House tours have become a sensation on social media, from property agent walkthroughs to content creators showcasing their homes (or showing others’ houses).
However, did you know that some of these tours might actually be “fake”?
Read on and be surprised.
But if you prefer to watch a video about this topic instead, watch this to the end then:
House Tours on Social Media
Initially, house tour videos started with property agents walking around a space, talking about the house, and trying to sell the house to you, the viewer.
From renovated HDBs and condominiums to lofts and landed apartments, these agents would walk the viewer through the entire house. The focus of these videos were usually information on the houses.
After a while, content creators joined in, shifting the focus to decor and layout.
House tours have actually become so popular that there’s a new trend which involves asking “strangers” how much they pay for rent before showcasing their home on platforms like TikTok.
I’m assuming it’s not random because let’s be real, if a stranger on the street asked you how much your rent is and wants to film your house, would you say yes?
I don’t think anyone would.
Nevertheless, this type of video has become popular on TikTok, with people showcasing their extravagant and gorgeous or cute and cozy homes.
There are actually two types of house tours: those by property agents with the intent to sell, and those by content creators to gain views.
The Appeal of House Tours
It may seem like people watch house tours by property agents because they want to buy a house or watch those by content creators because they want to renovate their house, but this is not the case for the most part.
House tour videos have become mainstream with hundreds and thousands of views, but there can’t be so many people buying or renovating houses, right?
There are two reasons as to why people watch house tours even if they do not intend to buy or renovate a house.
The first is keeping dreams alive.
Way before house videos were popular, people would look at house listings, go to condo showrooms, or even take walks outside big houses.
Many of us dream of owning a big beautiful home, but with 9% GST, increasing cost of living, and our stagnant salaries, the only way to keep our dreams alive is to just look-see. Like window shopping.
It’s kind of like women watching k-drama to feel that they can be the woman in the show, or guys watching j-movie so that they can be the man in the show (iykyk).
Interestingly, looking at homes is apparently an “aspirational and therapeutic” hobby.
With videos, it becomes so much easier than looking at PropertyGuru. It’s more fun to watch videos than pictures, too.
While it’s not confirmed, it seems that most viewers are millennials.
They’re at the age where they can buy new houses, so I guess it makes sense that they’d watch house tours for inspiration.
However, there’s another reason that people watch house tours: kaypoh-ing.
This is more applicable to content creator or celebrity house tours than property agent ones.
We like to watch celebrity house tours as we know their houses leave hints about their personality.
As Singaporeans, being kaypoh is in our blood. So, naturally, we want to know more about our favourite celebrities and content creators.
Given the popularity of celebrity house tours in the US, we can only assume that even people overseas are kaypoh too.
Given that it takes time, effort, and money to film a house tour, it might not make sense for property agents to film house tours.
After all, their customers are more likely to come from PropertyGuru and not TikTok. It seems they stand to gain nothing from posting these videos.
However, as with most things, there is more than meets the eye.
Sometimes, multiple agents will approach a seller, all wanting to sell that house exclusively. The seller may have a tough time choosing which agent to work with.
It turns out, sometimes, these agents will provide a house tour video to secure an exclusive, which means that that agent will have the sole rights, granted by the seller, to market the property.
The seller, deeming a video as advantageous, will then grant that agent the exclusive.
That’s why these house tours is considered “fake”.
Well, the videos themselves are real, but the objective behind the video may not be to actually market the property, it’s simply to secure an exclusive.
So now you know.
But of course, not all house tours are “fake”; many are real.
Just that with this knowledge, you can be a tad smarter with your choice.