Houlihan and O'Malley Turns to Drones: The Next Frontier in Real Estate Marketing

Until now, when a real estate agency wanted to show the breadth and scale of a magnificent estate, it would require hiring a helicopter for the photographer to take pictures high above the leafy streets and lawns.

Now all that’s changed, courtesy of drones.

Among all the possible uses for drones, real estate photography is a natural, and is swiftly moving from being a novelty in the home-selling process to being an indispensable tool for real estate agencies who recognize its potential.

“For us, drone photography has become an invaluable tool for showing off an expansive home’s scope and proportions, as well as its larger setting,” said Joe Houlihan, managing partner of Houlihan & O’Malley Real Estate Services in Bronxville. It also has the potential to show how close the homes are to the local shops, train station, and schools – a major selling point in desirable communities such as Bronxville. Drones are not only cheaper to fly than helicopters, they’re also more flexible. They can fly at heights as low as 80 feet, and as high as 200 to 300 feet.

There’s also the issue of minimizing the disruption and noise. A helicopter shot might be simple high over sprawling estates in Bedford, Greenwich, or the Hamptons. But in the closely developed communities of mid- and lower-Westchester, it pays to be able to get close in without the deafening sound of a copter blade.

In preparation for marketing a home for sale on Pine Terrace in Bronxville, Houlihan & O’Malley hired photographer Frank Ambrosino because of his skill in taking pictures with a drone. Ambrosino’s aerial shots capture the expanse of the 3,650 square foot house and highlight its spacious backyard. In addition, Houlihan & O’Malley had Ambrosino take drone shots of a 1926 mansion atop a hill at 279 Pondfield Road, which the company recently sold. Snapped from Ambrosino’s DJI Phantom drone, the photos display the grand size of the 5,630 square foot, Mediterranean-style mansion and the way it is perfectly situated on its .64 acres of property. The home, which was listed at $5.195 million, was the village’s third-largest home sale this year, and the drone photos will be used for marketing materials.

While they are becoming more and more popular, and the technology is highly advanced, drones can still be fairly complicated to fly, Ambrosino said. They require good hand-eye coordination, a skill Ambrosino, age 29, developed as a kid, when he excelled at video games. Over the past year, he has photographed some 50 homes with his drone.

And soon the devices will be able to do even more. The drone company DJI, which made Ambrosino’s device, is developing ones with sensors that detect objects and walls, so that the drone can avoid them, cruising smoothly and harmlessly through a home’s rooms and hallways as it takes interior photos and video.

Houlihan & O’Malley is not only Bronxville’s leading boutique real estate agency, it is also a leader in innovative ways of selling homes, including drone photography. With all the advantages, Houlihan said he is committed to using drone photography when it is the best way to show off the scale and location of a large home. “We’re always looking for new, more cost-effective ways to show the wide range of attractive homes we are offering for sale,” Houlihan said. Find out more about marketing your home by contacting Houlihan & O’Malley.

Photos:

1. Frank Ambrosino and Joe Houlihan.
2. Aerial view of 279 Pondfield Road.
3. Front yard aerial view of home on Pine Terrace.
4. Backyard aerial view of home on Pine Terrace.