Looking Up: Drone market expands with real estate boom
May 2026
There is always a possibility that Jason LaVanture could encounter an armed homeowner or be attacked by a bird while at work.
“We've had guns pulled on us for sure,” said LaVanture, who owns BlueLaVaMedia and is a licensed drone pilot. “We have been doing this long enough and when you show up, there are some people who don't want you there. We had an incident out in Leelanau County where we put the drone in the air and a guy came out with a shotgun in his hands.”
Fortunately, the real estate agent showed up at the same time and diffused the situation after explaining that his neighbor was selling his home and needed aerial images for the listing.
“It was awkward,” LaVanture said.
Real estate sales and drones
Nowadays, the company’s drone operators wear lanyards that display the pilot’s license and identification, while donned in company apparel and driving vehicles emblazoned with logos.
“We let people know that we are there on a certified (Federal Aviation Administration) approved flight,” LaVanture said. “Any obstruction of that is an obstruction of an FAA flight.”
As more drones take flight, the public’s perception is improving and so is the demand in the real estate industry, adds LaVanture.
“I think people are more understanding that it's really being used a lot for real estate,” he said.
Drones are now the third most used technology by real estate agents, according to a 2025 National Association of Realtors survey. eSignature and social media ranked second and third, respectively.
According to the Multiple Listing Service, homes advertised with aerial photos are 68% more likely to sell.
“It definitely helps with context,” said BlueLaVaMedia Operations Administrator Cade Musich. “There are a lot of realtors now that like narrative storytelling. So you can get kind of creative with the video portion of it, you know, flying from the water over the dock to the home’s deck. It just helps provide viewers with context. Every home has a story.”
Local roots
LaVanture founded RealTourVision (RTV) in 1999 as a virtual tour software company, and in 2005 expanded into national and international photography and media services.
“I launched BlueLaVa in 2007 here in Traverse City as a real-world testing ground for the RTV platform,” said LaVanture.
Today, RTV provides a platform for real estate photographers and drone pilots. It coordinates aerial and photography projects across the United States and Canada by dispatching assignments to its nationwide network of vetted photographers and drone operators.
“It’s pretty much everything from media delivery and payments to booking, marketing tools, virtual tours, property websites and more,” LaVanture said.
Currently, there are 855,860 drones registered with the FAA in the Unites States.
College ties
LaVanture works with Northern Michigan College’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Program Coordinator Tony Sauerbrey to recruit drone pilots.
“He sends us a lot of candidates,” LaVanture said. “A lot of these guys move on to go down to Detroit and become actual pilots. Three of our guys from the past now work for Delta and American Airlines.”
LaVanture started operating drones when a pilot’s license was required to fly drones commercially.
“Now, it’s just a driver’s license,” said LaVanture. “On the drone side specifically, we’ve been involved since the very early days.”
Today, BlueLaVa photographs about 1,400 homes a year. More than 30% request aerial drone services and the demand is growing, he says.
“We haven't had one year where we didn’t do more than the previous year,” LaVanture said. “We’re doing about 450 drone operations a year up here, which I think is a lot. It is such a short season.”
Traverse City drone companies
During the past five years there has been an influx of drone photography businesses in the region. LaVanture estimates that there are about 16 drone companies operating in the Traverse City area.
“There are more coming up every single year,” he said.
LundCobe Lund says he is a one-man show at his business, Leelanau Life Media, which specializes in drone photography and offers a wide range of media services, photos, videos, floor plans, 3D models and 3D tours.
Lund got into real estate drone photography after working as a licensed realtor.
“It was just something that I am good at,” Lund said. “I had been doing cameras my whole life, and I figured, why not?”
Although he still has his realtor’s license, he now works full time with his media company. He acknowledged being a realtor has made him a better drone pilot, which has given him a new perspective on what potential buyers and sellers are looking for.
“Most of the people I work with, they definitely want it,” said Lund. “When I started real estate about five years ago, I knew I wanted drone images for my listings, it shows all around, and all that good stuff. To me, it just seems essential.”
Water views in demand
Water is the top selling feature when it comes to real estate. Lund says drones showcase homes that are not only on the water, but also nearby. He says most of his clients have a view of Grand Traverse Bay one way or another.
“You look up states with the most inland lakes; it is like Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota. Lakes are super important to people that live up here – lake life,” Lund said. “You go up with a drone, you can show what's around, instead of now having to guess, or look at a map. It's cool to show that visually. You know, whether it be real estate photos or not, you can just capture such a unique angle. It's pretty sweet.”
Technology expands the field, birds threaten it
Drone technology continues to advance significantly, with improved camera quality and battery life. AI already assists with placing virtual property lines in the digital images. LaVanture predicts more AI features are to be expected, including voice-activated AI-driven drones for automated property mapping and virtual walkthroughs.
In the early days of drone photography, LaVanture recalls building a device in his garage that he coined “The Skywalker,” which allowed him to navigate a drone through a home without actually flying it.
“It was just the drone strapped on to a bar," he said. "But people around town started talking about BlueLaVaMedia taking drones through the houses, and how we got this Skywalker thing.”
One the biggest threats drone operators face is birds of prey.
LaVanture says his company has lost about seven drones over the years, mostly to bird strikes. The company requires its drone operators to have at least two drones available at all times.
“It's really the bird strikes. The guys watch out for them, because they get really aggressive if you’re close to a nest, especially eagles and hawks,” said LaVanture. “Sometimes when you're editing the footage, you'll see a bird flying right next to the drone and it is just looking at it.”
Spring market surge?
This spring, real estate experts predict a healthy market in northern Michigan compared to flat national home sales. However, prices will continue to increase, and waterfront property sales are expected to surge.
According to Hiredronepilot.uk, 82% of luxury real estate listed for more than $1 million has drone photography.
“I would say that sellers want drone photography because their neighbors got it, and nobody wants to be left out,” LaVanture said. “They want everybody to see their views from the peninsula too.”
