TikTok’s rising influence: A viral post targets the online real-estate market

Broke the #ForYouPage… Earlier this month, a real-estate agent posted a TikTok accusing an unnamed company of manipulating housing prices. Tokers thought he was shading Zillow, and the video went viral — nearly 3M views and 450K likes. His allegation: The company uses users’ search data to mass-buy 30 homes at one price, then purchases a 31st home at a higher price to drive up the value of the others.

• Real estate experts say the Tok claims are unlikely, and Zillow denied them. A more probable explanation: Zillow sometimes overpays for homes in the hot market.
• Home prices are soaring, while supply is extra-thin. It's getting harder for regular Americans to buy or rent, so the idea of being intentionally priced-out hit a viral nerve.

Late night Zillow scroll… A pandemic pastime. Like competitors Redfin and Opendoor, Zillow isn't just a listing site à la Airbnb: it's also a buyer — an iBuyer. While advertising others' listings is Zillow's main moneymaker, its iBuying segment is growing. It's on pace to buy 5K homes/month by 2024.

• iBuying: Zillow uses its huge trove of price data to make nearly instant cash offers on homes based on "Zestimates." That cuts out the agent middleman.
• iEarning: Zillow charges sellers commission-like fees, and can profit on flipping homes it owns, though margins are generally thin.