How to structure a property video script (with a 60-second template)

Most property films that fall flat have a script problem, not a picture problem. The narration either lists features like a brochure read aloud or piles on adjectives until nothing sounds true. A good script does less: it gives the viewer a route through the home, one reason to remember it and the facts they need to act.

This guide gives you a structure, a 60-second template with word budgets, a choice of voice and a list of what to cut. It works whether you write the narration yourself, brief a voiceover artist or check a script an AI tool has drafted.

What structure works for a property video script?

Six beats, in this order: hook, arrival, flow through the home, signature feature, lifestyle or area, and a close with price and place. It mirrors a viewing, which is why it feels natural.

1. Hook. One line about the most distinctive thing the home has. It plays over the opening exterior or hero shot.
2. Arrival. The front door and first impression: how the home opens up once you step inside.
3. Flow through the home. The main rooms in walking order, one idea per room. The narration should match the shot on screen, so the photo order and the script order must agree (see Listing photos that make better property films).
4. Signature feature. The one thing a buyer will describe to their partner later: the kitchen extension, the staircase, the sea view.
5. Lifestyle or area. The garden, the terrace, the walk to the station or the beach, stated only as the listing states it.
6. Close. Price, place and a plain call to book a viewing.

A 60-second template with timings and word budgets

For a 60-second film, write about 110 to 120 words. This template assumes a measured narration pace of about 140 words per minute, roughly 2.3 words a second. That is our working assumption, not an industry standard: time your own narrator reading the script and scale the budgets up or down.

At 140 words per minute, 115 words take about 49 seconds, so the template leaves around 7 seconds of silence across the voiced section. Keep it. Pauses let a camera move land and stop the film from sounding rushed. If you need a longer or shorter cut for a particular channel, How long should a property video be? covers lengths by platform.

Should the narration sound editorial or commercial?

Write the body in a third-person editorial voice and keep the direct, commercial voice for the close. Editorial narration sounds like a knowledgeable person describing a home; commercial narration sounds like an advert, and viewers tune adverts out.

A blend works well in practice: editorial for the hook and the rooms, one invitational line for the lifestyle beat, and a direct close. The narrator you cast should suit the same register; see Choosing a narrator voice for a property film.

What should a property script avoid?

Avoid clichés, claims you cannot prove, facts that are not on the listing, and any wording about who the home is "ideal for". Each one costs trust, and some cost more than that.

Clichés. Replace each with a fact the viewer can see:

• "stunning", "beautifully presented", "tastefully decorated"
• "nestled", "boasting", "benefits from"
• "deceptively spacious" (give the floor area if the listing states it)
• "sought-after location" (say what makes it sought after)
• "a stone's throw from", "moments from" (give the distance the listing gives)
• "must-see", "early viewing essential", "dream home"

Unverifiable claims. "The best view in the village" and "the quietest street in town" cannot be proved. Rule 3.1 of the UK CAP Code says marketing must not materially mislead, and the ASA's guidance for estate agents records an advert that broke the rules by calling a shared drive "private". Treat a word in a voiceover with the same care as a word in a brochure.

Facts that are not on the listing. Do not add floor areas, walking times, school names or energy ratings from memory. If the listing does not say it, the narration should not either. Omission matters too: the National Trading Standards material information guidance put price and tenure in its Part A list, and although that guidance was withdrawn in 2025 when the DMCC Act took over, it remains a useful checklist. More in Material information and listing videos.

"Ideal for" language. "Ideal for young professionals", "perfect for a retired couple" and "not suitable for children" describe a buyer, not a home. They exclude people, add no information and, depending on where you operate, can conflict with equality or fair housing rules. Say "three bedrooms and a garden" and let buyers decide. This is general information, not legal advice; check anything borderline with your compliance adviser.

An example 60-second script

The script below is fictional. The house, street, price and every detail are invented for this article to show the structure; in a real script, each fact would need to appear on the listing.

Fictional listing: a three-bedroom Edwardian terrace on Orchard Row, freehold, with a loft study and a south-facing garden.

Hook (0:00): Behind a red front door, an Edwardian house with its character intact.

Arrival (0:05): The hallway still has its original tiled floor, and light falls through stained glass above the door.

Flow (0:14): At the front, a bay-windowed sitting room with an open fireplace. At the back, the kitchen opens into the dining room, with French doors to the garden. Upstairs, three bedrooms, the largest spanning the full width of the house, and a family bathroom.

Signature (0:34): Then the surprise: a converted loft, now a quiet study under a skylight, looking out across the rooftops.

Lifestyle (0:43): Picture summer evenings in the south-facing garden, with the high street at the end of the road.

Close (0:51): Orchard Row, freehold, offered at £475,000. Book your viewing today.

That is 117 words: an editorial body, one invitational line for the garden and a direct close.

How Echoflicks writes the script

In Echoflicks, Felix, the AI film director, reads the listing page and writes an "imagine your life here" script around the photos, and any number it cannot find on the listing is dropped rather than guessed. A British English narrator reads it over a score composed for the film (how music is chosen).

You stay the editor. Re-cuts are free, up to 10 per listing with up to 6 changes each, and you can rewrite or drop any narration line, change a title card's text or redirect a scene with a written instruction. Read the script against the listing before you share the film, exactly as you would a brochure.