Beyond the many benefits to architectural planning and design, aerial panoramic photography should be viewed by developers as an essential development tool that will help them realize the full potential of the projects they envision. Super high-definition panoramic photography is unique in its ability to realistically showcase the end result well before a project is completed, enabling the development team to excel at planning, pricing and representing the finished project to various stakeholders.
Sophisticated developers are using pre-construction view imagery from multiple building heights to drive pricing strategies and maximize a project’s financial return. This is especially useful in dense urban environments where small elevation differences can strongly influence unit pricing. Views can be shot from distinct building levels, different floorplate locations, and at specific times of day to highlight the different view corridors to full effect.
The ability to capture, compare, and capitalize on these differences helps inform the design process, but more importantly, the practice enables a developer to optimize pricing and therefore maximize returns. There is real value that can be derived from a project’s views, and aerial view photography enables developers to better understand and price for this value. During the pre-sales or pre-leasing phase, the same high-definition aerial imagery can effectively communicate the nuances in value and help developers make sales to their end users..
Investment performance and market viability are central to any real estate development and drive the entire financial decision-making process. The use of aerial view and panoramic imagery significantly raises the level of sophistication and due diligence that has been invested into a project and can be used to assure investors and lenders of a project’s ultimate success. Especially when developing in dense urban sites or working with lenders and investors who might be less familiar with a location, aerial view imagery helps allay concerns and can help justify the pricing assumptions that support a project’s financial projections.
Investing and lending on real estate developments is inherently a high-risk, high-return endeavor. By demonstrating sophisticated due diligence and conveying a project’s real world visual context to their equity and debt partners, developers increase their chances of securing capital for their projects and moving from vision to reality.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Nowhere is this more true than in real estate development. The stakes are high and include concerns from stakeholders on every side of the so-called development table. Investors, lenders, government agencies, community groups, and neighborhood businesses and residents all have a stake in the impact a new development will have on their interests. Aerial and panoramic images add striking, high-definition realism and create convincing, immediately accessible presentations. Whether as standalone photographs, incorporated into rendering backdrops, or as interactive 360 degree visuals, aerial and panoramic images create dramatic and visually rich presentations that help the audience “see” the end product. Using super high-definition view photography enables developers to communicate their vision at a whole new level, whether to municipal planners, investors, prospective users, development partners or members of the community.
Time is money, especially in real estate. Construction financing and a project’s carrying costs are adversely and significantly impacted by drawn out pre-sales or pre-leasing periods. Aerial and panoramic photography (when high-quality and effectively incorporated into marketing efforts) can significantly accelerate this phase of the development cycle. The ability to show real views, rather than renderings or “representative views” removes uncertainty in the eyes of prospective end users, enabling them to make decisions more quickly and confidently.
Whether the images are used in marketing collateral, website galleries, video presentations, sales center “viewing rooms” or even virtual reality walk-throughs, actual high-definition view photography creates a sense of realism that is unmatched. Using photography to sell real estate is a simple concept, but with today’s technology developers are able to use actual pre-construction aerial view photography in a much more effective and compelling way, shortening the pre-sales cycle and saving money along the way.
As the pace of urban development accelerates, and as the race to secure land sites and end users continues to tighten, smart developers are realizing the enormous value and advantages that aerial and panoramic view photography can provide. Experienced development teams recognize that investing early on in this specialized photography yields benefits that can be applied throughout the entire planning, design, development, financing, and marketing process. As the costs of developing real estate continue to increase, best-in-class developers strive to optimize value and minimize risks through any available means. More and more developers are realizing that aerial view photography is no longer an investment that only makes sense for high-rises or luxury projects. They see it as an essential tool that improves the entire development process and benefits the success of each project they launch..