A new development video set gives a housebuilder one overview of the development, a video for each house type and one for each available plot, plus videos for phase launches, the show home and sold-out updates. Each comes from material you already hold: brochure text, house type specifications, the plot list, photos and CGIs. Videngine turns each plot list row into a narrated, captioned 9:16 and 16:9 video, carries your CGI labels, and re-renders a plot's video when its price changes.
The video set for a new development
A development needs a set of videos with different lifespans: an overview that lasts as long as the site, one per house type, and one per plot that lasts only while the plot is available.
What a single property video shows, and the listing-to-video workflow, are in the real estate listing video guide. This page covers what a sales and marketing team runs around it.
| Video | What it shows | Source | Made and retired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development overview | Location, setting, house types on offer, facilities the brochure names | Brochure text, site plan, street-scene CGIs, area photos | At launch; refreshed when the house type mix changes. No prices or availability |
| House type | Bedrooms, floor area, layout, standard specification | House type specification, floor plans, CGIs or show home photos | When the type is released; re-rendered if the specification changes |
| Plot | Plot number, house type, its own price, orientation, parking, upgrades as listed | One row of the plot list, the house type's images, photos once built | At release; re-rendered on a price change; retired when reserved or sold |
| Phase launch | Phase, house types released, release date, how to register interest | Release schedule, the phase's plot list, CGIs | Before release; retired once the phase is on sale |
| Show home | The show home, the house type it represents, which features are optional, opening hours | Show home photos, specification, upgrade list | When it opens; retired when it closes or sells |
| Sold-out update | That a phase or house type has sold, and what comes next | Plot list status, next release date | Only when true on the day it goes out |
Not every plot needs its own video. Make one where plots of a house type differ by price, orientation or specification; identical plots can share the house type video. For build to rent, see rental listing video.
CGIs, show homes and photos in off-plan property video
Use only images you have the right to use in video, label each computer-generated image (CGI) the way your brochure does, and never let a CGI pass as a photograph.
- Check the licence. CGIs, floor plan artwork and show home photography are usually licensed from a visualiser or photographer. Check the licence covers video, social media and paid ads before the batch runs. Never use another scheme's images, or stock imagery presented as your site.
- Carry your label on screen. If your marketing labels CGIs, for example “computer-generated image, indicative only”, every CGI frame in both cuts carries the same words. Set it once in the scene set.
- A CGI is not a photo. The narration never calls a CGI a photo or “your new home”. Keep CGIs and photographs in separate scenes. CGIs often show mature planting, so describe the house type, not the street on completion day.
- Off-plan first, then built. An off-plan property video uses CGIs and floor plans. Once the plot is built and photographed, swap in its own photos and re-render.
Show homes, upgrades and “from” prices
A show home video should name the house type and say which features are optional. In the UK, CAP's advice on new build and off-plan homes says that where there is no image of the home at the “from” price, an image showing optional upgrades is acceptable only if the price is clearly prefixed “from” and qualifying text, such as “image includes optional upgrades at additional cost”, sits next to the image and is as prominent as the price, for example “from £90,000, home shown £95,000”. In a video, put that text on the same frame as the image and price, not only in the narration.
For registered developers, clause 1.1 of version 2 of the New Homes Quality Code, which applies to homes reserved from 2 March 2026, says sales and marketing material, including photography, CGI and video, must not mislead. Check your obligations with your compliance lead.
Prices and availability by plot
Put prices and availability only in videos you re-render when they change, which means the plot videos, and keep them out of the overview.
- The overview states what lasts. Not “only six homes left”, and not a “from” price that moves each time the cheapest plot sells. Send viewers to the development page for availability.
- A price change means a re-render. Update the plot's row and render again. The rebuild is saved as _v2 beside the original; re-rendering the same video in the same month is free. Replace the old cut wherever it was published.
- Retire reserved and sold plots. Agree one rule, such as taking the video down at reservation, and apply it on your website, YouTube and social accounts. If a reservation falls through, re-release and re-render.
- Incentives end. Re-render the plot video when an incentive ends, or keep incentives in a separate, dated ad; see video ads from your own content.
- Scarcity must be true. A “last plots in this phase” line goes out only when the plot list says so that day. Clause 1.3 of the New Homes Quality Code rules out suggesting that other people are interested, or that the price will soon rise, when this is not true. Add “selling fast” to the banned-phrases list.
Many plots of one house type: making each plot video distinct
Every plot video of one house type should be told apart in the first few seconds, so lead with what differs: plot number, its own price, orientation and any upgrades the plot list states.
Plots of one house type share CGIs and floor plans, so without plot-level facts a buyer who watched plot 14 cannot tell it from plot 15.
| Field | Where it appears | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Plot number | Opening and closing cards, file name | Matches the plot list and site plan |
| Price | Facts card | This plot's price on the day of review, not the house type's “from” price |
| Orientation | Facts card and narration | Only if the plot list states it, such as “south-facing rear garden” |
| Handed plot | Floor plan scene | The mirrored floor plan, not the standard one |
| Parking | Facts card | Garage, car port or allocated spaces, as listed |
| Upgrades | Specification scene | Only upgrades included in this plot's price |
| Position on site | Site plan, plot highlighted | A highlighted plan for this plot, if you have one |
An example: two plots, one house type
Illustrative only: a fictional development. Plots 14 and 15 are both Type C, a four-bedroom detached house. Plot 14 opens with “Plot 14, Type C” and its price, then a south-facing garden and a single garage. Plot 15 is handed, so it shows the mirrored floor plan, a west-facing garden and two allocated spaces.
Name each file by plot reference, such as FD-P014_9x16_v1.mp4, so the sales office, website and YouTube point to the same plot. Add the development, street and place names to the pronunciation lexicon once: Bicester is said “BISS-ter” and Alnwick “ANN-ick”.
From plot list to approved videos
The plot list is the source: export it as a CSV, attach images by house type, run a batch, and have the sales team approve every video.
| Column | Illustrative value | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| plot_ref | FD-P014 | File name, cards, lookups |
| house_type | Type C | Which images and specification to use |
| price | The plot's current price | Facts card; re-render when it changes |
| status | Available, reserved or sold | Which plots get a video, and which retire |
| orientation, handed | South-facing rear garden; yes | Facts card; which floor plan to show |
| parking, upgrades | Single garage; as on your price list | Facts card and specification scene |
| page_url | The plot's page on your website | Where viewers are sent |
- Export the plot list. One row per released plot, from your sales system or price list. Batch runs from a CSV start on Growth; see bulk video creation from a CSV for structuring the file.
- Attach images by house type. Labelled CGIs, standard and handed floor plans, show home photos; per plot, photos once built.
- Set the rules once. A scene set per video type, the CGI label, the pronunciation lexicon, banned phrases and a target length.
- Run the batch. Each row becomes one video with a drafted script and scene plan, in 9:16 and 16:9.
- Sales team review. A sales adviser checks each video against the live price list: plot number, price, orientation, upgrades, CGI labels. A workspace can require the approver not to be the builder, so marketing builds and sales approves. A rejection gets a defect code: specification for a wrong price, photo for an unlabelled CGI, pronunciation for a misread street.
- Deliver. Download the MP4s, or send them to a Google Drive folder you own with a sheet linking every plot's cuts (Growth, rolling out). If your website is static HTML built from a GitHub repository, Videngine can publish each approved video into its plot page with player, transcript and captions.
- Rebuild weekly. Compare this week's plot list with last week's: re-render changed rows, retire reserved and sold plots, add new releases. The video ledger keeps every version.
Illustrative only: a fictional first phase of 40 plots across five house types needs one overview, five house type videos and up to 40 plot videos. Growth includes 250 videos a month for $249; see Videngine pricing. From 1,500 videos a month, the Custom plan adds inventory sync and one stable link per plot that plays only a cut that passed review.
When Videngine is the wrong tool for new development video
Videngine narrates still images you already have; it does not generate 3D, footage or flythroughs, so some jobs need a visualiser or film crew.
| Job | Why Videngine does not fit | Better fit |
|---|---|---|
| An architectural flythrough or 3D animation of an unbuilt scheme | It does not build 3D or generate footage | Your architectural visualisation studio |
| Drone filming of the site or construction progress | It creates no footage | A qualified drone operator |
| A launch brand film for the development | Scene sets are built for consistency across plots, not one cinematic film | A production company or creative agency |
| A virtual tour of the show home | No 3D capture or navigable tour | A 3D tour platform |
| Narration for overseas buyers in another language | Narration is in English only | A translator and a voice artist |
Use them together: a flythrough and brand film for the launch, Videngine for the plot videos that change every week.
Questions housebuilders ask about new development video
What should a new development video include?
A set covers the development, each house type and each available plot. The overview shows location, setting and house types, without prices or availability. House type videos show layout and standard specification. Plot videos add the plot number, its own price, orientation and any listed upgrades.
Can I use CGIs in a new homes marketing video?
Yes, if your licence covers video. Label each CGI the way your brochure does, keep the label on screen while it shows, and never describe a CGI as a photo. If an image shows optional upgrades beside a from price, CAP's advice asks for qualifying text next to the image.
How do I make a video for every plot on a development?
Export the plot list as a CSV with one row per released plot, attach each house type's images and run a batch. Each row becomes a narrated, captioned plot video in 9:16 and 16:9, reviewed by the sales team before it goes out.
What happens to a plot video when the price changes or the plot is reserved?
Re-render it from the updated plot list, or retire it. The rebuild is saved as _v2 and replaces the old cut wherever it was published. A reserved or sold plot's video comes down; if the reservation falls through, re-render.
Can Videngine make an architectural flythrough of an unbuilt development?
No. Videngine does not generate 3D or footage; it narrates the CGIs, floor plans and photos you supply with slow pan and zoom. For a flythrough, use your architectural visualisation studio.
Choose your next step
Start from the single-property guide, structure your plot list, or plan where the videos go.
Start with one phase.
Bring one phase's plot list, one house type's specification, CGIs and floor plans. Agree a scene set, CGI label, pronunciation list and price policy, then apply them to every plot.
Join the waitlist ↗Published by Videngine, a video rendering product built and run by Wall & Fifth. External links refer to the original documentation or product descriptions; examples are illustrative unless stated otherwise.