Understanding Real Estate Videography Pricing
Figuring out the the right amount for real estate videography pricing depends on a number of different factors. The top two factors being the market you work in and the quality of your work.
Generally, the research you’ll need to conduct is similar to how you determine Pricing for Real Estate Photography, with a few key differences. With the increasing demand for video marketing content, it’s a good idea to get into the real estate video game now and lock in your pricing model.
The best purchase you can make to up your real estate videography game (besides a quality camera and lens that is) is a good gimbal. Check out our list featuring the Best Gimbals for Real Estate Video on the market today.
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Real Estate Videography Pricing
Average Real Estate Videography Pricing
The average real estate videography pricing can range from anywhere between $400 – $10,000. Now, that’s a huge range and really isn’t that helpful to figuring out what you should charge. However, it’s important to know this price range so you’re not unselling yourself.
Creating quality real estate videos is no easy task. It takes thousands of dollars worth of equipment, your time both on site and on your computer editing, different editing programs than what we use for photography, possible audio recording equipment, etc. Make sure you are charging every penny that your market allows.
Various Types of Real Estate Video Services
Real estate videography pricing is based on what you are delivering to the client. A simple video highlight reel is going to be much less expensive than a full video walkthrough with an introduction and voiceover by the realtor. Below, you’ll see a general explanation of video services you can offer ranked by how much you can charge.
Short Highlight Reel
A short highlight reel is a video that is no longer than 1 minute long which highlights the main living areas of the home. Think a few sweeping shots of the front exterior, living room, kitchen, dining area, and master bedroom. A short and sweet video with no real intricate clips. Just your standard panning from left to right and vice versa.
Video Walk Through
A video walk through is filmed a lot like the short highlight reel, but expands the featured areas to include all the rooms in the house and the whole exterior. Generally, a video walk though will be around 2 minutes long, although the length of the video will obviously depend on the size of the home.
Cinematic Full Video Walk Through
Introducing the idea of a cinematic video is a nice way to increase the price and quality of the video. This is where you will want to use more than just simple panning shots. Introduce some more complex movements like revealing shots, tighter, more detailed shots, some push shots, and things like rack focus shifting.
Aerial Video Clips
Assuming you’re a licensed drone pilot, you can add in aerial video to any of your video packages to increase the length of the video by about 30 seconds and increase the price as well.
Realtor Introduction and Voiceover
The real way to take your real estate videos to the next level is by offering voiceover and introduction services to the realtor. This obviously includes a full audio set up as well as video, so you can increase the price quite significantly if you offer these services.
You definitely don’t need to offer all these services. Listing the various ways to increase the quality of your real estate videos is just a way to show you how far you can increase you real estate videography pricing given the right equipment and skill level.
Something like a Cinematic Full Video Walkthough with Drone footage and a Realtor Introduction and Voiceover can easily be priced at $2000 even in the smallest and least expensive markets. In a huge market like San Fransisco, that service goes for $10,000 easily if it’s truly high quality.
Understanding Your Market
Your market is going to determine the ceiling price for your services. If you live in a small city of say 50k people, you’re likely not going to be able to charge $5000 for video services unless it’s a luxury town like Aspen, Colorado. So, how do you determine what the going rate is for your market?
You can get an idea of the going rate for your market with these 2 easy tips:
- Research your competition
- Ask any realtors or real estate industry professionals you might know
Research Your Competition
A quick Google search for “Real Estate Video near me” can help you find out how much other real estate photographers and videographers in your area are charging. In my experience, it’s about 50/50 whether real estate photographers will have their prices listed.
Any pricing you can find will help since it will give you a good general range that your market can handle. If you can’t find anyone listing their prices in your area, branch your search out to a similar sized city or town that’s relatively close to you.
During your search make sure to take note of the pricing that you see and the quality of the video. You’ll be pricing your services on both your market and the quality of the videos you produce.
Do not simply research the competition and undercut all their prices. Price yourself exactly where your skill level puts you in the market. You’ll need to be critical of your work, but it will be worth it in the long run.
Ask Realtors and Industry Professionals
If you know a realtor in your area, then you’re probably in luck. Ask them what the going rate is for real estate videography pricing and you’ll have another reference for your market.
Make sure you know this realtor well enough to ask this question though. Reaching out to pseudo acquaintances and asking how much they pay for video content could easily backfire if they decided to tell their realtor friends.
If you don’t know any real estate agents, look to other industry professionals. It’s not just realtors that need video services. Plenty of people need quality content of their homes or offices for various reasons.
Know anyone that owns and rents out an apartment? Someone that works for a corporate real estate company? Think about your network of friends and family and see if anybody deals with real estate. If they do, chances are they’ll have some idea of pricing, or they’ll know who to ask.
Other Factors to Consider
There are several other factors that you need to consider when determining your real estate videography pricing model. They aren’t as important as your market and the quality of the work you produce, but they’re just some things to think about.
Necessary Video Equipment
If you don’t already have video equipment but you have photography equipment, you’ll just need to figure out how often you’ll be selling these video services. If you think you’re going to get more than just a few jobs a year, it’s a good idea to buy a gimbal.
A gimbal is an easy way to really increase the quality of your real estate video. They make the clips flawlessly smooth and really speed up the filming process. Check out our article featuring the Best Gimbals for Real Estate Video on the market today.
Audio Recording Equipment Prices
As real estate photographers it’s not too often that we need audio recording equipment. If you plan to offer premium services to realtors like recording voiceovers or doing introductions, you’ll need audio equipment.
You’ll need to consider if it’s worth it for you to buy the equipment outright, or if you should just rent it every time you sell this premium service. If you’re going to buy it, make sure you’ll get enough jobs using it to cover your costs. If you’re going to rent it, make sure you factor that into the price.
Editing Services
Do you plan to edit the video yourself or will you be sending it off to a professional video editor? Either way, you want to factor in the associated costs.
If you plan to edit the video yourself, you’ll likely want to use the best video editing service out there, Adobe Premiere Pro. That subscription plan is going to cost you a monthly fee, so be sure to factor that in.
If you’re going to send off the editing jobs to a professional, then you’ll need to factor in how much that will cost. Just add in whatever they charge you to your prices and pass that cost along to the realtor rather than paying it yourself.
Additional Resources
The right amount for real estate videography pricing is heavily dependent on your market. However, once you understand the going rate for your market, it’s easy to create a list of packages that will offer something for every realtors budget range.
Create at least three packages that offer different services. One that’s a quick and simple video, one that offers a nice middle ground that shows the full home, and one that’s more cinematic where you produce it at the absolute best quality you can.
Be sure to check out our Beginners Guide. It’s full of articles with helpful ideas and tips exactly like this one. Our Business Resources page has all the resources you’ll need to get your Real Estate Photography business started on the right path.
Finally, go check out our Gear page to get up-to-date reviews and recommendations on todays best gear for Real Estate Photography.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do Realtors pay videographers?
Depending on which market they work in and the quality of the video production, realtors can pay anywhere from $400 – $10,000 for real estate video services.
How do you charge real estate videos?
The most common way to charge for real estate videos is by offering a list of video packages with different services. Although, some videographers charge by the time length of the video.
Is real estate videography profitable?
Absolutely. Real Estate Videography generally sells for more money than traditional real estate photography. Additionally, with the growing demand for video content, real estate videography is very profitable.
Is there a market for real estate videography?
The short answer is yes. In most markets there is a current and growing demand for real estate videography. Although this might not be true to all markets.