You already have the raw material for a listing video: the photos. Add slow camera moves, a few lines of text and a clear ending, and 10 to 20 good photos become a short video for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and your website.
This guide covers format, photo order, motion, text, music, captions, AI motion and disclosure. Then it walks through two ways to make one: by hand on your phone, or with a listing tool that builds it for you.
Why video helps a listing
You don't need a statistic to see the case for video. Look at where people scroll:
- Short vertical video is the main format on Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts. A listing video gives you something to post there. For what else to post, see 30 social media post ideas for every listing.
- Video shows flow. Moving from the front door through the main rooms helps a buyer picture the layout in a way a grid of photos can't.
- One video goes a long way. The same story works as a reel, a story, a YouTube video and a clip on your website.
- Sellers notice it. A video is visible proof that you're marketing their home. It's also a strong sample for your listing presentation.
Pick the right format and length
Make two versions from the same photos:
| Format | Size | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| 9:16 vertical | 1080×1920 | Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, stories |
| 16:9 wide | 1920×1080 | YouTube, Facebook, your website |
Length: aim for 15 to 60 seconds. A reel of 20 to 30 seconds fits 6 to 8 photos. A wide video for YouTube or your website can run 45 to 60 seconds with 12 to 20 photos.
Most listing photos are landscape, so a vertical frame cuts off their sides. Either pan slowly across the photo, or place the whole photo on a blurred copy of itself. Use the second option for any staged or edited photo, so its label stays in the frame.
Choose and order your photos
- Start with your strongest shot: the best exterior or the hero room. The opening has to earn the next few seconds.
- Follow a walk-through order: front exterior, entry, main living area, kitchen, dining, primary bedroom and bathroom, other bedrooms, outdoor space, then a closing exterior or view.
- Use 10 to 20 photos for a 30 to 60 second video, or 6 to 8 for a short reel.
- Cut near-duplicates, closets, and dark or crooked shots. Brighten and straighten the photos first.
- Mix wide shots and details, but end on something wide.
Add motion and text people can read
Motion
- Give each photo 2 to 4 seconds.
- Use slow pans and push-ins. Pan along a wide room. Push in toward a focal point like a fireplace or a window with a view.
- Avoid fast zooms, spins and flashy transitions. They feel cheap and can be uncomfortable to watch.
- Use simple cuts or cross-fades, and keep the same pace all the way through.
Text on screen
- Opening card: the area, or the address if your seller is happy to share it, and the price.
- Room names or short captions, such as "Kitchen: quartz island, gas range".
- A highlights card with 3 to 5 facts.
- End card: your name, your brokerage and how to reach you. Most ad rules expect the brokerage name on every ad.
Keep text big and short. Keep it away from the bottom and right edges of a vertical video, where the app's buttons and captions sit. Use the same colours and logo every time. A brand kit saves you setting them up for each video. And the usual wording rule applies on screen too: describe the home, not the buyer.
Music, captions and accessibility
Music
- Use only tracks you have the rights to.
- The simplest option is to add music from the platform's own library when you post.
- Business posts and ads have stricter rules. Meta's music guidelines prohibit commercial use of music without the right licences. TikTok offers a Commercial Music Library of tracks cleared for business use.
- Don't put a popular song in an ad without a licence, and don't bake one into the video file. A listing video is advertising, and an unlicensed track can get it muted or taken down.
Captions and accessibility
- Make it work with the sound off. Many people watch that way, so the text on screen should tell the story.
- If you speak, in a voiceover or a talking intro, add subtitles. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube can create captions automatically. Check them for mistakes, especially street names and prices.
- Use high-contrast text and hold each line long enough to read twice.
- Skip flashing effects.
- Repeat the key facts in the post text, so people using screen readers get them too.
AI motion from a still photo: keep it honest
Newer AI tools can turn a still photo into a short "cinematic" camera move, like a slow glide into the living room. It looks like footage, but no camera moved. That's fine, as long as you keep it honest:
- It must not invent anything. No extra rooms, no new furniture, no window that wasn't there, no view that changes. The same rules apply to still photos: see honest AI photo edits.
- Keep moves short and simple. A few seconds of push-in. Longer moves ask the AI to make up what's outside the photo.
- Tag it on screen as AI-animated, for example "AI-animated from a real photo".
- Watch every clip before you use it, and throw out any that changed the property.
Trulisted's cinematic scenes pin each 5-second clip to the real photo at both ends, so the AI only fills in a slow push-in. A motion check compares a frame every half second with the photo and is built to reject clips that show something outside it, so watch each scene before you post. Each scene uses 2 credits, up to 6 scenes per reel, and scenes that fail the check aren't counted. A photo you've already staged, decluttered or turned to twilight is animated as edited, right after the original photo, and tagged, for example, "Virtually staged · AI-animated". Renovation concepts and floor plans can't be animated.
Disclose staged and edited photos in the video
A staged, twilight or decluttered photo is still altered when it's in a video. Treat it the same way:
- Keep the label visible. Show the photo whole, so the 9:16 crop doesn't cut the label off.
- Add a disclosure frame inside the video, such as "Some photos are virtually staged. See the originals:" with a short link and a QR code. Captions get lost when reels are downloaded and reshared.
- Put the same line in the post text.
In California, AB 723 has required a disclosure and a link to the unaltered original for altered images in ads since January 1, 2026. In BC, BCFSA's Artificial Intelligence Guideline advises labelling altered photos. Our guide to virtual staging disclosure has sample wording.
Step by step: two ways to make it
By hand, in a phone editor
- Pick and order 10 to 20 photos (or 6 to 8 for a short reel), brightened and straightened.
- Start a project in a phone editor such as iMovie or Canva, or the editor built into Instagram or TikTok. Set the frame to 9:16.
- Give each photo 2 to 4 seconds with a slow pan or push-in.
- Add an opening card, room captions, a highlights card and an end card with your name and brokerage.
- For any altered photo, keep the label visible and add a disclosure frame with a link or QR code to the originals.
- Export at 1080×1920. Repeat at 16:9 for YouTube and your website.
- Add music from the platform's library when you post, and turn on captions if there's speech.
Our estimate: often 45 to 90 minutes the first time, less once you have a template.
With Trulisted
- Upload the listing photos. Rooms are tagged as they upload.
- Once your photos are made, go back to the Create tab and tick the reel in the video step, plus the wide 16:9 video if you want it.
- If you like, turn on cinematic scenes and pick up to 6 photos.
- Trulisted builds a video of about 20 to 30 seconds: the price and address up front, up to seven photos with slow pans and room captions, a highlights card, a disclosure frame when edited or animated photos appear (with a QR code to the originals for edited ones), and an end card with your name and brokerage from your brand kit.
- Choose a music track you have the rights to from your brand kit, or leave it silent and add licensed music when you post.
- Download it and post it yourself. Trulisted doesn't post or schedule for you. On the free first listing, the video carries a faint trulisted.com mark in the corner.
Standard reels and videos use no credits, and your first listing is free with 8 credits. For the stills to go with your video, see social media posts and stories, or the real estate video maker page for more on the reel.
Posting checklist
Before you post, check:
- The address, price and open house times are right.
- Every staged or edited photo shows its label, and the video has a disclosure frame with a link or QR code to the originals.
- Any AI-animated scene is tagged and shows nothing that isn't in the real photo.
- Your name and brokerage appear in the video.
- The music is from the platform library or a track you have a licence for.
- Captions are on if there's speech, and you've read them.
- The post text repeats the key facts and the disclosure line.
- You've used the right size: 9:16 for reels, 16:9 for YouTube and your website.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a real estate video be?
Between 15 and 60 seconds for most listings. A vertical reel of 20 to 30 seconds fits 6 to 8 photos and suits Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts. A wide video for YouTube or your website can run 45 to 60 seconds with 12 to 20 photos. Give each photo 2 to 4 seconds.
Can I use popular music in my listing video?
Not without a licence. A listing video is advertising, and Meta's music guidelines prohibit commercial use of music without the right licences. The safe options are tracks from the platform's own library added when you post, TikTok's Commercial Music Library for business accounts, or stock music your licence covers. Don't bake a popular song into the video file.
What size should a real estate reel be?
Vertical 9:16 at 1080×1920 pixels for Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and stories. For YouTube, Facebook and your website, make a wide 16:9 version at 1920×1080. Keep text away from the bottom and right edges of the vertical version, where the app's buttons sit.
Can I make a listing video without filming?
Yes. Put your listing photos in walk-through order, give each one a slow pan or push-in, and add an opening card, room captions, highlights and an end card with your name and brokerage. You can do it by hand in a phone editor, or let a listing video tool build it from your photos.
Do I need to disclose virtual staging in a listing video?
Yes. A staged photo is still altered when it's in a video. Keep the label visible on screen and add a disclosure frame with a link or QR code to the originals. California's AB 723 requires a disclosure and a link to the original, and BCFSA advises labelling altered photos. Check your board's and brokerage's rules too.
Is AI-animated video allowed in real estate marketing?
Rules for AI video are still taking shape, so check your board and brokerage first. The safe approach is to keep it honest: the motion must not add or change anything in the property, each animated scene should be tagged as AI-animated, and you should watch every clip before you post it.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Check your board's, brokerage's and regulator's rules for your market.