Finding your next apartment in New York City just got a social media makeover. Klipster, an app that launched just two weeks ago, brings the addictive short-form video format of TikTok to the high-stakes world of NYC real estate.
“Listing platforms haven’t really changed in 20 years,” says Eric Benaim, Klipster’s co-founder and 24-year real estate vet. “When I started in real estate, you listed on Craigslist or NewYorkTimes.com. Then StreetEasy, Apartments.com, Zillow, and Trulia came along – but their basic format hasn’t evolved since.”
What has changed is consumer behavior. Today, nearly 75% of home shoppers are Millennials and Gen Z, who are comfortable making major life decisions through digital platforms. These digital natives spend countless hours scrolling through social media, particularly video content on TikTok and Instagram.
Benaim and co-founder Arlinda Dine noticed another trend: real estate professionals were increasingly generating leads through social media rather than traditional listing sites. Agents were posting video tours on social platforms before anywhere else, and developers were actively courting social media-savvy agents to create content about their properties.
Then the idea was born: create a platform that would transform the home-hunting journey from discovery to lease signing into a seamless social experience.
First, they did market research, including focus groups with hundreds of agents at major brokerages like Corcoran, Brown Harris Stevens, and others. They studied successful social commerce platforms, particularly Whatnot – a live streaming shopping app that recently secured a $225 million funding round at an $11.5 billion valuation. Social media influencer Gary Vaynerchuck, founder of VaynerMedia, has been promoting the potential of “live social” for a while. That also inspired the Klipster team. “We saw Whatnot’s success in social shopping and thought, ‘Why not real estate?'” says Benaim. “In one sense, we’re TikTok meets Zillow, but in another, we’re the Whatnot of real estate.”
The app development process wasn’t without its challenges. The team initially partnered with developers in Kosovo before realizing they needed a North American presence to get the app into the App Store. They found their solution with a startup-focused development firm called Nolte, which specializes in mobile apps.
The app’s name emerged organically from its video-first approach. “We were thinking about clips, like video clips,” says Dine, who’s been in real estate marketing for 20 years. “We wanted something memorable that didn’t really mean anything specific, like how Zillow doesn’t mean anything. We just made it with a ‘K’ because it looked more attractive.
The real breakthrough came when Michael Taus, a serial tech entrepreneur and founder of Rent.com, joined as Chief Growth Officer. Taus immediately identified a major pain point: “If you’re an agent with a TikTok video of an apartment, someone can like it and maybe message you. But most people want to see the actual listing page, and that’s when you lose them,” explains Dine. “They have to go from TikTok to StreetEasy, find an email, shoot a message – with each extra step, you lose potential clients.”
Klipster solves this by integrating everything into one platform. The app’s AI technology converts listing photos into dynamic video content, while allowing agents to live stream open houses for audiences ranging from one to 100,000 viewers. They can also record or upload videos of themselves, properties, or neighborhoods and showcase their unique personalities. Buyers and renters can discover properties, message agents, and submit applications without switching apps – essential in NYC’s fast-moving market where desirable units can receive dozens of applications within minutes of listing.
For agents, the platform offers a chance to build personal brands that stay with them regardless of their brokerage, helping them reach up to five times more potential clients and close transactions up to 30% faster.
Klipster’s revenue model focuses on ad generation and sponsored posts. “We’re not trying to take a piece of the agent’s commission,” Benaim says. “We’re creating opportunities through brand partnerships and premium placement options.”
The app is launching first in the New York metro area and South Florida – two of the country’s most competitive housing markets. In year two, they plan to expand to more major markets, targeting the 1.5 million real estate agents across America. Currently, about 700 agents are on the platform, with several thousand listings already available.
“Not everybody can be Ryan Serhant,” Dine notes, referring to the celebrity real estate broker, “but on Klipster, you can grow a following and try to be the first breakout star of the platform.”
With five patents pending and major brokerage partnerships in discussion, Klipster is positioning itself as more than just another real estate app – it’s betting that the future of home hunting will be a scrolling one. As Benaim puts it, “We’re built for how the next generation wants to shop for homes.”
The app is now available on the Apple IOS App store and Google Play store or visit Klipster.live
