Light, weather and when to shoot
From May to August the golden hour runs for hours; a nine-in-the-evening exterior in June is the best light of the year. From November to February the sun is low and brief, so shoot interiors with every lamp on and exteriors at midday. Snow is honest in a winter listing — expose for it so it reads white — and keep each clip's three photos in one weather.
What sells here, and what buyers want to see
Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley sell on garages, heated shops, generators, well and septic, and how the driveway is plowed. Remote and recreational properties sell on access — road, boat, floatplane — and on the view of the mountains or the water. Log construction and large lots are common; buyers want to see the structure and the land, not staging.
The clips to make
- Tracking drive along the access road; a clip of the plowed drive and the garage.
- Tilt up inside a log or timber great room.
- Systems: one clip each of the boiler, the generator and the well house.
- Drone fly-over or rise over roof to the mountains — summer aerials from a licensed pilot.
Rules worth checking
Alaska requires a seller's residential property disclosure statement on most sales; the video shows what the form describes and must not suggest otherwise. Drone flights near Anchorage's airports and in Denali-area airspace are restricted; aerial stills from a Part 107 operator are the practical route.
Disclosure, drone and privacy rules change and differ by MLS and municipality; confirm the current version with your broker before you rely on anything here.
Questions
Should I show the wood stove and the fuel tank?
Yes. Heating is the first cost a buyer here calculates; a short clip of the stove, the tank and the boiler answers it before the showing.
Can I video a property I can only reach by boat or plane?
Photograph it on the one visit you make — three photos per clip along one line — and build the clips afterwards. The approach by water or air is a clip in itself.
Read next
- Real Estate Video in Colorado and the Mountain WestListing video for mountain-town and Front Range agents: views, seasons, decks and outdoor access, second-home buyers, and how to shoot in snow and altitude light.
- Farm and Ranch Listing Video: Land, Buildings and Working AssetsHow to video a farm or ranch for sale: aerial moves for the land, ground moves for the house and barns, what to show of working infrastructure, and how to organise a long video.
- How to Make a Video for Land, Lots and AcreageListing video for vacant land and acreage: which drone moves show boundaries, access and lay of the land, what ground-level photos add, and how to keep it honest about what is and is not included.