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Finding success in TikTok’s untapped market

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Erick LopezThe West Australian
The Agency Perth Property Partner Corey Adamson is staying ahead of competitors by using TikTok.
Camera IconThe Agency Perth Property Partner Corey Adamson is staying ahead of competitors by using TikTok. Credit: Wachiwit/Getty Images.

Staying ahead of the property market means real estate agents need to constantly pioneer new and creative ways to market their homes for sale. The Agency Perth Property Partner Corey Adamson is doing just that – but through TikTok.

The social media platform, which consists of short videos with a notoriously teenage-dominated audience, has now accounted for various home sales and appraisals for Mr Adamson, who originally used the platform to document his running.

Mr Adamson said he coined the idea of starting a real estate-based TikTok account close to two years ago when the platform was still new, after hearing about its potential on a US podcast.

“I found that there was a bit of a niche in real estate,” he said. “A lot of people ask me questions, wanting to see houses and how much they’re worth – especially in Western Australia – and it’s just kind of taken off since then.”

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Mr Adamson’s TikTok account @coreytherealestateagent now has more than 15,000 followers and over 230,000 likes, with some videos reaching close to 400,000 views. His account has seen great traction with his audience yet, surprisingly, he is still one of the few real estate agents to make use of the platform.

A still from one of Mr Adamson’s videos.
Camera IconA still from one of Mr Adamson’s videos. Credit: Supplied.

“I think it surprised me more that a lot of older people secretly have TikTok accounts, whether they’re 40, 50, 60 and beyond. I see them at home opens and they tell me that they have seen my TikToks.”

Mr Adamson said the effortless nature of the app meant he could record videos from his phone while the home was being photographed, or answer user-submitted questions in between appointments.

“The main types of videos I do are ‘what a certain amount of money – whether it be $500,000 or $3 million – buys you in WA’, and I’ll show a tour of the house,” he said.

“People seem to have a lot of questions for agents, whether they’re looking at becoming an agent, buying a house or selling a house. They just want information, so I’ll put up a post asking what first homebuyers should look out for and then I’ll reply in a video telling them about structural defects, that type of thing; it seems to get a very good response.”

Surprised by the amount of interest Perth property generates online, Mr Adamson said his content was helping to showcase the variety of real estate available.

“It surprises people, especially in Perth,” he said. “We sell a whole bunch along the coast and inner city, and I put those properties out whether they’re a character home or one with a great view, and the viewers don’t believe that Perth has these types of houses, so it’s kind of eye-opening.

“I’ve seen a shift now where I’ve got called into a couple of appraisals because the kids have told their parents ‘oh, you’ve got to get Corey in, I’ve watched him on TikTok’, and that’s a shift that I’ve seen in probably the last two months.”

Mr Adamson, a former West Coast Eagles and Perth Heat player, said he expected more real estate agents in Perth to jump on-board sooner rather than later, thanks to the app’s simplicity.

“I’ve told every one of my friends in real estate to get on it,” he said. “Some people will do it for a little bit and not get much traction and just stop.

“I think in a couple of years everyone will be on it, and people will just be wishing they started earlier. So, I have no doubt everyone will migrate to it, it’s just a matter of when.”

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