They are not only selling dream houses but boosting trust in the category. Meet the realtor-creators
For realtors, Instagram Reels has become a platform to do business differently. Image: Shutterstock
When TikTok was still around in India, Mumbai-based Rafique Merchant experimented with selling dream homes in 60 seconds. Though he didn’t make big sales through those TikTok videos, he got thousands of inquiries for showcasing affordable homes. Merchant, who has been a realtor for over 10 years, didn’t get time to explore TikTok as much as he would have liked to because the app was banned. Back then he wasn’t interested in Instagram, mainly because the Facebook-owned app was heavily picture-focused. In Merchant's words, “Instagram wasn’t massy then.”
In 2020, Reels changed that notion for Instagram and Merchant. Today, for realtors like Merchant, Reels has become a platform to do business differently. Merchant has seen a 100 percent business growth, since the time he has been selling homes on Instagram.
Over and above selling homes and commercial spaces, he has also been doing brand work. Ajmera Group, Lodha, Marathon, and many other brands have worked with Merchant in the recent past. As per multiple influencer management companies, brands pay anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1,00,000 to these realtors for marketing campaigns.
According to digital advertising agencies, with realtors becoming content creators, the category is getting a facelift. Prince Khanna, co-founder of influencer marketing firm Eleve Media, calls them “influencer agents”. He believes, they are “in a way promoting good governance practices that directly impact brand’s ability to build investor, tenant, and community trust.”
That’s exactly why Mayank Agarwal, founder of real estate brokerage firm, The Green Cottage, became a creator. Agarwal doesn’t often sell homes, office spaces, and land on Instagram. His content is focused on educating buyers about what they should know before and after buying a piece of property, about construction details, regulations, etc.