Video House Tours: Have They Gone Too Far?

Some real estate agents are looking to transform the industry by turning virtual video house tours into online mini-movies, complete with actors -- or just starring themselves.

Video house tours are said to help peak a buyer's interest in a property. In fact, the 2010 National Assocation of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers shows that 61 percent of homebuyers say virtual tours are very useful, right after photos and detailed information about the property.

However, the tours we know are mostly just moving versions of a slide show montage and some agents seek to spice things up.

The videos from those agents delving into this medium tend to be walkthroughs of the property. They range from the professionally produced with music to homemade with a handheld camera.

"Video can be a wonderful marketing tool, but it's only as good as the quality of the presentation," says Tom Postilio, a cast member on the current season of Selling New York, and the managing director and associate broker at full service real estate agencyCore Group NYC. "Sometimes photographs are better at capturing the very essence of a thing than video."

AOL Real Estate asked Postilio and three other well known luxury real estate agents to critique three home tour videos by their colleagues to see if they make the cut. Take a peek to see if you agree with the experts.