Millennials use Tik Tok buy property
SOUTH Africa’s millennials, people born between 1981 and 1996, are using smart devices to search for houses, research neighbourhoods and communicate with estate agents.
According to Statistics SA, millennials account for almost 30% of the population and “represent the largest generation to enter the country’s workforce, at 51%”.
Estate agents who have tapped into this market have been using previously unconventional platforms such as Tik Tok and Instagram to market properties.
A recent Tik Tok video by Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty’s Richard Haubrich went viral, attracting a majority of buyers, 47.4%, aged between 25 and 34 for micro apartments in the former Standard Bank building in Thibault Square in Cape Town’s CBD. The starting price is R895 000 for a 19m² apartment.
“The Tik Tok video going viral was exciting, unexpected and overwhelming. While most of my buyers are from South Africa, I also landed some from Canada and the US,” Haubrich said.
“Many are first-time buyers looking for investments for under R1 million. Some of the better-off buyers are buying multiple units, which will be used as Airbnb apartments once tourism picks up again.”