Giving Real Estate Sales a Lift?

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Real estate agents are always looking to get a leg up on their rivals, and for Bill Kerbox that has meant way, way up.

The agent at Westside Estate Agency recently hired a helicopter to shoot film of his Malibu and Pacific Palisades listings after deciding still photographs weren’t doing the job.

“We needed to stand out from our competitors and we felt this was a great way to do that,” said Kerbox, who works out of the agency’s Malibu office.

Now, here’s the really unusual part: The helicopter is not much bigger than a toy.

Kerbox contracted with HeliMalibu, a company that makes hand-built miniature helicopters that are navigated by remote control, and are outfitted with GPS software and HD cameras.

The choppers, which have six rotors and can hover 400 feet in the air, shoot video that Kerbox posts online at billkerbox.xom. At $1,000 for unedited footage, the cost is a fraction of hiring a regular helicopter.

The Malibu company originally built the helicopters to provide a cheaper alternative for independent filmmakers who wanted to get aerial videos, but have since expanded to other industries.

“High-end real estate doesn’t have many aerial shots,” said Giancarlo Ushella, a company partner who controls the camera while a colleague flies the helicopter.

So far, Kerbox has had aerial videos taken of two homes in the Palisades and a luxury Malibu condo complex. He’s optimistic the footage will work.

“It’s too early to know for sure, but we’ve gotten a better quality of calls from prospective buyers so far. And the quality of the videos is continuing to get better,” he said.

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