LOS ANGELES—Drone technology is on the brink of changing the commercial real estate industry in a major way. The data that drones can collect, record and transmit in real time can deliver site images, track labor, update construction progress and gather pertinent property data, from foundational cracks to water leaks, according to a panel of drone experts at the CoreNet Global Summit in Downtown Los Angeles. Peter Blake, director of fleet operations at Skycatch; Kitty O'Connell Henry, Shareholder at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr; Tomislav Zigo, director of virtual design and construction at Clayco, and panel moderator Ken Ashley, executive director at Cushman & Wakefield, discussed how drones would impact the CRE world.

“The value is not in the hardware, but in planning and analytics,” Blake said on the panel. “Drones will become commoditized, but it is the data that will become important.” He adds that in addition to gathering a wide range of data, drones also are able to collect data safely by entering job sites that may be potentially dangerous for people. As a result, drones are expected to improve construction productivity by $6.2 billion.

And, the industry is growing. Drones are also expected to generate $82 billion and produce 100,000 jobs in the industrial sector, and consumers are expected to buy 1 million drones this Christmas. As a result, the government is working quickly to regulate UAV operators. The proposed regulations would require an operator of at least 17 years old with a aeronautical certification, which needs to be renewed every 24 months, and would restrict the drone from flying over people or restricted airspace. There is some talk, too, about requiring that owners register drones. “It is kind of like gun control,” said O'Connell Henry. “It is a push and pull between the need to regulate airspace and running behind other countries.” The FAA proposed regulations will be finalized in 2016 or 2017.