China real estate agents turn to live streaming for leg up in downturn

BEIJING – When the pandemic erupted and China halted the movement of people, real-estate agent Wang Shujuan saw an opportunity – give property seekers live-streamed sales videos of her latest homes direct to their phones.

Knowing she had to adapt, “Beauty Wang”, as she is known to her 73,000 followers, first took to selling houses on Douyin, China’s TikTok, in April 2020.

Now,

amid a deepening real estate slowdown,

Ms Wang, 39, is betting that live streaming will increasingly become the path to win over buyers. 

“The property market isn’t that great right now but there are ways still to make money,” said Ms Wang. “If you’re not live streaming, you won’t be able to sell a single home – you’d be obsolete.”

As home sales tumble and prices tank even in coveted markets like Shanghai, all signs point to a faltering post-Covid-19 rebound, forcing property agents and developers to get creative.

While not a new phenomenon in China, the popularity of live streaming is picking up, a rare bright spot in a struggling sector.

On ByteDance’s Douyin, which has more than two million real estate live streamers, the total number of hours streamed by property agents doubled in 2022 from a year ago, according to a report by a consultancy backed by the company.

Some agents take viewers on voyeuristic tours inside luxury homes. Others stage comedy skits, dance to jaunty jingles or even masquerade as popular TV characters.

Ms Wang, who has been in the industry for nine years, opts for a more sleek, professional news anchor set-up, dissecting market trends from behind an office desk. In a blend of performance and sales, others have adopted monikers like “Madam Real Estate” and “Real Estate Enzyme”. 

“Live streaming will be increasingly essential,” said Mr Georg Chmiel, chair of real estate firm Juwai-IQI, adding that it is particularly appealing to overseas buyers unable to visit properties in person.

Jumping aboard 

China’s tech giants are capitalising on the pivot. Last year, short-video app Kuaishou Technology set up a real estate service centre – called Ideal Homes – with listings and live streams categorised by cities. The gross transaction value of houses on the app surpassed 10 billion yuan (S$1.9 billion) in 2022.  

Live streamers like Ms Wang remain relatively unusual cases of optimism in an ailing property market. For most, visiting a home in person is key to securing the transaction. Meanwhile, China’s housing market shows little sign of exiting its funk.

The value of residential sales tumbled 43 per cent nationwide in July from June, the weakest month in almost six years, while prices dropped for a second month. Any new demand will depend on confidence in prices going up, which has yet to happen, according to Ms Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist at Natixis. 

As consumer sentiment wilts, debt-laden developers are increasingly anxious for any lifeline. Over four-fifths of China’s top 200 developers are now on Douyin, according to the research report. 

To offload surging inventory, developers have offered other sweeteners, such as free renovations, gold ingots and even pigs. Some are going a step further, advertising supposed “zero down payment” and “buy one get one free” deals.

Many use these tactics to sidestep pricing restrictions. Local authorities have decried attempts by developers to slash prices, banning steep price cuts for distorting the market and undermining confidence. 

Ms Wang’s focus is on Huaian, a city in the eastern province of Jiangsu. On live streams typically around two hours long, she rattles off apartment vacancies, the nuances of housing policies and the perks of each neighbourhood into the camera.

After first attempting live streaming in April 2020, she quit her job at a realty sales centre a few months later to sell houses on Douyin and now live streams about four times a week, sometimes every day. 

Selling streak 

Her efforts are paying off: In the past two years, Ms Wang sold around 10 to 16 apartments each month, making over two million yuan in annual profit, she said.

Amid the broader downturn, she has sold more than 40 units this year. Most of her revenue now comes from commission as well as marketing and training services for developers, which want her to promote their launches. 

“Whether you’re on your own, or with an agency, or a developer, you need traffic from live streaming,” said Ms Wang. “In my live streams, I’m reaching them where they are and information is two-way for all to see – that’s how you build trust.” Bloomberg