The Reel Real Estate Revolution
With AI avatars and cinematic visuals, agents can create social videos that make listings stand out—and get people talking.
To help promote his $13.9 million waterfront listing on Longboat Key, Lee Brewer of RE/MAX Alliance Group in Sarasota hired a Hollywood production crew to film 36 videos, complete with luxury cars and yachts.
At least, that’s the impression given by the reels he’s been posting on social media.
Yet the reality is slightly different. The videos are AI-generated, created by Engage AI360, a Florida-based marketing firm headed by Tia Castle, a filmmaker, technology entrepreneur and former real estate professional and fully disclosed as such to his followers.
Working with Engage AI360 was simple, Brewer says. He briefed Castle on the listing’s unique features, then she suggested video concepts and scenarios. Starting with headshots, full body shots and a one-minute audio recording Brewer supplied, Castle then used AI technology to create a lifelike avatar of him that can be placed in any location or scenario.
For the audio recording, “I read the description I created for this house,” Brewer says. “That created the personality for my avatar. … I tried to mix it up a little so there would be variation in how I say things.”
Melding AI with cinematic production techniques, Castle then used professional photographs of the listing and Brewer’s video walk-through to generate 36 reels starring Brewer’s avatar. Castle never filmed Brewer, yet his avatar “visits” various locations in the 30- to 45-second shorts.
For the first month after the property hit the market, Brewer posted three videos each week. The next month, he shared two per week. After that, he began posting once a week, increasingly focusing on directing visitors to the listing’s landing page.
“The traffic has been unbelievable,” says Brewer, who gained 400 Instagram followers from the campaign. One video was viewed 4,400 times, another 8,000 and a third 33,000.
To help extend the initiative’s reach, Brewer asked two agents with high-net-worth clients to appear in a couple of the videos. Brewer covered the costs—all he asked was that the agents share these videos with their audiences.
A mere five weeks into the campaign, the videos have made a sizable impact, says Brewer. High-end agents have been reaching out to tell him they’ve seen the videos and are interested in working together, he says.
When prospective clients ask him how he differs from other agents, Brewer will show them a couple of the Longboat Key videos. “They’ll say, ‘Oh my god, I’ve never seen this before,’ and I’ll say, ‘That’s because you haven’t.’ It makes [deals] easier to close,” he says.
Brewer plans to use Engage AI360 to market many of his listings. Major developers and hotel brands typically spend about $400,000 on a full-fledged, Hollywood-caliber video campaign, he said. He paid a $20,000 flat fee (half upfront and the other half after the listing sells) for a result he feels is equally professional and high quality. (Since each campaign is unique, pricing varies, Castle says.)
Along with $10-million-plus properties like Brewer’s Longboat Key listing, Engage AI360 videos are intended for luxury presale developments, Castle says. “When you’re selling a lifestyle before the building exists, AI-generated content has a structural advantage,” she says.
“You can show the life without the product being finished. A developer trying to sell out a luxury tower or a waterfront community before construction is complete is exactly the use case this system was built for.”
Dina Cheney is a Connecticut-based freelance writer.
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