How TikTok and Instagram are influencing the Alberta real estate market

As soon as he got his real estate licence, Brandin Strasser reached into his toolkit and started making posts on social media.

"Most of them were just house tours; I didn't talk too much because I didn't feel like I had that confidence in real estate yet," the Edmontonian said in an interview with CBC.

The house tours soon evolved into talking about his personal life as a way to build connections with his audience, which mostly consists of millennials and generation Z.

Based on those demographics, he primarily focuses on TikTok and Instagram based on those demographics.

As mortgages and inflation reach all-time highs across Canada, Strasser and other Albertans selling real estate are using social media platforms to convince young Canadians to take the plunge into the housing market.

Strasser has been with cloud-based brokerage REAL Broker since April 2022.

He said TikTok, in particular, is a great platform for what he calls organic growth.

"Other platforms, they've kind of matured in the place where you have your influencers established on Facebook and even Instagram somewhat, whereas TikTok seems to be a lot more open forum and friendly to new accounts just getting out there," he said.

Strasser said millennials and gen-Zers often feel discouraged over the high costs associated with buying a home. He wants to encourage younger buyers to recognize that it's not all "gloom and doom," as he believes real estate is attainable for everybody.

"It really just comes down to showing that there are options and setting realistic boundaries that your first house doesn't have to be a mansion; your first house can be modest," he said.

Recent figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association put the average price of a single detached home in Toronto at $1.2 million, and close to $1.7 million in Vancouver. In Edmonton, a typical single-family home can be purchased for about $425,000.

Umar and Atefah Khan purchased their Calgary condominium in May 2022 after Atefah found Calgary-based agent Tyler Hassman on TikTok. Originally from Toronto, they were newly newlyweds who spent a lot of time moving back and forth between provinces.

But they moved to Alberta permanently once they realized a mortgage was cheaper than rent.

Umar Khan said finding a real estate agent with a large social media presence helped the pair feel a connection with their agent even before their first phone call.