The rise of the brick ‘Instagramers’: “I have managed to sell apartments worth five million without the client having come to see them first”

They move armies of followers and sell multi-million dollar homes. They are American real estate agents, pioneers in making magic with social networks and completely transforming traditional intermediation. Ryan Serhant works primarily in the Manhattan (New York) luxury market. He has 3.1 million followers on Instagram and 1.3 million on TikTok and is the founder of Serhant, a mega agency comprising a film studio, a marketing division and a technology platform. In addition, he is the protagonist of the Netflix series Owning Manhattan. Daniel Heider also sells mansions at exorbitant prices. The team he leads is considered one of the most followed if all its social networks are counted: it exceeds 4.5 million followers. «Social media has had a significant impact on the visibility of our properties. They have generated greater exposure, expanded the audience that sees our ads, and helped introduce certain homes to buyers who may not have discovered them solely through traditional channels,» says Heider from Washington. That said, he adds, «I wouldn’t say they are everything. Social media can be a powerful tool, but they are part of a much broader approach.» There are many more names (Aaron Grushow, based in Los Angeles, or Fredrik Eklund, famous for being one of the stars of the Million Dollar Listing New York program) and they all represent a new model where digital presence is very powerful. In Spain, more and more agents are trying it, although going viral does not necessarily mean closing operations. This way of selling houses applies to general residential and, in fact, there are dozens of names whose networks work for sales to the average and local public (Juan Reyes, Jordi Pol, Antonio Gonzalo, known as The TikTok Real Estate Agent). However, it works very well in the high-end market, in apartments that are not even on sale and with clients who are thousands of kilometers away. Carolina Sobrino from Montenegro, 30, has closed million-dollar transactions through Instagram without the client having previously visited the property. He remembers an apartment in the Almagro neighborhood (Madrid) that he sold for 4.5 million euros. One day he uploaded one of his videos to his Instagram profile and it reached a million views. “I went from having 500 followers to almost 30,000 in a very short time,” says this woman from Malaga who has lived in the capital for three years. Since then, he has sold homes worth €50 million. «I have managed to close apartments worth three, four or five million without the client coming to see them first. They only come on the day of the notary. For me it is something incredible, but at the same time it makes sense. If people can buy any product by watching a video, why not a house, which is something so emotional?», says the founder of Montenegro Broker. Sobrino had his own marketing agency before making the leap to brick. His reference was the American market, although he has created a very personal way of communicating, far from the typical tour where the protagonist is the agent: he usually speaks in a low and slow voice, which gives him a very close and intimate, almost confidential tone in his recordings. This makes it recognizable compared to other creators who use a more energetic or loud tone. In addition, it focuses on the details: “The light coming through the window, the high ceilings, the materials… everything that a normal photograph does not convey” 50% of its operations come from social networks; the rest through word of mouth. He believes that digital intermediation amplifies the reach: «We are no longer in the world of putting a for sale sign on the balcony. People are on the networks. There are millions and millions of people on Instagram. There is my mother, my grandmother, my nephews…». He also considers that the relationship with the agent has changed. «Before you were just an intermediary. Now the client generates a much closer relationship with you. They ask me to reserve restaurants for them, to help them with the mortgage, with the NIE, with the move… In the end you become almost a friend or a therapist. You walk hand in hand with the client a lot.» Nephew manages to make a portfolio «by walking around, talking to doormen, and being very up to date. Many times they are inheritances or apartments that never appear on portals. When a good product appears, you have to be fast,” he points out. Today it manages about 50 homes. “The truly special apartments—high ceilings, stately properties, many meters—are few and sell very quickly.” He confesses that the videos that work best are those of unrenovated homes. The initial investment in this type of business is zero. «You just need a cell phone with a good camera and creativity. I didn’t have an office or a big company behind me. The important thing is to create good content that is viewed,» he says. Guillermo Revilla, founder of Diza Consultores. Guillermo Revilla, founder of Diza Consultores, knows a lot about this, whose strategy is based on visibility and viral marketing. He is one of the real estate influencers with the most followers in Spain, active on TikTok and Instagram, and was one of the first to make the digital leap. It arrived on the real estate market in 2020 and after two years began using social networks. “They make us known and sell more houses,” says this 30-year-old businessman. Every month it sells up to 10 properties valued at several million euros. It has a marketing department of nine people who are dedicated to producing all the videos they publish on the networks. And although the momentum of this support is undeniable, it states that its strategy is multichannel (video calls). “When someone buys without seeing the apartment, it is because it is the house of their dreams and they do everything possible to close the transaction,” says Revilla.Ariana Meiler and Isabella Yitani, founders of The New Madrid. The New Madrid is a boutique agency led by Venezuelan entrepreneurs Ariana Meiler (32 years old) and Isabella Yitani (36 years old), which started in Madrid five years ago. They are betting heavily on Instagram (with 17,600 followers) and, progressively, on TikTok, and the average ticket for their operations is between two and three million euros, although they have worked with assets of up to 18 million. In 2025 they sold 18 properties worth about 35 million. «Everyone has social networks and through them our videos reach people from all over the world, from young people to grandparents. We do not have a physical showcase, Instagram is our showcase and our card,» they maintain. First the covid and then the boom in the luxury market in the capital were its great impulses. “We began to contact real estate funds in Latin America, we created good synergies, we built trust and from there they sent us clients,” they say. In their content they seek to show the lifestyle of the city and differentiate themselves from the rest with a menu that is nothing rigid or forced. «We sell the new Madrid, with which we are in love, with recommendations for bars or restaurants, trends in fashion and architecture. It is our differentiation.» The team, of seven women, is the one who shows the houses, the protagonist. Around 60% of its clients are international. “At first they were mainly Latinos, but now they come from all over,” they say. Instagram intervenes directly in 40% of its operations. They agree that their strength is creating trust. “The networks are the window, but trust closes the sale.” In addition, they use other tools such as open houses in demolished apartments where a private party with a DJ is held, collaborators are invited and with renderings they show how the renovation will look.