Social media has supercharged real estate marketing - and made it cheaper. But it also brings risks

"Algorithms can actively find prospective buyers based on user behaviour and serve them content, sometimes before they intend to buy a house. Social media has even allowed some home sellers to advertise properties all by themselves, and circumvent real estate agents altogether."

"To advertise a house the traditional way, you have to deal with a gatekeeper. Listing on a site such as Domain or realestate.com.au is permission-based. Not only do you have to follow certain rules, it typically costs a significant amount of money."

"But social media is decentralised, with no gatekeepers or major fees. Combined with the potential to reach a broader market, this makes it highly attractive to many agents and sellers."

Traditional home selling relied on broadcasting messages through newspapers, television, and signage to reach potential buyers. Online listing platforms like Domain and realestate.com.au maintained this broadcast approach. Social media fundamentally changed this by using algorithms to actively identify and target prospective buyers based on user behavior, often before they intend to purchase. Social media enables sellers to advertise properties independently without real estate agents, eliminating gatekeepers and high fees associated with traditional platforms. This decentralized approach offers lower costs and broader market reach, making it attractive for both agents building personal brands and individual sellers conducting for-sale-by-owner transactions.

Read at The Conversation