“Dear Older Me, I’m writing you this letter so we never forget the feeling of growing up here.”
And so begins a recent listing video by cinematic content creator Matt Lionetti.
A young girl reads a letter she wrote to her older self. The video flips between scenes from the narrator’s youth to scenes of her grown-up self, who’s come back home to visit her parents.
The home is a Hamptons-inspired estate listed for a little under $4M. If you’ve seen “Benni,” this video has a similar approach, but this time, the storyteller is a young girl who grew up in the house, not the house itself.
What the video sells isn’t the long list of luxury features that go with the estate but the life lived and the memories created within and around its walls.
The kind of memories most of us would love to have about childhood and growing up.
View this post on Instagram
Here’s why it works and what agents can take from it.
Why This Post Works
Lionetti built this video around a single idea pulled straight from the script:
It’s so much more than just a pretty house. It’s magic.
Every creative choice flows from that.
Here’s what’s doing the work:
- The narrator carries the story, not the specs. The emotional connection comes first, and the property’s features are secondary to the life it made possible.
- The script is written from a child’s perspective. Lines like “where we were crowned hide and seek champion of the world” pull the viewer into a memory that feels real even if it isn’t theirs.
- The audio track keeps the tone consistent from open to close, and the background voices layered mid-video deepen the nostalgia without breaking the pacing.
- The visuals lead with feeling, and by the time the viewer sees the estate in full, they’re already emotionally invested in what it represents.
- The visuals are varied and change every few seconds to keep the viewer engaged.
- The closing line is the pitch. “Don’t forget to dream big” tells the buyer exactly what this home represents, in five words.
Matt co-listed this property with REMAX agent Sydney Fairman.
What Agents Can Take From It
Before you write a word of copy or record a single frame, ask yourself what someone’s life may have looked like inside your seller’s home. Lead with life, and let the listing follow.
Here’s how to build a video like this:
- Find your narrator. It doesn’t have to be a child or a homeowner. Pick a perspective that gives the story emotional grounding.
- Write the script before you shoot. The visuals serve the script. Write three to five lines capturing what made this home feel like home, then build your shot list from there.
- Choose your audio early. Pick your track before you shoot and let it guide your pacing and edit. Music sets the emotional register for everything the viewer sees.
- Keep the features out of the script. The video’s job is to make someone feel something. The caption’s job is to give them the details once they’re already hooked.
- Match production level to price point. The storytelling framework scales to any price point; adjust your production budget accordingly.
Lionetti has taken home multiple BAMMYs awards for his listing videos, and this one makes a strong case for another.
So, what do you think? Does the BAMMYs listing video category have a new frontrunner?
