Real estate video on your phone: a guide to selling more

A real estate video on your phone is the fastest way to show buyers what photos can’t: how the rooms connect, how much light comes in, what the view is really like from the terrace. You don’t need a videographer or editing skills. You need a shot list, about 20 minutes at the property and an app that does the editing for you. This guide covers why video works, what buyers want to see, and exactly how to make one.

Why video helps you sell

Buyers decide whether a listing is worth a visit from what they see online. In NAR’s Real Estate in a Digital Age report (2019), 87% of buyers who searched online found listing photos very useful, the most of any website feature, and 46% said the same about virtual tours. 37% used online video sites during their search (NAR, 2019).

Photos still do most of the work. Video adds what they leave out:

• Flow. A buyer can’t tell from ten photos that the kitchen opens onto the terrace. A 6-second walk shows it.
• Scale. Wide-angle photos make every room look big. Moving through a room shows its real size, which means fewer disappointed buyers at the showing.
• You. A short intro on camera puts a face and a voice on the listing. When the video gets shared, people know who to call.

There’s a practical reason too: Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts are all built for short vertical video. A listing posted as video can go out on all three without extra work, while a photo carousel can’t.

What buyers look for in a property video

Keep it to what someone deciding on a visit wants to know:

1. The outside and the street. One clip of the front, one of the view from the entrance.
2. The main living space, walked through slowly from the door.
3. The kitchen, with the counters and appliances in frame.
4. The best bedroom and bathroom. Skip the second bathroom unless it’s special.
5. The one thing that sets this listing apart: the terrace, the yard, the view, the renovated floor.
6. The numbers on screen: price, bedrooms, bathrooms and area. Most people watch on mute, so say it in text too.

Leave out anything you’d skip during a showing. A closet clip costs you viewers.

How to make a real estate video on your phone, step by step

Here is the whole process for a fictional three-bedroom at 1824 Palm Crest Drive.

1. Prepare the property (10 minutes). Turn on every light, open the curtains, clear the counters, close the toilet lids. Shoot between mid-morning and mid-afternoon on a clear day.
2. Hold the phone vertically and clean the lens. Vertical is the format for Reels, TikTok and Shorts. In Haus, pick Vertical when you start the project.
3. Film one clip per room (15 minutes). Start at the door, hold the phone at chest height with both hands and walk in slowly for 5 to 8 seconds. In Haus, a short clip shows you where to stand and how to move in each room before you record.
4. Record a 10-second intro. “1824 Palm Crest Drive: three bedrooms and a yard you’ll want to see. I’m Sarah with Palm Realty.” The Haus teleprompter fills in your name and the bedroom and bathroom count, so you only read.
5. Edit (under 5 minutes in Haus). Pick a template, trim each clip, check the subtitles and export.

A realistic timing for this example: an 8-second intro and 7 room clips at about 5 seconds each come to about 43 seconds, inside the 30-to-60-second range that works for Reels.

Shooting photos that turn into great video

Photos you already have for the listing can carry part of the video. To make them work:

• Shoot extra vertical photos. Listing photos are usually horizontal. Take three or four vertical ones of the façade, the living room and the best feature so they fill the screen.
• Leave room around the subject. A zoom or pan needs margin. If the kitchen island touches the edge of the frame, the movement will crop it.
• Use photos for what doesn’t move: the exterior, the floor plan, an aerial shot, the view at night.
• Don’t stack ten photos in a row. Alternate them with clips, or the video starts to feel like a slideshow.

Choosing the best app for property videos on mobile

General video editors can do all of this, but you’ll spend the time building it yourself. For listing videos, check for:

• Listing templates that put the price, bedrooms, bathrooms and area on screen without manual text editing.
• Subtitles generated from your voice, since most people watch muted.
• Your logo and contact on every video, so a shared video still brings the call back to you.
• Exports for every platform: portrait for Reels and TikTok, square for the feed, landscape for YouTube.
• Help on camera: a teleprompter, or guidance for what to film in each room.
• Photos and clips together in the same timeline.

Haus was built around that list. Test it against your own shortlist with one real listing.

How to turn property photos into a video with Haus

1. Start a project, choose Vertical or Horizontal, then film each room or bring in photos and videos with Import from library.
2. Pick one of the 41 listing templates and enter the price, bedrooms, bathrooms and area once; the template places them on screen.
3. Tap a photo to set how long it stays on screen, from 1 to 10 seconds (3 by default), and its animation: Auto, zoom in, zoom out, or pan left, right, up or down.
4. Use the speed ramp on the walk between rooms, from 0.5x to 2.5x (you drag the slider while the clip plays), so the video stays short and every room still gets its moment.
5. Add music or record a voice-over on top of the shots.
6. Your logo stays on every frame and the video ends on a 3-second card with your name and number. A vertical project exports portrait or square; a horizontal one, landscape or square.

Where to publish your video to reach more buyers

• Instagram Reels and TikTok, vertical, with the address or neighborhood in the first line of the caption.
• YouTube Shorts, which accepts vertical videos up to 3 minutes since October 2024 (YouTube). Use it for longer walkthroughs.
• Your website’s listing page. Google can show a video in search results when it’s embedded on a page that’s indexed, with a title and description unique to that video (Google Search Central).
• Direct messages to your buyer list. A 50-second video sent to five buyers who asked about three-bedrooms in the area often does more than a public post.

Post the same video everywhere the same day, then check which platform brought messages. That tells you where to post the next listing first.

Download Haus and try it on your next listing: one property, one afternoon, one video.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a listing video be?

For Reels and TikTok, aim for 30 to 60 seconds: long enough to walk through the main rooms, short enough that people finish it. YouTube Shorts accepts vertical videos up to 3 minutes, so a longer walkthrough can go there.

Can I make a property video from photos only?

Yes. In Haus you can bring photos in from your library next to your clips. Each photo stays on screen for 1 to 10 seconds (3 by default) and can zoom or pan so it doesn't look like a slideshow.

Do I need a gimbal or a new phone?

No. A phone from the last few years, both hands on it and slow steps are enough for a walkthrough. Shoot in daylight with the lights on, and keep each clip to one room.

Should I talk on camera?

It helps buyers trust you, but it's optional. If you freeze up, read your lines from the teleprompter at the top of the screen, or record a voice-over on top of the room shots afterwards.