Reels, Shorts & TikTok

Real estate video marketing,
cut from the photos you already have

Vertical video is the only thing on social that still reaches people who do not follow you. You do not need a videographer to start — a listing's stills, in the right order, with the hook burned into the first frame, is a Reel. AI HomeDesign cuts the master once and sizes it for Reels, Shorts, TikTok and Stories.

See the four formats

One 9:16 master, four exports
Text placed clear of every UI
No filming required

One master, four feeds

The same 9:16, and why it still needs four versions

All four are 1080 × 1920, which is why agents assume one export covers them. It does not: each app puts its own furniture over a different part of the frame, so text that reads perfectly on a Reel sits under the TikTok caption. Pick one to see where the safe zone moves.

The first frame

You are writing for one and a half seconds

Nobody decides to watch a listing video. They decide not to scroll past it, and they decide in the time it takes the first frame to render. Four openings that hold, and one that never does.

Name the number

“What $429,000 gets you in Wake Forest.” Price is the only thing every viewer is already curious about, whether or not they are buying.

Promise a specific miss

“Three things buyers always miss in this house.” A number plus a gap is the oldest hook there is because it still works.

Start on the strangest room

Not the best room — the odd one. A sloped-ceiling bonus room stops a scroll in a way another grey living room never will.

Never open on the exterior

Every listing video on the internet opens on a front elevation. It is the single most skippable frame in the category. Put it third.

Vertical video sizes

Same pixels, different safe zones

Safe zones for vertical real estate video
Format	Pixels	Keep text out of	Length
Instagram Reel	1080 × 1920	Bottom 420px, right 160px	15–60s
Reel cover in grid	1080 × 1350	Outer 15% top and bottom	—
YouTube Short	1080 × 1920	Bottom 340px	Up to 3 min
TikTok	1080 × 1920	Bottom 500px, right 180px	15–60s
Instagram Story	1080 × 1920	Top 250px, bottom 250px	15s per frame

The Reel cover is the one most agents get wrong: Instagram crops it to 4:5 in your profile grid, so a hook centred for the full 9:16 gets its top and bottom sliced off on the page people visit when they are deciding whether to follow you.

Before the first frame

Video magnifies whatever is wrong with the photo

A still gets looked at for a second. A slow pan across the same room gives a viewer four. Empty rooms and flat skies show more, not less, once they start moving.

A Florida home at midday, then converted to a twilight exterior. — AI Day to Dusk
A midday exterior, at twilight

Twilight exteriors are the highest-performing frame on a listing feed, and you do not have to reshoot at 8pm to get one.
Try AI Day to Dusk

AI Day to Dusk
A midday exterior, at twilight

Twilight exteriors are the highest-performing frame on a listing feed, and you do not have to reshoot at 8pm to get one.
Try AI Day to Dusk

A vaulted living room, empty, then virtually staged with a sofa, armchairs and rug. — AI Virtual Staging
Empty living room, modern style

An empty room reads as small and cold on a phone screen. Staged, a buyer can see where their sofa goes — and the ceiling height finally registers.
Try AI Virtual Staging

AI Virtual Staging
Empty living room, modern style

An empty room reads as small and cold on a phone screen. Staged, a buyer can see where their sofa goes — and the ceiling height finally registers.
Try AI Virtual Staging

An open-plan living and dining space, then cleared. — AI Item Removal
An open-plan room, cleared for staging

Open plans photograph best empty-then-staged. Removing the owner’s sofa and table is the first half of that.
Try AI Item Removal

AI Item Removal
An open-plan room, cleared for staging

Open plans photograph best empty-then-staged. Removing the owner’s sofa and table is the first half of that.
Try AI Item Removal

The other networks

Same listing, same upload — different shapes and a different job on each.

All platforms Where to start, and what each network actually rewards. Instagram Carousels, Reels covers, Stories, captions and hashtags. Facebook Open house posts, listing announcements and your business page. Reels & short video Coming soon One 9:16 master, re-cut for Reels, Shorts and TikTok. YouTube Coming soon Thumbnails and tour covers that survive being 210px wide. LinkedIn Coming soon Market updates, just-solds and relocation posts. Pinterest Coming soon Pins that keep getting found after the listing closes.

Questions

Can I make a real estate Reel without filming anything?

Yes. A listing shoot already gives you fifteen to twenty stills, and a slow push across each one is the format most listing Reels use. You need a hook in the first frame, an order that walks the house, and text clear of the app UI.

How long should a real estate video be?

15 to 30 seconds for a listing on Reels or TikTok, up to 60 if the house genuinely has something to walk through. End on the ask, not on the exterior.

Do Reels or carousels work better for real estate?

They do different jobs. Reels reach people who do not follow you. Carousels convert the people who already do. See the Instagram page.

Can I post the same video on Reels, Shorts and TikTok?

The footage, yes. The export, not quite — each app covers a different part of the frame. Keep one 9:16 master and export three versions.

What should the first frame say?

A number and a gap. What does not work is the address on its own, and opening on the front elevation.

Real estate video marketing,cut from the photos you already have