TikTok is changing the housing market. The #nycapartments hashtag on the ByteDance-owned app has more than 100 million views; #apartmenttour has 1.3 billion. With that kind of visibility, real estate firms and agents are increasingly setting up TikTok accounts, often as a way to reach Gen Z and millennial buyers, who together make up 39% of home buyers, according to a 2021 report from the National Association of Realtors. 

Consider Brown Harris Stevens, which was founded in 1873 and sells properties across the East Coast and in Florida. It posted its first TikTok video in April. Now, it has almost 50 videos, including “the dos and don’ts of co-op board interviews,” and is investing in training agents on short-form video best practices, according to a statement from the company.