Real estate developers rely on drones for site visits

New Delhi: Drone has come to the rescue of real estate developers who have witnessed slump in sale due to the Covid-19-induced lockdown.

According to property consultants and developer, prospective buyer is unable to visit site and the marketing team is hiring drone to give live status of the property during webinar along with the view from the floor they are planning to purchase.

Developers, who used to spend money on site visit said that the expenditure is now reduced by one third while 2% of those who used to visit the property, ended up buying it and the rate is same for the virtual visit.

“We have used drone shoot to create virtual tours, which can provide real time experience to customers. We also keep on updating it on a monthly basis so that customers are well aware of the progress that the project is making,” said Vikas Bhasin, CMD of NCR based Saya Homes.

Noida based Ace developers, Guslhan Homz, Gaurs and Bhutani, Pune based Nyati Elysia and Runwal Central Park and projects of Sobha in Bangalore are making use of drone to give customers experience of the surrounding.

"During the lockdown, digital adoption saw a steep rise at a pace not seen before. Technologies such as virtual tours, live drone views, online 3D viewing experience, project webinars and online booking platforms are bridging the physical gap between buyers and developers in these times of social distancing,” said Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO, Housing.com.

Live drone views were organised by Agarwala’s team to give a overview of the project construction site, its vicinity and also to showcase landmarks near the project.

“After taking permission from the local authority, we are providing drone view to the customers. Good thing is, customer can see the exact view, he will see from the balcony,” said Harish Shroff of Pune based Nyati group.

DK Aggarwal President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the good thing COVID19 has done is, it has reduced the dependency on field visit and reduced the cost and developers are now inclined towards technologies for sale.

“We make videos using drones to showcase our projects which helps enhance customer experience.We have done 360 degree videos using drones for Sobha Royal Pavilion, Sobha Lake Gardens. We use Matterport 3D cameras to create a world class virtual tour of the home which makes you feel as if you are actually walking through the home yourself,” said Abhinav Kanchan, Senior Vice President & Head Corporate Communications, SOBHA Limited.

Developers say the drone also helps them to tell customers about the nearby landmark and what all will be visible from the balcony.

“We have been using drone facility to showcase the projects to the home aspirants. We have been making videos and showcasing the project detail with the customers,” said Ajay Saraswat, Director of NCR based TRU Homes, which is a channel partner of Ace group and Gaursons group.