low priced jobs. Then I found out that she also wanted photos from the ground from all sides of both homes as well as shops. Then I found out that she also wanted the interiors of both homes photographed. And she was expecting all that for $200.

Any time I've interacted with realtors or those in real estate they have pushed for very low prices and often things never worked out anyway.

My lowest pricing for industrial photography is $250, but I often charge more than $400 which includes thorough coverage from all sides, and many well-composed photographs from a very experienced aerial photographer, and this is much less than I used to charge when I did work from planes and helicopters.

However, I wouldn't mind doing low priced jobs, IF the client or clients had lots of them and not spread out too far. But it seems the same people who want so much for so little are just one-time customers.

With their huge commissions, why can't they be a little reasonable in budgeting for professional photographs?

Or am I unfairly judging the real estate industry because of my few bad experiences? I have read that some drone photographers do very with high-end homes, doing complete video packages including interiors.

I do some residential real estate photography in the Baltimore area and I've incorporated the drone into that. It just helps with getting the job. I take a couple photos from the air and sometimes some video if its a high end home. Here is a video where I incorporated video and stills, but I only got about $200 and it took some time in Final Cut Pro to put the whole thing together. Feedback welcome...

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[Delta Blue]

Realtors are very cheap as someone else noted. The money comes out of their pockets. Many realtors in my area bought drones before the 107 rules went into effect and ignore the fact that their using them now for commercial purposes is illegal. No enforcement by the FAA leads to widespread ignoring of the laws.

I concur. I dropped a lot of my business cards at a recent Parade of Homes locally...not a single response. I noticed a few days ago that a developer started using a few aerial drone shots, and I suspect he is doing it himself...it's too easy.

 

[Delta Blue]

I believe most of the replies have been about individual realtors but aren't most associated with an agency? Has anyone tried (or is it possible) to create a contract with an agency to do all or a percent of their aerial media?

I have offered to do trial aerial imagery for some local realtors just to show them what I could offer them in order to turn them on to UAV photography, but not even a single response. Most realtors around here do not offer aerial imagery in their ads yet though, as this market seems to be behind other parts of the country.

 

[Delta Blue]

There used to be a time when musicians complained that their songs were being played everywhere and they were not getting royalties. ASCAP finally started sending out their agents to investigate. I know personally of some restaurants that have stopped playing music altogether because they don't want to mess with ASCAP and royalties. We have to keep pushing for enforcement. It can and will happen.

 

[BigAl07]

I have offered to do trial aerial imagery for some local realtors just to show them what I could offer them in order to turn them on to UAV photography, but not even a single response.

Instead of giving your work away why not spend the time to create an amazing Portfolio that you can show them without giving your goods away. If you don't value your time and efforts neither will anyone else.

No offense but "dropping off business cards" will not win over clients. Pounding pavement and making relationships will win the game in Real Estate. Just keep in mind it's a vicious race to the bottom with REA.

 

[Christopher Enges]

When I first started my business in 2015 I thought that the real estate market would be my bread and butter .... not so! In the last 2 and 1/2 years I probably have flown a half dozen high end home and properties around the Olympic Peninsula. Now, most big real estate firms have a least one or two sales people with a UAV. That doesn't mean they can put together a great video, but they do enough to get by. Plus, all their sales folks usually use this person to help fly higher end properties... cheaply!
The jobs I did do were in the $300 to $500 range. For that price I included a finished 1.5 minute video, titles, music, many photographs of the homes, inside and out with my dslr, and of course my UAV was the major part of the video, flying the property. The homes were in the million dollar range and the properties half that, so they wanted a very nice, finished product. I have been called over a dozen times by real estate folks and when I tell them my prices, I usually don't hear from them again. I don't mind at all. I have plenty of work in the government, corporate, and public television sectors on the peninsula.
To those starting out in the commercial aerial arena ..... don't put all your eggs in the real estate property basket. You'll end up going broke. UAVs are getting cheaper everyday and the quality of video and photographs gets better with each roll out. The real estate folks can buy a UAV for under 1000 bucks .... about the cost of two or three jobs when hiring a commercial operator such as myself.
I charge $100 an hour for my UAV .... minimum 2 hours. Editing is $50 an hour. I can do a nice 1.5 minute video for about $400 total. $200 for flying ... $200 for editing.

 

[Delta Blue]

Instead of giving your work away why not spend the time to create an amazing Portfolio that you can show them without giving your goods away. If you don't value your time and efforts neither will anyone else.

No offense but "dropping off business cards" will not win over clients. Pounding pavement and making relationships will win the game in Real Estate. Just keep in mind it's a vicious race to the bottom with REA.

Not having anyone who wants me to make a video of one's home does not help me make a real estate portfolio though I have asked. By pounding pavement, does that mean walking into real estate offices and conversing and trying to convey what I do and how I could help them, as I did in person at the Parade of Homes? If that works for you then I will try it too. Emails do not work either and are completely ignored by realtors. Initially, having a couple free shoots for a real estate company could at least give me some promotional imagery to use in a portfolio. Or if I knew anyone in the real estate business that would help I guess. However, I do not.