By Miah Ayaan
Imagine making your living as a real estate broker. Your income is entirely dependent on commissions. But wait. There may be something even more risky: making your living as a social media influencer. Influencers have to sell themselves to both advertisers and social media users. What if you combined the two? Could real estate brokers and social media influencers help each other make money?
Apparently, they can, at least in some markets. An article published in early 2020 by The Real Deal website discusses how New York City real estate brokers are teaming up with influencers to move properties that are not getting a whole lot of traffic among coronavirus-weary buyers.
It is understandable that the real estate broker-social media influencer relationship would flourish at the height of the coronavirus crisis. People scared of getting sick just do not want to go out house shopping. But that crisis will eventually go the way of the Spanish flu. When it does, will the marriage between the two continue to be one made in heaven? Only time will tell.
Influencers Decorate and Market
The social media influencers brought into the New York real estate game were hired to do two things: decorate properties and then market them. Obviously, this sort of thing requires finding influencers with a talent for both. It is probably not a difficult task in a major metropolitan area like New York.
According to The Real Deal, making the relationship work is all about trust. Real estate brokers have to trust that social media influences can deliver. Brokers also have to rely on the fact that followers trust the influencers they follow. This may be the most curious thing of all for brokers.
Common sense seems to dictate that the real estate broker is the one you would most trust for advice on purchasing a new home. But these days, the whole world is upside down. Young people are throwing traditional norms out the window. The very concept of people making a very healthy living as social media influencers tells the whole story.
The fact is that people trust the influencers they follow. For right or wrong, that is the way it is. So if an influencer tells them that a downtown Manhattan property represents a good purchase, they are likely to believe it.
Not Every Market Is the Same
The real estate pros at CityHome Collective in Salt Lake City, Utah have a different take. They get the fact that social media influencers might be very helpful to moving properties in New York. Yet not every market is the same. Salt Lake City is a great example.
While people are actually exiting New York City in droves thanks to coronavirus and high taxes, others are flocking to Salt Lake City for the economic opportunities it offers. The local Salt Lake housing market hasn’t missed a beat this year. Houses are selling faster than the market can accommodate.
Not only do local real estate brokers not need the assistance of social influencers in Salt Lake City, but influencers also probably wouldn’t be much help anyway. Properties just sell too fast. An agent barely gets one on the market before offers start coming in.
It could be that real estate brokers teaming up with social media influencers is a temporary solution to a temporary problem. The phenomena may become long-term if New York City doesn’t rebound from the exodus it is currently experiencing. But in other markets where properties are hot, real estate brokers are doing what they have always done – without the assistance of social media influencers or other gimmicks.
