Why do MLS tours have to be unbranded?
Most MLSs require the virtual tour linked from a listing to be unbranded, and many remove a tour that breaks the rule or fine the agent. The tour often travels further than the MLS: many MLSs pass the tour link on to portals such as Zillow, Realtor.com and Redfin. Buyers and their agents watch it there to compare homes, often on a laptop or TV.
So the MLS tour is a different video from the ones you post on your own accounts. Your social videos can carry your name and a call to contact you. The MLS tour can't.
What should an unbranded tour leave out?
Anything that identifies you or your brokerage, anywhere in the video: the narration, captions, titles, stickers, the cover and the ending.
- Your name, your team's name and your brokerage's name.
- Logos.
- Phone numbers, email addresses, websites and social media handles.
- Calls to contact anyone: "call me", "DM us", "book a showing with".
- An intro or sign-off where you introduce yourself.
- An end card. End on a calm, wide shot of the best room or the outside of the home instead.
- Anything in the frame that names you, such as a sign or a flyer with your name on it. Move it before you film.
Leave out the social media habits too: no comment bait, no speed ramps, and no music with lyrics.
What can an unbranded tour include?
- A complete tour in the order you walk the home: the outside, the entry, the living areas, the kitchen, the bedrooms, the bathrooms, the bonus spaces and any outdoor space.
- Room names as captions low on the screen.
- A short title with the home type and area only.
- A calm, neutral narrator who gives facts: size, layout, light, finishes, and what the picture can't show, like how rooms connect and where the storage is. Narration is optional. A few short lines are better than many.
- Quiet background music, well under the voice.
- A plain description for the listing: what the home is, where, and its standout features, with no hashtags and no contact details.
How long should the MLS tour be, and in what shape?
45 to 180 seconds, about 90 for a typical home, in 16:9. Give the main rooms time, with shots of 3 to 6 seconds and gentle dissolves between rooms. Halls and closets need one short look. Footage filmed upright sits on a blurred background instead of being cropped. The length guide compares the MLS tour with every other platform.
How do you check your MLS's rules?
Rules vary by MLS, and no tool can promise your MLS or board will accept a video. Look in your MLS's rules for the section on virtual tours or media, or ask its support desk. These questions cover most of what differs:
- Is a voiceover allowed, and may it be a recorded or AI voice?
- Is background music allowed?
- Does the MLS take a video file, or a link to a page that plays it?
- If it takes a link, may that page show anything about the agent? A video page with your name or channel around it can count as branding.
- Is there a length limit?
How does CastMyListing make the MLS tour?
The MLS & Zillow video is its own cut from the same walkthrough as your social videos. Its director is told to leave out your intro and sign-off, any call to contact you, and the end card, which the MLS tour does not allow. Every script and its description are checked for phone numbers, email addresses, links and your name. A preview still renders if one is found, so you can see it, but the final video does not start until it is fixed.
You get the 16:9 video and a plain description to paste into the listing. Adding it to the MLS is up to you, under your MLS's rules.
Questions
What does unbranded mean for an MLS video tour?
The tour shows the home and nothing that identifies who is selling it: no agent, team or brokerage name, no logo, no phone number, email, website or social handle, and no call to contact anyone.
Can I add a voiceover to an unbranded MLS tour?
Often, if the narration only describes the home. Some MLSs limit voiceover, so check yours. Keep it neutral: no name, no introduction from you and no call to contact you.
Can I put my logo or contact details at the end of an MLS tour?
Not for most MLSs. Leave out the end card and end on a calm, wide shot of the best room or the outside of the home. Your branded videos belong on your social accounts.
Can I use the same video on the MLS and on social media?
Better not. Social videos can carry your name and a call to contact you; the MLS tour must not. CastMyListing makes a separate unbranded MLS tour and separate social videos from the same walkthrough.
Next
See the MLS & Zillow tour page, or every platform's video.