‘I wanted to do something different’: N.S. realtor uses humour to showcase homes

Buying or selling a house can be a stressful experience, but one Maritime realtor has taken a fun new approach.

Selling or buying homes can be a stressful experience, so realtor Bruce McGaw has decided to have fun with his listings.

“It is Deadpan Realtor,” McGaw told CTV News about his alter-ego videos that are gaining traction on social media.

“They’re very monotone, very dry, but it’s quick cuts and some of those things on social media that will actually keep your attention. So, I’m trying to do the same things as those fancy videos, but also just make it more approachable.”

McGaw got into the real estate game in 2021, after years in the hospitality industry. Making regular videos to show off houses wasn’t his style, so he decided to take a new approach.

“A lot of people are doing the same kind of video, the Selling Sunset style, where they’re saying ‘Welcome to my newest listing at XYZ property,’” he explained.

“I wanted to do something different, something that was going to be a little bit more catching for the properties. And I had this house, 100-year-old house, it was in OK condition, but that kind of video didn’t really do it justice.”

McGaw says he saw a colleague do a video talking about the bones of the house.

“So, I said, ‘Well, let’s do a video about good bones.’ And from there, I kind of just created the format and took some inspiration from some other agents and put it all together. And now I’ve done six different videos and obviously it’s growing.”

The videos are catching views and clients too.

“So, with my last one, I found that the popularity has grown for not only people looking at the houses, but just people that are meeting me. Got about half a million views on social media right now for that one,” he said.

“But the clients love it. They like something fresh and different and captivating, and I give them the option to do the old style, and everyone so far has picked the new style.”

That includes Will and Sarah Rozankoski.

“When he asked us if we wanted to do it, I felt that the humour fit his personality too,” explained Sarah. “So, we were like ‘Yeah, let’s do it’ and then when he showed us the video before he posted it, it was so good.”

Their house is already sold, and they agreed to use McGaw as their realtor if they decided to stay on the East Coast and not move back west.

“He’s not just showing you the features of the house,” explained Will. “He’s showing you the whole package, what you’re getting when you get Bruce and it shows him through and through. Like that’s the experience, he’s got his humour but he sure delivered.”

McGaw says showing off his personality in his videos helps him sell houses.

“For example, with this house, when I came in here there was a lot of great updates done, but most of them were hidden. It was electrical, plumbing, roof, things like that,” he explained.

“To show the house and what kind of is different about it, you know, for this home it’s got woodworking that is from 1908. They don’t make them like this anymore. I kind of wanted to highlight the features that are unique to the home and also kind of show what’s around in the area close by with walkability.”

Even though this is a social media trend, McGaw says it isn’t just for the younger generation.

“When I first started it, I thought that it was going to be a little more isolating to the older demographic,” he said.

“Some of them don’t really get it, but at the same time, they understand that it’s captivating, it’s getting attention. And if you look through the comments on some of the videos that people of all different ages, demographics, places all over the world commenting about how great it is, how nice it is to have a different take, and as it grows, I’ve gotten more and more interest from people of all different ages.”

As for the next steps, he said he will continue with the videos, even adding a blooper reel, because selling a house can be challenging, so his humour helps.

“Buying a house is stressful. Selling a house is stressful,” he said.

“But if you’re doing both at the same time, it’s one of the most stressful things you may ever do in your life. So having a little bit of levity and a little bit of humor to it really helps it get through the process a little bit easier. I always say my job title might be realtor, but I’m more of a therapist because it’s my job to put your mind at ease and have a little fun along the way.”

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