Multifamily Pre-Leasing Video From Renderings: A Lease-Up Timeline
Turn three lease-up renderings into a multifamily pre-leasing video, place it on the 12-month timeline, and know exactly where each clip belongs.
In this article
Renderings for a new apartment community usually exist months before a single unit is framed: one exterior, one furnished layout, one amenity space, delivered by the design team and then left sitting in an email thread. A multifamily pre-leasing video from renderings puts those same three images to work on the channels where prospects already decide whether to join a waiting list. This guide maps the standard rendering set to a short film, places that film on the lease-up calendar, and names where the finished clip actually belongs.
Key takeaways
- The three renderings most lease-ups already commission — exterior, unit layout, amenity space — map directly onto a short pre-leasing video; no extra rendering budget required.
- Resident360 recommends starting branding and naming at least 12 months before completion and launching waitlist ads 90 days before the leasing office opens; a pre-leasing video fits both moments.
- As of September 2026, Realync's analysis of roughly 200,000 multifamily videos, cited in sponsored content on Multifamily Dive, reports that prospects who watch one video lease at 4x the rate of those who watch none — read vendor-published figures as directional.
- Skip elaborate animation on developments under about 30 units, per RapidRenders' guidance; three still renderings turned into one short film usually covers a small project's needs.
- Publish the film wherever prospects already look: the property site, any ILS listing that supports video, paid social ahead of the waitlist launch, and the email or text sequence signups already receive.
What a pre-leasing video needs to do
A lease-up has no finished units to film and often no leasing office yet either, so the earliest marketing assets are always renderings, not photography. A pre-leasing video's job is narrow: give a prospect on a waiting-list landing page enough sense of the finished community — the entry sequence, a furnished layout, the pool deck or clubhouse — to leave a name and email before the building exists to tour. Because the building isn't finished, every version of this film needs to read clearly as a concept piece rather than a recording of something already standing; a caption line and an on-screen label handle that, and our AI rendering disclosure for architects guide has wording you can copy.
The three renderings most lease-ups already have
You likely don't need to commission anything new. Resident360 tells developers to "generally recommend starting with three high-quality renderings: one exterior view, one interior apartment layout, and one primary common area or amenity space," and notes the rendering process "typically takes 4 to 6 weeks." That three-image set is also the backbone of a short film — exterior for the opening beat, unit layout for the middle, amenity space for the close.
A rendering-to-video tool such as Arch2Video works from six images rather than three, so stretch the set before you upload: add a twilight or aerial version of the exterior, a second unit type (a one-bedroom next to the two-bedroom already rendered), and a closer view of one amenity detail — a fitness room, a courtyard fire pit, a rooftop deck. Six real project renderings beat three padded out with generic stock; our best images for an architecture video guide covers the six roles worth filling and the file checks worth doing before upload.
Turning renderings into a 30-second film
Once you have six images — renderings, floor plans, or finished-project photos in JPG, PNG or WebP, full-resolution files accepted and downscaled automatically — a tool built for this studies all six and plans six connected five-second scenes as one roughly 30-second story. The AI director decides the scene order, so your upload sequence isn't guaranteed to be the film's order, and every film adds a small fictional cast to at least one scene so the spaces read as lived-in rather than empty; people who appear in your renderings aren't animated, they're replaced by that fictional cast, since there is no option for a film with no people at all.
Generation usually takes an hour or more depending on provider queues, so you can start it, close the page, and get an email when the file is ready. There's no prompt box to write — scenes are planned and directed automatically. Once the film is back, you can switch the soundtrack between "Still Air," "Quiet Piano," "Concrete," or no music, and add or change a studio or developer logo without spending another video credit; a version with the logo and one without both come out the other side, useful since an ILS listing and a paid social ad often want different branding treatments. Our turning architectural renderings into video guide covers the upload-to-export workflow in more detail.
Worth saying plainly: this is image-to-video, not a measured walkthrough built from a 3D or BIM model, so it won't reproduce exact dimensions or a geometrically precise unit layout. The motion interprets your renderings and can shift a small detail in the process, so someone on the development or design team should review every film before it goes anywhere near a waiting-list page.
Where a pre-leasing video fits the 12-month calendar
Resident360's timeline gives two fixed points worth building around. Naming and branding should start "at least 12 months before your estimated completion date," and targeted digital ads to a waiting-list page should launch "90 days before your physical leasing office opens." A pre-leasing video sits neatly between those two dates: it needs the branding (name, logo, color) locked before it's worth producing, and it needs to exist before waitlist ad spend starts, since that's the moment prospects are actually looking for something to watch.
| Milestone | Typical timing | Pre-leasing video task |
|---|---|---|
| Naming and branding locked | ~12 months before completion | Confirm the three core renderings and expand to six images |
| Renderings delivered | 4–6 weeks after kickoff | Produce the film; add logo and soundtrack |
| Waitlist ad launch | 90 days before leasing office opens | Publish across the property site, ILS listings, paid social and email |
A film produced right after branding locks has months to be reused across every channel below before the ad spend even starts, rather than being rushed together in the final weeks.
Where the clip actually goes
A finished pre-leasing video is only useful once it's placed somewhere a prospect will actually see it.
- The property site or waitlist landing page. The most durable placement — this page exists from the day branding launches until the community is fully leased.
- ILS listings that support video. Coverage varies by platform and package. As of September 2026, Apartments.com's help center still states that "unit-level videos are only included in Diamond or Diamond+ ad packages," so confirm what your own listing tier includes before you promise a client or investor deck that video will show up there.
- Paid social ahead of the waitlist launch. Pair the film with the same 90-day waitlist push Resident360 describes, rather than posting it once and moving on.
- Email and text follow-ups. A link to the film in the confirmation message a waitlist signup already receives costs nothing extra and reaches someone who has already raised a hand.
Does pre-leasing video actually move leases?
Sponsored content on Multifamily Dive, citing Realync's analysis of nearly 200,000 multifamily videos, reports that prospects who watch one video are "4x more likely to lease," that watching five videos pushes conversion to "approach 60%," and that prospects who watch no videos "lease only 10% of the time." That piece is paid placement built on one vendor's own dataset, not an independent study, so treat the specific multipliers as directional rather than audited — but the general pattern, that a prospect who has already watched something is warmer than one who hasn't, matches ordinary marketing-funnel logic and is worth acting on regardless of the exact number.
When to skip animation entirely
Not every lease-up needs a moving film. RapidRenders, in guidance last updated August 6, 2026, recommends animation for "multi-building masterplans, complex level changes, large sequential amenity floors" and advises developers to "skip animation on projects under about 30 units," noting that on a small residential block, the same budget "usually returns more spent on additional interiors and a 360° tour." Their broader point — "stills carry most of the sales load. Animation is for scale and story" — applies just as well to a lease-up as to the pre-construction sales context it was written for.
If your development is small, a well-chosen set of still renderings may outperform a rushed video. If you already have six usable images and want to test whether a short film moves your own waitlist numbers, the cost of trying is low: every new account can create one free project video, with a small arch2video.com watermark that any plan removes, and as of October 2026 plans start at USD 49.90 a month for four project videos, month to month with no long-term contract, so a single-property test doesn't require a marketing budget line you can't undo.
Rights, review and disclosure before it goes live
Two things are worth confirming before a pre-leasing film goes anywhere public. First, ownership: you keep ownership of the renderings and logos you upload, they're used only to produce and deliver the video, and, subject to payment and the applicable terms, you can use and distribute the finished film for lawful personal or commercial purposes; check your rendering vendor's own contract too, since some license renderings for stills only. Second, disclosure: because the building doesn't exist yet, label the film clearly as concept work rather than letting it read as a recording of a finished property — our AI rendering disclosure for architects guide has caption wording built for exactly this situation, and it applies just as much to a developer's marketing team as to an architecture studio.
Frequently asked questions
How many renderings do I need for a pre-leasing video?
Three — one exterior, one unit layout, one amenity space — cover the minimum most lease-ups already commission, per Resident360's guidance. A tool that plans a six-scene film needs six images, so add a second exterior angle, a second unit type, and a closer amenity detail before you upload, rather than reusing the same three views twice.
When should a lease-up commission its pre-leasing video?
Once branding and naming are locked, which Resident360 recommends starting about 12 months before completion. Aim to have the finished film ready before the 90-day mark, when targeted waitlist ads typically launch, so the video is available for the exact window when prospects start actively looking.
Does pre-leasing video actually increase leases?
Sponsored data from Realync, cited by Multifamily Dive as of February 2026, reports prospects watching one video lease at roughly 4x the rate of those watching none, with conversion approaching 60% after five videos. Treat those figures as one vendor's dataset rather than an independent audit, but the underlying pattern is consistent with ordinary funnel behavior.
Can we make a pre-leasing video before the building is built?
Yes — renderings, not finished photography, are the normal source material for a lease-up film, since there's nothing built yet to photograph. It's image-to-video rather than a measured walkthrough built from a 3D or BIM model, so label it as concept work and have someone review the finished film before it posts.
Is a pre-leasing video worth it for a small development?
Often not on its own. RapidRenders recommends skipping animation on projects under about 30 units and putting the budget into more still renderings and a 360° tour instead. If you already have six usable images, testing a low-cost monthly plan on one property is a reasonable way to check whether it's worth continuing before committing further budget.