These days, social media has opened up a whole new world of marketing for any industry or niche — including real estate. While traditional listings are far from outdated, you can achieve a lot more by using all the channels available to you. Besides websites and social media ads, you can create lifestyle videos. This content can help you add a personal touch to your real estate listings. It’s the equivalent of a testimonial video for real estate, showing potential buyers the lifestyle they’re buying with the home. So, what are these videos, and how do they work? We’ll explore everything about how lifestyle videos sell homes right here!

Why Are Lifestyle Real Estate Videos So Popular?

With the right approach, every home can shine. All you need is the proper spotlight to sand out any rough edges of the property and show buyers the value they’re getting for their money.

From a tiny cozy cottage to a luxurious mansion, you can quickly sell anything with a lifestyle video. All it takes is a little creativity; a buyer will be ready with the down payment before they’ve even seen the place.

So, how do these creative videos work?

For starters, you should know these are high-end productions. While this approach can work for the average home as well, lifestyle videos work best when showcasing luxurious properties.

When you watch an average lifestyle video, it’s usually quite function-oriented. It helps potential buyers visualize the space and showcases any regular features of the home. With the lifestyle video format, you’re doing something different. Instead, you’re trying to immerse the buyer in the experience of living in the home.

How Do I Create A Lifestyle Video?

While this may sound simple, it’s actually quite difficult. Or, rather, it’s hard to stand out in a sea of high-quality lifestyle videos. Most sellers of luxurious properties have caught onto the trend, or they’ve hired cutting-edge real estate agencies that know what they’re doing.

With this in mind, the question is — how do you create a video that stands out?

Create a Story

Like all online ads, lifestyle videos sell homes faster if they go viral. To achieve this, you need to hook viewers early and stop them from moving on to the next thing recommended by their algorithm.

For this, you need to have a story. Something needs to be happening around the property you’re selling. Remember, this shouldn’t be a straight ad right away. For instance, try to think of creative ideas for home remodeling and make the video as a vlog for the project.

It doesn’t have to be anything too big. The important thing is that it allows you to go through the property seamlessly. In the process, you can showcase the home as a whole and specific amenities.

Without this approach, your video will amount to little more than a few disconnected shots. People don’t have the patience for content that isn’t informative or creative, and they quickly move on.

Before you produce the video, take the time to create a storyboard. It should map out the key shots you want and the story you’re trying to tell, beat by beat.

Fortunately, most high-end properties have unique features you can use for the story. For instance, a barn or a small lake is perfect for a narrative. Just make sure your story is cohesive and interesting enough on its own.

Use Real People

While you may want to create the vibe of a Hallmark holiday movie, remember — you’re not making a professional movie, but a lifestyle video. So, while having a story is important, you must also keep the video relatable and natural.

Considering this, you don’t want to hire professional actors, even if you have the budget for them. To keep the human element as relatable as possible, get your friends and family to play something. Also, feel free to keep a couple of funny bloopers in the video to keep it engaging and positive.

Once you start filming, keep things simple when it comes to direction. Give straightforward cues in terms of behavior — most of the lines will likely be covered in the voiceover anyway. All your “actors” have to do is perform actions while laughing and enjoying themselves.

Work on Sound Design

Don’t underestimate the additional quality brought to your videos by sound design — all professional video production teams use it. Sure, you can capture some natural sounds while filming — but it won’t be enough. In most cases, professional lifestyle videos sell homes faster with decent sound design.

In practice, this entails adding quality sounds that match your scenes. If you’re filming a pool on your property, add water-splashing sounds to the shot. Also, you can make night scenes more atmospheric by adding cricket chirping.

Before you release the final edit of the video, consider ambient effects that you can add to each individual shot. Most professional videos have this level of quality, and yours needs to reach that standard to stand apart.

Combine Real Estate & Lifestyle Shots

Lifestyle shots are the main aspect of real estate lifestyle videos. However, you still need to sprinkle in a few classic real estate shots. After all, the main point is showcasing the property.

So, let’s say you showcase a specific function of your kitchen, like a bar area or a particularly gorgeous island. After preparing for a video shoot with actors having fun in that section of the home, transition to a wide shot that shows the entire kitchen.

Besides engaging viewers, this approach ensures you’re showcasing the property in its entirety.

Wrapping Up

Lifestyle videos sell homes quicker than most other formats — including traditional video formats for real estate. If you manage to create a short-form cinematic view of your luxury home, you’ll have no trouble attracting buyers.

While creating a proper lifestyle video can be expensive, it’s well worth it. If you follow the tips above and do your best to film something engaging, you’ll have prospective buyers lined up soon enough!