Chicago real estate agent says a quarter of deals start with TikTok
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TikTok is how Chicago real estate agent Kati Catalogna lands a quarter of her deals.
Why it matters: "Screen appeal is the new curb appeal," Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy tells Axios.
What they're saying: Today's home shoppers have "vetted you based on your personality and what you're putting online, before they even reach out," Catalogna tells Axios.
- "People are going to your page, watching your videos [to see] if you're knowledgeable and can provide them the service they want," says Catalogna, whose posts often top tens of thousands of views.
State of play: Catalogna and some other real estate professionals say punchy social media videos particularly click with younger, first-time home buyers.
- TikTok saw a 40% increase in posts tagged #RealEstate during the first two months of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023, Bloomberg reports.
Between the lines: Finding leads is top of mind for many agents. Home sales fizzled last year, and a big settlement could curtail the commissions real estate professionals get paid.
Follow the money: "Zillow Gone Wild" creator Samir Mezrahi parlayed his popularity into a new HGTV show that cashes in on viewers' nosiness about other people's houses.
- He posts what he calls "the most interesting homes across America," from castles to brightly colored mansions.
- "When I'm bored on my phone, I like to look at houses everywhere. And I think other people do that, but there wasn't a space for people to talk about that," Mezrahi said at a South by Southwest panel.
The big picture: Mezrahi posts what he calls "the most interesting homes across America," from castles to brightly colored mansions.
- "When I'm bored on my phone, I like to look at houses everywhere. And I think other people do that, but there wasn't a space for people to talk about that," Mezrahi said at a South by Southwest panel.
What he found: "I realized people really love libraries, so if the home has a really nice library, that's an automatic post," he said at SXSW.
The latest: A startup cofounded by "Million Dollar Listing" star Josh Flagg aims to build a "media empire" with shows and podcasts starring real estate influencers like Mezrahi, Axios Pro's Kerry Flynn reports.