Okay, I am hooked on @realtorshateme. It started with the 4/29/25 episode of The Daily by The New York Times (forever a Michael Barbaro fan, iykyk), and then I made my way to Instagram to watch one of Mike's videos. One turned into two. Then another. And another. Suddenly, I was an hour deep into his feed - nodding, laughing, pissed off with him, and wondering: would I have the stamina to do what he is doing?
But honestly... What I’m really wondering is this: how did we get here—where “starter home” now means $400K at 7% interest, and the word “affordable” feels like a punchline?
As the Head of Marketing at Zogo, I spend a lot of time thinking about what people are trying to learn, and why. Despite soaring home prices, high interest rates, and low housing inventory, Americans (especially first-time buyers) are still chasing the dream of homeownership. And what's wild is this: our most completed financial literacy lesson is “Buying a Home,” proof that even in a broken housing market, people want to understand the process, plan for the future, and keep the dream alive.
That’s what stuck with me after my rabbit-hole spiral into Mike’s content and the housing market. Yes, the math is tough. But the dream? Still alive.
Because buying a home isn’t just about equity or interest rates. It’s about:
-A wall you can mark with your kids’ heights without losing your security deposit.
-Painting a nursery lemon yellow just because.
-Having a garden that doesn’t boost ROI, but brings you peace.
-Budgeting at the same kitchen table where birthdays and breakdowns happen.
These dreams aren’t naive. They’re deeply human.
And as a marketer, that’s what I keep coming back to: beneath every headline, every stat, every click—we’re all just trying to build a life that feels like home.
So when I see “Buying a Home” top our learning data, I don’t just see a module. I see the signal through the noise. I see people trying to reclaim something that feels lost—and doing it with curiosity, resilience, and hope.
That’s what good marketing pays attention to. Not just what’s trending, but what’s tugging at people. What they’re quietly navigating behind the scenes.
So yeah, I went down a real estate rabbit hole. And I came out reminded that the stories that move us most, are the ones that feel like they could be ours.
Thank you to Mike & The Daily for the reminder.
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