The short answer

Stills are the foundation. Every listing and plan page needs them. A film adds story, scale and flow. A 3D tour lets buyers explore at their own pace. Most builders start with stills, add a film for their best plans and use a tour where buyers expect one.

This guide compares the three formats for a home that is not built yet, and shows how to choose.

What buyers say they value

Research on buyers is mostly about existing homes, but it shows what buyers look for.

  • In NAR's 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, photos were the website feature buyers most often rated very useful, ahead of detailed property information and floor plans.
  • In Zillow's Consumer Housing Trends Report 2023, 72% of recent buyers agreed that 3D tours would give them a better feel for the space than static photos. The same report found 82% agreed they are more likely to view a home if the listing includes a floor plan they like.
  • Zillow Research found that from March 2020 through February 2021, for sale listings on Zillow with a Zillow 3D Home tour were favorited 75 percent more and viewed 65 percent more than listings without one, on a daily average basis.

Those Zillow tour figures describe tours of existing homes on Zillow. They are not results for renderings. But together these sources point the same way: buyers want to see a home clearly and understand its layout before they visit.

Still renderings

What they are. Single photoreal images of the exterior or a room, built from the plans. See exterior stills and interior stills.

Strengths.

  • Work everywhere: MLS, websites, social, print, signs and brochures.
  • Fast for buyers to scan.
  • Easy to compare options side by side.
  • The lead image on almost every listing and plan page.

Limits.

  • Each image shows one view. Buyers must connect the rooms in their heads.
  • Scale can be hard to read from a single frame.

Best for. Every listing and plan page. Option comparisons. Print.

Photoreal film

What it is. A moving walkthrough of the home, often starting outside and moving through the front door. See photoreal house films.

Strengths.

  • Shows how rooms connect and how the home flows.
  • Conveys ceiling height and scale better than a still.
  • Tells a story in a set order, like a guided showing.
  • Strong for social video, sales centers and launch events.

Limits.

  • The viewer follows your path, not their own.
  • Needs a place to play: a website, a social feed or a screen.
  • More work than a set of stills, since it has many frames and an edit.

Best for. Lead plans, community launches, high value custom homes and any home where flow is the selling point.

A drone fly over is a kind of film. It shows the home on its lot or a whole street from above. It is often the opening shot of a film.

3D tour

What it is. An interactive view that lets the buyer move through the home and look around.

For an existing home, a tour is usually captured with a camera on site. For an unbuilt home, there is nothing to capture. The tour has to be built from a model.

Strengths.

  • Buyers explore at their own pace.
  • Good for understanding layout.
  • Buyers say they value it, as the Zillow survey shows.

Limits for unbuilt homes.

  • It must be built from a model, which takes more work than stills.
  • Buyers can look anywhere, so every surface must be modeled and finished.
  • Some listing platforms limit what tour formats they accept.

Where Buildframe stands. We do not offer full 3D tours today. We are building interactive floor plans that link each room on the plan to its rendering. They are in development and not yet available.

Side by side

| | Stills | Film | 3D tour | |---|---|---|---| | Works in MLS photo slots | Yes, labeled as a rendering | No, use a video link where allowed | Varies by platform | | Shows flow between rooms | Limited | Strong | Strong | | Buyer controls the path | No | No | Yes | | Easy to compare options | Strong | Limited | Limited | | Works in print | Yes | No | No |

How to choose

Ask three questions.

1. Where will buyers see it?

If it is the MLS and your website, you need stills first. If it is social video or a sales center screen, a film earns its place.

2. What sells this home?

If the selling point is the kitchen finishes, stills do the job. If it is an open plan with long views and tall ceilings, a film shows it better.

3. How many plans?

For a full range, stills across every plan come first. A plan range catalog keeps them consistent. Then add films for the plans that sell most.

Common mixes

  • Spec home listing: a front exterior, three or four key interiors and a short film for social.
  • Plan page for a production builder: a front exterior for each elevation, key interiors for each finish package and a film for lead plans. See finish and elevation options.
  • Townhome community launch: a fly over of the row, exteriors of each building type and interiors of each unit type.
  • Custom home: exteriors and a film so the owner and the lender can see the home before the build.

One model behind every format

At Buildframe, stills, films and fly overs come from the same model. That model is checked against your drawings before we render. So your stills and your film show the same home. If you start with stills, the film later starts from the same model.

Label every format

Whatever you choose, a rendering shows a design, not a finished home. Label stills and film frames as an artist's rendering in the MLS and on listings, and follow your MLS rules.

Related guides

Get a recommendation

Tell us where the images will be used. We will suggest a mix when we review your plans.

Send your plans for a free review, fixed quote and delivery date within 1 business day.

Sources

  • National Association of REALTORS, 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, Highlights (value of website features): https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/2024-11/2024-profile-of-home-buyers-and-sellers-highlights-11-04-2024_2.pdf
  • Zillow Research, Buyers: Results from the Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2023: https://www.zillow.com/research/buyers-housing-trends-report-2023-32978/
  • Zillow Research, Virtual Home Selling Tools Benefit Buyers and Sellers, and are Here to Stay Post Pandemic: https://www.zillow.com/research/3d-tours-virtual-tools-popular-29650/