Drone footage for villas & real estate

Drone real estate footage shows what a ground camera cannot: how far a villa sits from the beach, the shape of the lot, the pool and roof terrace from above, and the coastline or jungle around a development. Interior rooms are photographed at ground level by real estate photography, a separate booking; many villa listings in Mexico use both, shot on the same day.

Filming a villa or development for a listing is commercial drone use, and NOM-107-SCT3-2019 requires a commercial operator to hold valid third-party liability insurance and to keep the policy, with the AFAC registration folio for any drone over 250 g, at the control station. Every drone real estate shoot booked here is flown by a local pilot who meets those conditions.

Drone flights inside Mexican federal protected areas generally need prior authorisation from the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP), and some areas, such as turtle-nesting beaches, do not allow them. For drone real estate work on the edge of a reserve or national park, the pilot plans the flight from the property itself and checks with CONANP before the date.

Early morning usually gives drone real estate footage in Mexico calmer air and soft light on the facade, while coastal wind often builds through the afternoon. Sunset suits a villa with a west-facing terrace or a lit pool, but the drone has to land by sunset under NOM-107-SCT3-2019, so the last shots are planned in the final hour of light.

A drone pilot may not fly over people who are not part of the shoot, so drone real estate footage of a vacation rental is booked between guest stays, and the frame is kept off neighbouring terraces and pools. Tell the pilot about shared areas in a condominium or development before the date, because the administration may need to agree to the flight.