The listing photo is dead. The 30-second walkthrough is the new open house.
A wide-angle photo hides the size, the light and the block. A short video shows all three. Here is why I think short-form video is now the front door to leasing.
A 30-second walkthrough video shows renters what a listing photo hides: real size, light, layout and the block. For young renters, it is the new open house.
- →80% of U.S. adults 18 to 29 use Instagram; 63% use TikTok.
- →Roughly half of 18 to 29 year olds open TikTok at least once a day.
- →Nessoo's media engine makes organic short videos that lease up buildings.
Every New Yorker has been burned by a listing photo.
The living room looked huge.
The light looked perfect.
Then you walked in and it was half the size, facing a wall.
That is not always the photographer’s fault. A still photo just cannot show you what it feels like to stand in a room.
A 30-second video can.
Why is the listing photo losing?
Because it was built for a different kind of renter.
The photo was made for someone who sits down, opens a listing site and clicks through a gallery. That renter still exists. But the young renter in New York lives on video apps.
In a 2025 national survey, 80% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 said they use Instagram. 95% use YouTube. 63% use TikTok. And roughly half of 18 to 29 year olds open TikTok at least once a day.
So here is the question for every owner and agent.
Where is your apartment when your next renter picks up their phone?
What a 30-second walkthrough does that a photo can’t
- It shows real size. You walk from the door to the window. Nobody can fake that with a lens.
- It shows the flow. Where the kitchen sits. How far the bedroom is. Whether the couch fits.
- It shows the block. The street, the train, the coffee shop on the corner. That is half the decision.
- It feels honest. A phone video with natural light feels like a friend showing you around. That builds trust before the tour.
- It travels. People send videos to roommates, partners and parents. Nobody forwards a floor plan.
That is the open house now. It just happens on a phone, in 30 seconds, before anyone books a showing.
What we’ve seen at Nessoo
This is why we built a media engine at Nessoo.
We make organic short-form videos that showcase buildings and lease them up. Across Nessoo’s social media, we reach 40M+ people a month.
Here is a real example.
I filmed a walkthrough with Omer Labock, a NYC real estate agent. A real walk through the apartment. No fake edits. No AI. You get exactly what you see.
200,000 views.
Hundreds of people showed interest.
Filled within 1 week.
Our next one together did 146,000 views. Same thing. Real, fun, honest.
Then Omer filmed one on his own, in the raw tour style he is known for. 40,000 views. Filled within 1 week.
Which video format works best?
There is the straight tour. The first-person POV. The price reveal at the end. The “what $X gets you in this neighborhood” video.
The one working for us is the simplest. A real walkthrough, filmed on a phone. No fake edits. No AI.
Renters have been burned by edited photos too many times. A raw video tells them exactly what they will walk into.
And it hits even harder when it comes from someone they already follow and trust.
How to make one this week
Here is what I would tell any landlord or leasing agent starting today.
- Open at the door. Start where the renter would start. Then walk them through it.
- Say the price. If they have to search for the rent, they keep scrolling.
- Show the light. Shoot during the day. Open every blind.
- Show one thing they’ll remember. The closet, the view, the washer, the roof. Give them a reason to send it to someone.
- Step outside. Five seconds of the block tells them more than five photos of the bathroom.
- Post it everywhere they scroll. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook. Your renters are on all of them.
- Don’t fake it. No AI edits. If the video doesn’t match the apartment, you lose the renter at the door.
Here is how I see it
The photo is not going to disappear from listings. It still has a job.
But it is no longer what gets a renter to show up.
Photos make a renter curious.
A walkthrough makes them book the tour.
“Photos make a renter curious. A walkthrough makes them book the tour.”
Frequently asked questions
Do apartment videos work better than listing photos?
In my view, yes, for young renters. A short walkthrough shows the real size, light and layout in a way a still photo cannot, and it lives on the apps renters under 30 already use every day.
How long should an apartment walkthrough video be?
Short. Around 30 seconds is enough to show the entry, the main room, the kitchen, the bedroom and the view, and to say the price.
Where should landlords post apartment videos?
Where young renters spend time. 80% of U.S. adults 18 to 29 use Instagram, 95% use YouTube and 63% use TikTok.
Should apartment videos be edited or enhanced with AI?
No. Our best videos are real walkthroughs with no fake edits and no AI. Renters want to see exactly what they will walk into.
Does Nessoo make apartment videos?
Yes. Nessoo's media engine makes organic short-form videos that showcase buildings and lease them up, and Nessoo reaches 40M+ people a month across its social media.
Einhorn, Gabe. “The listing photo is dead. The 30-second walkthrough is the new open house.” Nessoo Report, Nessoo (nessoo.com), Oct 16, 2026.
Co-founder of Nessoo, the verify-first rental marketplace in New York. He writes every Nessoo Report. nessoo.com
Sources
- Pew Research Center, "Americans' Social Media Use 2025," Nov 20, 2025 (daily TikTok use by age)
- Pew Research Center, Social Media Fact Sheet, Nov 20, 2025 (platform use by age)
- Nessoo platform data, October 2026 (40M+ monthly social reach)
- Omer Labock (@realtoromer), Instagram reel, Sept 12, 2026 (filmed with Gabe Einhorn; about 200,000 views per Nessoo)
- Omer Labock (@realtoromer), Instagram reel, Oct 9, 2026 (filmed with Gabe Einhorn; about 146,000 views per Nessoo)
- Omer Labock (@realtoromer), Instagram reel, Oct 10, 2026 (about 40,000 views per Nessoo)
- Nessoo data: interest and time to fill for these videos, from Gabe Einhorn