A Standout Video Can Help Elevate a Property Listing Above the Competition

Raindrops fall gently on the surface of a pool, the fleeting shadows of clouds chase each other across stubbled grass and swaying trees and a deer pauses for a moment, head poised, as it makes its delicate way across a narrow road leading to a private home in Los Angeles’s Sierra Madre. 

These moments from a recent video capture the serene magic of the Stonehouse Road home, which recently sold for $1 million over asking price, setting a 20-year sales record for the area. Sarah Rogers, executive director of the Agency’s Estates Division in Pasadena, attributes this result to the widespread attention drawn to the property by an unusually slow-paced and artistically shot video. At more than four minutes long, it featured minimalist music and nature sounds overlaying lingering footage of the property’s wild grounds in different lights and weather conditions.

Highly produced videos have long provided a way to showcase the size and layout of a home, but during the height of the pandemic, when the ability to view many properties in person was curtailed, videos became ubiquitous and essential. Three years on, listing videos are not going anywhere, but their purpose and power may have shifted.

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“The difference now is I think video is more about striking an emotion with the buyer, and less so about the pure functionality of how does the house lay out and how one room links to the next,” Rogers said.

When are those studies from Studies by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) show that real estate listings with videos get 403% more inquiries than those without, while real estate websites that use embedded videos to showcase listings attract 157% more organic traffic.  

“Having a well-produced video of a home is worth the expense and remains increasingly popular even post the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Dezireh Eyn, co-founder and COO of Platinum Properties in New York. “Sellers now expect it, and buyers are now accustomed to it—it is the future of real estate, and it’s important to embrace this technology to stay ahead of the curve.”

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The Pandemic Legacy

Even for realtors who had embraced the use of video as a sales tactic prior to the pandemic, expectations in many markets have changed. “As far as my business is concerned, because I really do count myself as a marketer as much as I am sales person, I was already producing a property film for all of my listings in all price points,” said Dina Goldentayer, executive director of sales at Douglas Elliman in Miami. 

“I call them property films because what I do is so much beyond a regular video: a floor plan, digital renderings if needed, a fact sheet,” she said. “What’s changed is now the other realtors also have proper videos for their listings. It used to be that they weren’t always available, but now pretty much it’s a new industry standard in Miami.”

Not every market has yet embraced video as a standard aspect of marketing a property, but using film footage to showcase what makes a home special can help to elevate a listing and make it stand out, particularly in the prime and super-prime markets.

“Most of these properties, especially in the higher price points, the audience is probably an executive, a CEO, so everybody’s time is precious, but someone like that can be harder to catch,” Rogers said. “They probably travel, so even if they live locally, they might be traveling when the listing comes out and then they have to determine their schedule. ‘Should I go take time to that particular property?’ So, it goes back to reinforcing, having everything in place—the video, excellent photography, etcetera.”

Telling a Story

A well-made video can help to boost interest in any home, but it is particularly powerful when used to highlight an unusual or unique property—“something that really deserves to draw a much wider audience,” Rogers said.

“I do believe it is worth the additional cost, especially with a special property where there’s a story to be told, whether it’s the architect, whether it’s the history, unique views—maybe the property hasn’t been on the market for a long time, or it’s a rare offering,” she added. 

Finding the right approach involves a certain level of creativity and vision. The final product should not just echo the photos included with the listing but provide something extra, highlighting appealing details, evoking emotion in the viewer or creating a sense of atmosphere that might be missing from still shots.

“An exceptional video tour of a home goes beyond convenience and accessibility; not just allowing clients to view properties from the comfort of their own homes. It allows you to highlight and experience the lifestyle one can expect, which goes beyond what a listing can offer,” Eyn said. “It can incite a buyer to see it in person, as well as reach a wider global audience, i.e. foreign or out-of-state buyers.”

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A well-crafted video can also use specific techniques to help elevate a listing above the competition. Listings with aerial imagery are 68% more likely to sell than those without it, according to NAR data, making the use of a drone a worthwhile investment. This is particularly true of homes with land, as aerial footage helps to accurately convey the size of the property, as well as the expanse and beauty of its grounds. 

When it came to showcasing the Stonehouse Road home., which the architect designed to create a sense of connection to nature, Rogers said that the rolling, tree-covered grounds were one of the main attractions. To highlight their beauty, the video used a mixture of aerial and ground-level footage, shot over several different sessions to capture the property in different moods and at different times of day. “It was intentionally at a calm pace so that you could actually enjoy the vibe of this property, which is very serene,” she said.

She chose to go against the prevailing trend of short, fast-paced videos suited to sharing on social media. “Ironically, talking about the attributes of this video that were so successful, it’s worth commenting that many people will produce a video that’s really short. It’s getting shorter and shorter because everybody’s attention span is less and less,” she said.

In this instance, bucking the trend helped to attract interest. “We had people coming from other areas wanting to see this house, so I do believe that we reached a much wider audience by way of the video. … It really did go viral,” she said.

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The Right Agent

For sellers who feel their homes would benefit from video as a marketing tool, choosing the right agent is key. Sellers should research brokers’ existing listings to see how they approach marketing and the style of the promotional materials they produce, agents advised. Most brokers will not directly pass on the cost of a video to the seller, so it’s important to discuss the overall marketing strategy at the outset and to remember that when it comes to video, production quality is paramount, particularly in the prime market.

“Sometimes the videos are just terrible, right? Like, the beds aren’t correctly made. The pillows aren’t fluffed on the sofas. If I’m a seller, I want a broker with a nice attention to detail who showcases my space in the highest and best light,” Goldentayer said. “The whole point of a video is to make the property a star.”

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To ensure that her videos are the best quality, she uses her knowledge of each property’s strengths to ensure that the final film highlights the most eye-catching angles and details. “I’m highly involved in the editing process, because the editor has never stepped foot into the place,” she said, adding that she ensures that the final footage features the best lighting and creates the most compelling impression of the home. 

Her videos feature smooth, flowing exterior and interior footage, alternating fast and slow-paced camerawork set to catchy, upbeat music. Her signature invitation to “Step inside with me” has become so familiar to Miami locals familiar with her videos that people often call it out to her in the street, she said.

“The stat to keep in mind is that 90% of buyers start their search online,” she said. “So if we know that to be true from the National Association of Realtors, then you need to stand out in cyberspace—and the way to do that is to have the most interesting digital presentation.” 

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