It makes sense that online influencers would have an impact on myriad facets of life. After all, the term “influencer” means these content creators are people with the ability to impact how others spend their time and money. From fashion and food to recreation and real estate, influencers are leaving their mark.
Real Estate Reality Shows
The concept of real estate reality TV isn’t new; House Hunters has been a popular HGTV show since 1999. Shows about flipping homes or restoring historic buildings have been a hit since Bob Vila started hosting This Old House in 1979.
However, this new niche of influencers is having its own effect on the real estate industry.
Who’s Buying Homes?
It used to be that a person or family purchased a home to live in it. It’s where they spent their free time, raised kids, had pets, and hosted gatherings to celebrate milestones. To find this home, hopeful buyers turned to a recommended real estate agent to take them through homes on the market.
Now, though, it’s common for a person to have a home that serves solely as a backdrop for content creation. Videos are filmed in practically empty homes because the influencer doesn’t even live at the property they’ve purchased. Or, instead of investing in a home purchase, influencers collaboratively rent spaces for photo or video shoots.
On the flip side, some potential homebuyers are turning to influencer real estate agents to help them find their homes, regardless of their credentials.
What trends are we seeing as a result of influencer influence?
Real Estate Agents are Becoming Influencers
Have you ever heard of Seling Sunset or Million Dollar Listing? The agents on these shows have become more than real estate influencers; they’re a brand. And there’s a reason for it- instead of just showing listings to potential buyers, real estate influencer agents are showing a lifestyle that can be achieved with the acquisition of the property.
An agent acting as an online influencer goes beyond listing photos and virtual walkthroughs. Their social media is a way to give an inside look at a property and to give a taste of what it would feel like to live there and be a part of the surrounding community.
More people than ever before, especially those in the Millenial age range (19 – 39) turn to social media before making purchasing decisions. This goes not just for accessories, clothing, and booking vacations, but for buying a house as well. Finding an agent influencer online often gives an inside look at who the agent is as a person. Real or perceived, it gives followers a sense of knowing the agent prior to ever meeting them. It’s a method for establishing authenticity and trust in an agent to keep them top-of-mind when the time comes for a following to purchase a home.
Additionally, following a real estate agent online is a way to get insight into the neighborhood, and get personal recommendations for coffee shops, schools, and recreational activities in the area. Influencer agents can make it possible for potential buyers to envision themselves living in a home and community before even stepping foot on the property.
How Influencers are Affecting Market Value
But once someone has decided to take the plunge into homeownership, are they ready to face the reality of the market? Thanks to several factors, home values across the nation have skyrocketed since 2020. Are influencers one of them?
Social Media Home Tours
How often have you scrolled through social media and been treated to a home tour of a celebrity or online influencer? When influencer agents utilize the video aspects of social platforms, they have the potential to reach a wider audience than a typical multiple listing service MLS. This can lead to more interest in a property, and leveraging power for sellers. With more interested parties, home values are being inflated and properties are consistently selling above market value.
How Influencers are Affecting Neighborhood Demographics
Content, or collab, houses are popping up around the world as Gen-Z online influencers pool their resources to purchase or rent a property for content creation. Some of the most well-known are LA’s Hype House and Sway House. Wherever the home, some of the must-haves include sprawling interior and exterior square footage, a pool, and luxurious fixtures and finishes. A content house might pop up in a master-planned community like Cadence in Nevada, due to all the amenities just outside the front door. Content creators go ga-ga for a property that boasts not just a pool, but a park, fitness center, and new-build construction. Not to mention the good weather year-round is appealing.
What does this kind of trend do to neighborhood demographics? Well, imagine the antics that go viral on social media, and how it would be living next door to a house serving as the hub of it all. Perhaps living adjacent to a beauty-centric content house would be pretty tame, but one that capitalizes on pranks might be more disruptive.
According to a 2020 online article from Fashion Magazin, requirements for landing a spot in a content house include having “a lot of energy and personality and honestly [be] a little weird. The weird people get the furthest on the Internet.”
If you’re lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with a content house, chances are not every influencer who films there lives there full-time. But, that may mean more comings and goings from both the regular renters and the collaborators who join them.
The majority of the content houses making waves online are located in LA,
WHAT INFLUENCERS ARE DOING IN CONTENT HOUSES
Whether they’re filming sponsored or organic content, influencers are using collab houses to sell a lifestyle. They may photograph or film beauty products, outfits, or the latest tech they’re promoting. Using a service like Pyvit, influencers can make all their content shoppable, allowing them to earn a commission on items purchased through their links.
Content houses also allow influencers to set up elaborate video gaming rooms, kitchens, and music or podcast studios. Unseen parts of a collab house are used to store props or promotional gifts so everyone has easy access to whatever they need to film or photograph new content.
While some content houses are created by the influencers themselves, others are orchestrated by media groups, with the influencers serving almost like characters in a reality TV show. Regardless, there are often rules to abide by, as even influencers aiming to go viral are concerned with maintaining their brand image.
While concrete data on how influencers are impacting real estate remains to be seen, the fact that content houses exist at all is proof of the power of the influencer.
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