Real estate video sizes and lengths for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and listing sites

A great property video can still underperform if it's the wrong shape for where it's posted. A horizontal film crammed into a vertical feed, text hidden behind app buttons, or a music track that gets a video blocked can all waste good footage.

This guide covers the formats real estate and presale marketers need for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and listing sites, and a simple export set that covers almost every channel from one edit.

Platforms change their limits often. The figures below were checked against official announcements and help pages in September 2026; confirm them before a big campaign.

The short version

• Vertical 9:16 for Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Stories. Export at 1080 × 1920.
• Horizontal 16:9 for YouTube, websites, listing pages, presentations, and sales centre screens. Export at 1920 × 1080 or higher.
• Square 1:1 or 4:5 for feed ads where a taller frame isn't available.
• Captions burned in or supplied as files, because most social video starts muted.
• Keep key text and logos away from the edges, where app buttons and captions sit.

Instagram Reels

Reels are full-screen vertical video, so compose and export in 9:16. Instagram raised the maximum Reels length from 90 seconds to three minutes in January 2025, with Instagram's head Adam Mosseri announcing the change (Social Media Today).

Longer doesn't mean better for a listing. Three minutes is a limit, not a target. For most properties, a tight cut of 20 to 45 seconds holds attention, with the full walkthrough saved for YouTube or the listing page.

Tips for real estate Reels:

• Open on the strongest shot, not the front door.
• Put the price, neighbourhood, or key feature on screen in the first seconds.
• Keep text clear of the bottom of the frame, where the caption and account name appear, and the right side, where the like and share buttons sit.
• Choose a cover frame that reads well in the grid.

TikTok

TikTok is built around full-screen vertical video, so use the same 9:16 export as Reels. TikTok has steadily raised its upload limits over the years and has tested much longer uploads (TechCrunch), but, as with Reels, short edits suit property content best.

Tips for real estate TikToks:

• Use on-screen text to tell the story; many viewers watch without sound.
• A voiceover walking through "three things buyers love about this home" often outperforms a silent montage.
• Keep text away from the lower third and the right edge, where the interface sits.

YouTube Shorts

Since October 15, 2024, YouTube classifies videos uploaded with a square or vertical aspect ratio and up to three minutes long as Shorts (YouTube Help).

One rule matters a lot for property video with music: YouTube says any Short over one minute with an active copyright claim will be blocked globally (YouTube Help). Use properly licensed music, especially for Shorts longer than a minute.

YouTube long-form

For the full walkthrough, a neighbourhood film, or a presale launch film, upload a horizontal 16:9 video. Because Shorts are defined by their square or vertical shape, a horizontal upload is treated as a regular video. Long-form is where a 60 to 90 second listing film or a two-minute project film belongs, and it's the easiest version to embed on a website or listing page.

Tips:

• Write a descriptive title with the address or project name and the city.
• Link the listing or project page in the first line of the description.
• Add chapters for longer project films: exterior, lobby, amenities, suites, neighbourhood.

Listing sites and MLS

Rules for video and virtual tours on listing sites vary by board and MLS. Many ask for an unbranded link, without agent names, logos, or contact details, and some restrict music or narration. Before you upload, check your board's current rules and keep an unbranded version of every listing video ready.

A horizontal 16:9 walkthrough hosted on YouTube is usually the most flexible version for listing pages, because it can be linked or embedded almost anywhere.

Presentations, websites, and sales centres

• Listing presentations and pitch decks: 16:9, embedded so it plays in presentation mode, with a still image as a fallback in PDFs.
• Website hero video: a short, silent 16:9 loop, compressed to keep the page fast, with a still image that shows first.
• Sales centre screens: a silent, captioned 16:9 loop at the highest resolution your screens support.

One edit, every format: a practical export set

For a typical listing or presale campaign, produce this set from one master edit:

1. Vertical social cut: 9:16, 1080 × 1920, 20 to 45 seconds, captions burned in
2. Vertical longer cut: 9:16, up to about a minute, for Reels and Shorts where the story needs more time
3. Horizontal film: 16:9, 1920 × 1080 or 4K, 60 to 90 seconds, for YouTube, listing pages, and presentations
4. Feed ad versions: 1:1 or 4:5, 15 to 30 seconds
5. Unbranded version: of the horizontal film, for listing sites that require it
6. Silent loop: 16:9, captioned, for the website or sales centre

Export as MP4 with H.264 video for the widest compatibility, and name files by channel and size so nobody posts the wrong one.

Compose, don't just crop

The biggest quality jump comes from composing vertical and horizontal versions separately. A horizontal shot cropped to vertical often cuts off the kitchen island, the window wall, or the view that made the shot worth including. Framing each version for its own shape keeps the best part of every shot in frame.

Where Olade fits

Olade delivers property and presale videos in every format a campaign needs, each composed for its own frame. Agents can send listing photos and get back a cinematic property tour video; developers can turn renders into presale marketing videos. Book a short call to talk through your next launch.

Sources

• YouTube Help: three-minute YouTube Shorts
• Social Media Today: Instagram expands Reels length to three minutes
• TechCrunch: TikTok tests 60-minute video uploads