1. Name the development stage before naming the video
“New construction” can describe an approved concept, an active jobsite, a furnished model, a nearly finished inventory home, or a completed residence. Those are not interchangeable video sources. Record the exact stage, identity, and checked date before selecting media or writing a hook.
| Stage | What exists to show | Useful video job | Central risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proposed or preconstruction | Authorized plans, renderings, site context, selections, and project information | Explain the proposal and direct viewers to current project details | Presenting an illustration or option as completed fact |
| Active construction | Dated jobsite footage, completed milestones, approved plans, and current notices | Document progress or explain what has changed since the last update | Using old footage or turning a projection into a dependable date |
| Model home | A completed representative interior with a known plan, options, and location | Explain the plan or visitor experience with clear model context | Implying every shown finish, furnishing, view, or feature is standard or available |
| Inventory or spec home | An identifiable home with current construction, finish, and availability evidence | Market one actual property and its verified current features | Mixing media from another address or an earlier selection package |
| Completed new home | Current photography or footage of the actual finished property | Provide a property overview, launch video, or listing-specific short | Leaving proposed language or representative media in the final-home campaign |
| Community or phase | Approved common areas, site context, model and plan records, current availability | Orient the project without promising a specific home | Combining phases, amenities, boundaries, or inventory without clear labels |
The stage is a source-control decision, not a decorative disclosure added after the edit. If a video combines stages, label that choice in the storyboard and on screen where needed. Do not make viewers infer whether a scene is a rendering, model, progress update, or the home identified in the call to action.
2. Create one scene-level source record
A conventional listing source sheet may not be enough for a development. The same folder can contain current inventory photos, an older model, several plans, community amenities, renderings, and jobsite clips from different dates. Give every candidate visual an identity before it enters the edit.
Campaign identity: [community / phase / plan / lot / unit / street address]
Current stage: [proposed / construction / model / inventory / completed]
Status checked: [date, time, source, responsible person]
Actual property media: [file / address or lot / capture date / owner / allowed use]
Model media: [model name / plan / location / options shown / allowed use]
Rendering or plan: [creator / version date / approved scope / required label]
Progress media: [capture date / milestone actually visible / jobsite permission]
Community media: [exact amenity or context / phase / current condition / rights]
Verified property facts: [fact / source / checked date / whether standard or optional]
Price and availability: [exact source / checked date / update owner]
Projected information: [item / responsible source / qualification / update trigger]
Approvers: [builder / seller / listing agent / brokerage / media owner / other]
Required identity and disclosures: [copy / placement / version / owner]
Preserve original filenames and source files. A generic label such as “kitchen-final.jpg” is not enough when three plans share similar finishes. In the edit, attach the source identity to the scene number so a reviewer can resolve a question without guessing which house the image came from.
3. Give each video one current viewer job
A development campaign may need several videos, but each asset should make one promise and point to one maintained destination. Trying to explain the vision, construction progress, model experience, all inventory, agent expertise, financing, and an event in one short video creates stage confusion and a fragile update burden.
| Viewer job | Evidence to prioritize | Useful next step |
|---|---|---|
| Understand what is proposed | Labeled renderings or plans, project identity, current site context, stated assumptions | Review current project materials or ask a specific question |
| See current progress | Dated completed work, milestone context, prior approved comparison | View the current update or contact the assigned project representative |
| Understand a plan through the model | Model identity, room relationships, options shown, representative context | Confirm current inventory or schedule through the approved route |
| Evaluate one available home | Actual-home photography or footage, verified current features, exact identity | View listing details or request current showing information |
| Attend a release or open event | Current event record, permitted property or model visuals, access details | See event details or respond through a maintained link |
Write the next step only after the responsible team confirms the destination, response owner, and update process. A video that says “available now” is not evergreen. A video that sends viewers to a current inventory page may be easier to maintain, but the visual and spoken claims inside the video still require their own review.
4. Match the video type to the stage
Plan a small stage-based campaign rather than one master that changes meaning over time. The following formats can share approved source records, brand files, and workflow, but each needs its own identity, facts, labels, and retirement trigger.
| Asset | Core scenes | Keep separate | Retire or revise when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concept overview | Labeled proposal, location or site context, project identity, current next step | Proposed visuals from completed-condition footage | The design, approval, phase, identity, or project destination changes |
| Progress update | Date, prior state, completed milestone, current state, next update route | Observed progress from projected schedule | A newer update makes the asset incomplete or potentially misleading |
| Model-plan tour | Model identity, public-space route, private-space route, options context | Model finishes and views from specific available homes | The model, plan, options, permission, or inventory relationship changes |
| Inventory-home listing video | Actual exterior, room route, verified features, exact listing action | Other addresses, models, renderings, and old progress media unless clearly needed | Price, status, condition, selections, availability, or listing route changes |
| Community orientation | Approved site or phase context, current common areas, model relationship, inquiry route | Community-level facts from lot- or home-specific promises | Amenity, phase, boundary, access, completion, or availability information changes |
| Event short | Recognizable approved visual, event identity, date and time, access, response path | Reusable property master from temporary event text | The event changes, closes, fills, or passes |
When premarketing is part of the plan, use the coming soon real estate marketing checklist to verify the listing, seller, brokerage, MLS, and public-release path before assuming that a preview, progress post, or model video may be published.
5. Separate representative media from the actual home
Representative media can help explain a plan or project, but only when its relationship to the advertised home is clear. A disclosure should not be used to excuse a scene choice that creates the wrong overall impression. Build the distinction into the edit, words, and destination.
| Media | Plain-language identity | Review before use |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural rendering | Rendering, artist's rendering, or other approved term that makes the status clear | Version, depicted scope, approved text, options, landscape, view, and required qualification |
| Floor plan | Named plan and version; identify mirror, elevation, or option where relevant | Current dimensions, rights, options, lot fit, and relationship to advertised inventory |
| Model-home footage | Model home, plan, and community or location | Upgrades, furnishings, view, lot, options, identity, and permitted reuse |
| Virtual staging | Virtually staged or the required destination-specific label | Original pair, unchanged architecture, moving label, platform and local requirements |
| Progress footage | Captured on [date] at [project, lot, or unit] | Exact location, milestone, safety, access, permission, and whether conditions have changed |
| Actual completed home | Exact property identity | Current condition, selections, facts, status, price, media rights, and update owner |
The Federal Trade Commission's advertising guidance says claims must be truthful, not deceptive or unfair, and evidence-based. Its small-business guidance explains that both express and implied claims and the ad's overall context matter. Review the FTC Advertising FAQs with the responsible broker or legal reviewer when the campaign mixes actual and representative visuals. This guide is an operational checklist, not legal advice.
For virtually staged or AI-assisted scenes, use the virtual staging video workflow and the AI real estate marketing disclosure checklist. Keep required context visible long enough to understand and review it again after cropping the video for each destination.
6. Copy this completed new-home video storyboard
This template is for one completed, identifiable home with approved current media. It is not a template for turning a rendering into a completed-property tour. The time blocks are an editorial planning structure, not a platform limit or performance promise.
| Time | Visual | Words and job | Source check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–5 sec | Actual exterior or strongest verified completed feature | Identify the home and one visible reason to continue | Actual property, current condition, permitted identity |
| 5–12 sec | Entry and main public-space orientation | State approved basics and orient the route | Address or lot, plan if relevant, verified facts |
| 12–24 sec | Living and kitchen relationship | Explain one visible connection and one sourced detail | Actual finishes; standard and optional features separated |
| 24–36 sec | Primary room or distinct interior zone | Add new property evidence rather than repeating adjectives | Room, dimensions, finish, and condition verified |
| 36–48 sec | Outdoor area, view, storage, flex space, or other differentiator | Show what makes this actual home distinct from the model or plan | Lot, view, amenity, boundary, and access claims checked |
| 48–55 sec | Return to a recognizable property frame | Summarize the evidence without a guarantee or invented superlative | Current property and approved language |
| 55–60 sec | Agent, builder, and brokerage identity as required | Give one current next step and maintained destination | Status, price if used, availability, identity, link |
Opening: “At [approved property identity], [specific completed feature] sets the direction for this new home.”
Orientation: “This [verified property type and basics] opens into [visible main-space relationship].”
Public-space proof: “The completed [feature or finish] connects [spaces or function actually shown].”
Distinct zone: “In [actual room or area], [verified detail] adds [plain functional context].”
Differentiator: “This home's [actual lot, view, finish, layout, or feature] is shown here in [specific scene].”
Close: “See current details and availability for [property identity] at [maintained destination].”
Replace every bracket from the current source record. If a claim applies to the plan but not the shown home, qualify it accurately or remove it. Use the real estate video storyboard template when the video includes agent audio, multiple formats, renderings, models, or more complex scene approval.
7. Control permissions, claims, and housing-ad review
Identify who owns and controls each part of the campaign: builder, developer, seller, listing broker, cooperating agent, photographer, videographer, renderer, architect, platform, and other contributors as applicable. Access to a model, sales center, portal download, or shared folder does not by itself answer where the material may be edited and published.
- The responsible party authorized the agent and account to market this project, home, model, or event.
- Photo, footage, rendering, plan, map, music, logo, font, voice, and talent rights cover the named edit and destinations.
- The builder, seller, listing broker, and brokerage review path is documented as required.
- Actual, proposed, representative, optional, staged, and generated content is distinguished in the complete message.
- Price, incentives, availability, completion, taxes, fees, dimensions, features, and other material facts have current sources.
- Property and community language is reviewed for fair-housing concerns, including visuals, narration, captions, and targeting.
- Paid housing campaigns receive a separate platform, audience, lead-form, data, and compliance review.
- Required builder, brokerage, agent, equal-housing, and other identity elements remain legible in every version.
- The team records who can correct or remove a video after a project, property, event, or offer changes.
HUD's guidance on digital housing advertising explains that covered housing and real estate advertising can create fair-housing risk through targeting and delivery as well as creative. Review the current HUD digital advertising guidance and the fair housing checklist for real estate videos with the broker-approved process. Local law, MLS rules, builder requirements, and project documents may add more specific obligations.
8. Publish a version built for its exact destination
Separate the clean source master from channel versions. A project page can hold fuller context; a vertical short must make important identity and representative-media context readable inside a narrower frame; an MLS-linked version may have specific branding or media rules. Confirm the current requirements rather than assuming one universal delivery file.
| Destination | Package deliberately | Verify live |
|---|---|---|
| Property or project page | Accessible player, current facts, stage context, media labels, one response route | Property identity, page status, playback, mobile layout, contact ownership |
| MLS or syndication path | Locally permitted file or link, branding state, host, audio, and required fields | Correct listing, player, identity, facts, photos, and portal rendering |
| Vertical social post | Scene-specific crop, readable labels, captions, music rights, current CTA | Cover, first frame, UI overlap, description, account identity, link path |
| YouTube | Accurate title, description, thumbnail, captions, altered-content review, destination | Public or unlisted setting, current links, processed playback, comments or response plan |
| Email or agent network | Linked thumbnail, property and stage context, permission and audience, tested destination | Subject, mobile display, link, current availability, reply ownership |
| Paid housing campaign | Approved creative, housing category, audience controls, lead path, disclosures, dates | Live creative, targeting and delivery settings, form, follow-up, end date |
Build the full delivery matrix with the real estate video deliverables checklist, then use the video marketing checklist to move approved assets through publication, measurement, status changes, and closeout.
9. Update and retire the campaign with the project
New construction media can become stale for more reasons than a typical listing video. Plans, phases, selections, completed work, models, incentives, events, delivery expectations, and inventory relationships can all change. Record the trigger and owner before publication.
Asset and version: [name / ID / approved date]
Property or project scope: [community / phase / plan / model / lot / address]
Published destinations: [page / MLS path / social / YouTube / email / ads]
Time-sensitive claims: [price / status / availability / incentive / event / projected date]
Representative media: [scene / identity / label / permission / approved context]
Review triggers: [stage / plan / finish / inventory / model / event / permission / destination]
Monitoring owner: [name / system / review frequency]
Replacement action: [edit / new version / redirect / archive / remove]
Closeout record: [date / action / approver / retained source and approval files]
- Check the source record. Confirm stage, identity, facts, and availability with the responsible source.
- Find every placement. Use the publication record rather than relying on account memory.
- Classify the change. Decide whether the asset needs a caption update, re-edit, replacement, redirect, or removal.
- Approve the new version. Review the complete picture, words, labels, identity, CTA, and destination again.
- Close the old path. Remove expired ads and event posts, correct links, and retain the dated source and approval record.
Use the right production path for the stage
| Path | Use when | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| On-site production | The campaign needs current jobsite progress, a true model walkthrough, agent presentation, or new aerial footage | Requires access, safety, capture, permissions, editing, and stage review |
| Custom rendering or animation | The job is to explain an authorized proposed design, plan, or development | Must remain clearly connected to its proposed or illustrative source and approved scope |
| Video from actual listing photos | The completed or sufficiently photographed actual home has an approved current photo set | Cannot document progress, create a future building, or show unphotographed features |
Westby follows the third path. It turns current property photos and listing facts into a cinematic video with generated motion, narration, music, and transitions. If the actual home has a supported listing and the approved photo set tells the story, create a free listing-specific preview.
Frequently asked questions
What should a new construction real estate video include?
Include the exact project, home, or plan identity; the current construction or availability stage; visuals labeled by what they actually show; a few verified property details; the builder, brokerage, and agent identity required for the campaign; and one current next step. Keep representative, proposed, virtually staged, and actual-home media visibly distinct.
Can an agent use model-home footage to market another new home?
Only with permission for that use and clear context that prevents the model from being mistaken for the available home. Identify the model, plan, community, options, and actual inventory relationship accurately; confirm the builder, media-owner, brokerage, MLS, and local requirements before publication.
Can a new construction video show renderings or planned features?
It can use authorized renderings or plans when the campaign and applicable rules permit them, but viewers should be able to tell that the visuals are proposed or illustrative rather than a recording of completed conditions. Keep the source, approval, date, scope, and required qualification with every version.
When can Westby make a video for a new construction listing?
Westby fits when a supported public listing or property submission has an approved set of current photographs and facts for the actual home. It creates video from those images; it does not document construction progress, turn plans into a future building, or show rooms and features that were not photographed.