From Likes to Listings: How Social Media is Reshaping Home Demand

As of 2025, the way people perceive and pursue real estate has entered a transformative phase. No longer solely governed by traditional factors like location, amenities, or investment potential, home demand is now deeply entwined with digital influence, particularly from reality TV stars and social media personalities.

These figures do more than showcase high-end living; they craft compelling lifestyle narratives that reshape global buyer behaviour and redefine what aspirational living looks like.

Today’s property buyers are increasingly starting their search on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, rather than traditional property portals. Globally, over half of them use mobile devices to explore listings.

In the UAE, this behaviour is even more pronounced. By Q1 2025, mobile penetration for property searches had reached 99%, with short-form video boosting buyer interest by over 40%, as noted in Growth Realty’s Q1 analysis.

The sector’s advertising budgets reflect this digital pivot, with real estate ad spend in the UAE projected to surpass USD $447 million by the end of the year. Developers and agencies are moving decisively towards cinematic storytelling and platform-specific campaigns, knowing full well that attention spans are short, and visual content wins.

Reality television is no longer passive entertainment. It has become a powerful engine for real estate marketing at scale. Series like Selling Sunset, Million Dollar Listing, and Netflix’s Selling the City don’t just present beautiful homes; they present stories. These narratives elevate properties into emotionally charged symbols of success, freedom, and lifestyle.

Figures like Ryan Serhant, Fredrik Eklund, and the Oppenheim brothers have blurred the line between celebrity and brokerage, turning real estate agents into media personalities. According to Business Insider, the Eklund-Gomes Team closed over $3.77 billion in real estate deals in 2023, attributing much of their reach to social media and reality TV exposure.

This model has already taken hold in the Middle East. The launch of Million Dollar Listing UAE in late 2023, combined with the influence of Dubai-based content creators, has sparked a global appetite for waterfront penthouses, branded residences, and off-plan luxury.

In this new landscape, these homes are no longer viewed as static assets, they’re desirable stages for living well and living visibly.

In real estate marketing today, authenticity is quickly overtaking perfection. While stunning, professionally staged homes still attract attention, a growing number of buyers connect more deeply with “normal” homes, real spaces that show life as it is, imperfections and all.

Platforms like TikTok have popularized this trend, where genuine, relatable content often feels more trustworthy and engaging. Yet, most agents agree that the winning formula is balance: pairing emotional honesty with polished visuals.

It’s not about choosing between beauty and truth but combining both. When homes tell a sincere story and look their best, they stop the endless scroll and turn browsers into buyers.

No market reflects this digital transformation more vividly than Dubai. The city’s real estate sector has embraced digital storytelling and social visibility more aggressively than most global destinations.

In February 2025, Dubai recorded 16,099 property transactions, representing a 35.5% increase compared to February 2024. The total value of these transactions reached AED51.1 billion, marking an approximate 40% increase in overall sales value.

This growth was primarily driven by off-plan property sales, which surged by 57% compared to the same month in the previous year. These figures, reported by Gulf Business, highlight how digital visibility is becoming a key driver of real estate performance in the emirate.

In Q3 2024, according to Finance Middle East, a reputable UAE-based platform, Dubai's real estate market achieved a record-breaking 50,439 property transactions valued at approximately AED 142 billion, marking a 38.2% increase in volume and a 30.1% increase in value compared to the same quarter in 2023.

Off-plan properties led this surge, accounting for 63% of total transactions, with 31,800 deals valued at AED 67.45 billion, a 58.7% increase in volume and a 42.3% increase in value year-on-year. These figures, reported by Finance Middle East, underscore the growing dominance of off-plan properties in Dubai's real estate market.

Dubai's government and private sectors have fully embraced this digital transformation. Initiatives such as the Beautiful Destinations Academy, launched in collaboration with the Department of Economy and Tourism, now train local influencers to create immersive real estate content. This includes cinematic, narrative-driven walkthroughs filmed in vertical format, tailored for optimal performance on social media platforms.

Furthermore, by 2024, over 65% of all property sales in Dubai involved off-plan projects marketed using 3D visualization, AI-driven campaigns, and immersive virtual experiences.

These tools have become essential for international buyers, many of whom purchase properties sight-unseen. They provide not only confidence but also emotional engagement, helping to turn interest into commitment.

In this new landscape, the concept of “screen appeal” has become as important as curb appeal. Buyers, especially among Gen Z and millennials, are drawn to homes that not only meet functional needs but also serve as backdrops for personal expression.

Open floor plans, natural lighting, clean palettes, rooftop terraces, and even home content studios are emerging as high-demand features, not because of traditional utility, but because of how well they perform on camera.

Developers have responded in kind, designing residences that are “social-first”, both in architecture and amenity programming. High-speed connectivity, concierge services tailored for creators, and even rentable content studios are appearing in high-end residential offerings.

As we move deeper into 2025, social media is no longer a secondary influence in the property market, it is a defining one. Reality TV stars and digital creators are reframing how people envision their future homes.

For the industry, the takeaway is both simple and urgent: visibility drives value. If a home can be seen, shared, and celebrated online, it is far more likely to be desired, and sold.

The digital stage is now the primary arena for real estate storytelling. And those who master its language, developers, agents, marketers, will shape not just trends, but transactions.