Guide
How to make a listing video: an 8-line script and a 10-clip shot list
Updated
A listing video that sells is one person telling a buyer why this house is worth a viewing. Here is the script, the shot list and the edit, all doable on a phone in under an hour.
In short
- A listing video that sells is you on camera, saying in about 60 seconds why this house is worth a viewing.
- The script is 8 lines, read to camera in one go.
- Film one clip of yourself talking, then 10 clips of 5 to 10 seconds around the house.
- Each room appears on screen when you name it.
- Post it the day the listing goes live, and send it to every inquiry.
- The whole script
- 8 lines
- 5 to 10 seconds per room
- 10 clips
- The feed video. The long tour is a different file
- 60 seconds
What makes a listing video sell
Say why the house will sell, not what the rooms are called.
- A silent walkthrough with music over it looks like every other listing, so buyers scroll past.
- Name the 2 or 3 real reasons it will sell, like the light or the school catchment.
- Say what a buyer would do in the room, not just its name: the island seats four, so this is where breakfast happens.
- Name one honest compromise, like a small garden. It makes the rest of what you say easier to believe.
The usual listing video against one that sells
Who talks
- Usual listing video
- Nobody, music only
- Listing video that sells
- You, to camera
What it shows
- Usual listing video
- Every room in order
- Listing video that sells
- The 3 reasons it will sell
Honesty
- Usual listing video
- Everything is perfect
- Listing video that sells
- One honest compromise named
Length
- Usual listing video
- As long as the walkthrough takes, often three minutes or more
- Listing video that sells
- 60 seconds or less
| Usual listing video | Listing video that sells | |
|---|---|---|
| Who talks | Nobody, music only | You, to camera |
| What it shows | Every room in order | The 3 reasons it will sell |
| Honesty | Everything is perfect | One honest compromise named |
| Length | As long as the walkthrough takes, often three minutes or more | 60 seconds or less |
The script: 8 lines, about 60 seconds
Write the eight lines before you go to the property, and read them out loud once so they sound like you.
- Write the 8 lines on your phone before you leave the office, and read them out loud once.
- Keep every line to one sentence, so the whole script runs about 60 seconds.
- If you stumble, keep going and say the line again.
The 8-line listing script
| Line | What to say | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The opening line | The price, the area or the standout | [Price] in [area] with a south-facing garden. |
| 2 to 4. The three reasons | Three reasons it will sell, one line each | The light is the reason this one goes: south-facing, all afternoon. |
| 5. The compromise | Name it before a viewer does | The garden is small. |
| 6. One thing nearby | A school, a station or a market | The station is a seven minute walk, and the Saturday market is on this street. |
| 7. Who it suits | The buyer you are talking to | This one suits a first-time buyer who still wants a garden. |
| 8. What to do next | The ask | Open house Saturday at 2. Send me a message for the address. |
Line: 1. The opening line
- What to say
- The price, the area or the standout
- Example
- [Price] in [area] with a south-facing garden.
Line: 2 to 4. The three reasons
- What to say
- Three reasons it will sell, one line each
- Example
- The light is the reason this one goes: south-facing, all afternoon.
Line: 5. The compromise
- What to say
- Name it before a viewer does
- Example
- The garden is small.
Line: 6. One thing nearby
- What to say
- A school, a station or a market
- Example
- The station is a seven minute walk, and the Saturday market is on this street.
Line: 7. Who it suits
- What to say
- The buyer you are talking to
- Example
- This one suits a first-time buyer who still wants a garden.
Line: 8. What to do next
- What to say
- The ask
- Example
- Open house Saturday at 2. Send me a message for the address.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
The shot list
Film yourself talking first. Then walk the house and film ten short clips.
- Film yourself in the best room or at the front of the house, phone vertical at chest height, facing a window.
- Film ten clips of 5 to 10 seconds each. Hold still, or move slowly in one direction.
- Keep the windows behind the camera, so the light falls on the room instead of into the lens. Open every curtain and turn on every lamp.
- Film the storage and the garden, the two things buyers always ask about.
- Film one detail nobody else films, like the original latch, the tiles or the view from the kitchen sink.
The order to film in
Film yourself talking first. The room clips go over your words later.
Film yourself talking
The 8 lines, in one go
Wide of each room
Still, 5 to 10 seconds
The light
Windows, garden, brightest room
Storage and garden
The two buyers ask about
One detail
The shot nobody else films
The edit
There is one rule: when you say the kitchen, the viewer sees the kitchen.
- Keep captions on, because most people in the feed watch on mute. Cutroom gives you 40 caption styles to pick from.
- Cut everything that is not one of the 8 lines.
- By hand this takes about an evening in a phone editor.
- With Cutroom, upload the clip of you talking, up to 3 minutes, and the edit is back in about a minute.
- If you stumbled and said a line twice, both tries stay in, so film the take again. Cutroom keeps the lines you say.
- Highlight the sentence about the kitchen and your kitchen clip lands on exactly those words. Move it if you disagree.
One clip to a posted listing video
Your walkthrough clips go over your words.
Upload your clip
Up to 3 minutes
Edit
100 credits: transcript, first edit, clip search
Swap in your rooms
On the words that name them
Export
20 credits per finished minute
Post
9:16 MP4, 1080x1920
What the edit costs on Cutroom
You pay credits for the edit and the export.
Cutroom costs for a listing video
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Edit | 100 credits |
| Export | 20 credits per finished minute |
| 30 second listing video | About 110 credits |
| First video | Free within 7 days, 600 credits, no card, Cutroom mark across the middle |
| Basic plan | $39.99 a month for 2,500 credits, about 22 videos of 30 seconds |
Item: Edit
- Cost
- 100 credits
Item: Export
- Cost
- 20 credits per finished minute
Item: 30 second listing video
- Cost
- About 110 credits
Item: First video
- Cost
- Free within 7 days, 600 credits, no card, Cutroom mark across the middle
Item: Basic plan
- Cost
- $39.99 a month for 2,500 credits, about 22 videos of 30 seconds
Where to post it and who to send it to
A listing video is a sales tool, not just a social post.
- Post it the day the listing goes live, when portal alerts fire and first viewings get booked.
- Write the caption as the price, the area and the number of bedrooms, so someone scrolling knows what they are looking at in one line.
- Put the street or the area in the caption. The full address goes in only if the seller agrees to it.
- Reply to every inquiry with the link, and add it to the follow-up after each viewing.
- Show it to your next seller in your listing presentation.
- When the house sells, film one more video on what it listed at and what happened.
Two files, two jobs
| Where | Length | Shape |
|---|---|---|
| Reels, TikTok, Shorts | 60 seconds or less | Vertical, 9:16 |
| Listing page, YouTube, MLS | 3 to 5 minute walkthrough | Horizontal |
Where: Reels, TikTok, Shorts
- Length
- 60 seconds or less
- Shape
- Vertical, 9:16
Where: Listing page, YouTube, MLS
- Length
- 3 to 5 minute walkthrough
- Shape
- Horizontal
Questions people ask
- How long should a listing video be?
- Sixty seconds or less for the feed. It only has to earn a viewing request. The full walkthrough can run three to five minutes on the listing page or YouTube, as a separate file.
- Do I need the seller's permission to film?
- Yes, ask before you film, and film after staging. Skip family photos, documents and anything with a name on it. Most sellers say yes, because marketing the house is what they hired you for.
- Should listing videos be vertical or horizontal?
- Vertical for the feed: Reels, TikTok and Shorts all want 9:16. Horizontal for the MLS and the YouTube tour. If you film only one, film vertical.
- Can I make a listing video without being on camera?
- Yes, you can talk over the clips without showing your face. A voice works better than music alone. But an agent on camera makes the video yours, so appear if you can.
- What if the house is ordinary?
- Sell the price, the street and the light. An ordinary house at the right price near a good school is what most buyers want. Name the compromise, then name what they get for it.
- What does the AI edit cost?
- About 110 credits for a 30 second video on Cutroom: 100 for the edit, 20 per finished minute to export. Basic is $39.99 a month for 2,500 credits. Your first video is free and carries a Cutroom mark.
Write the 8 lines, film the 10 clips, and post it the day the listing goes live. Your first video is free.