First home in Britain to be sold using Facebook Live

last updated 15 June 2022

One of the most stressful things about house hunting has to be organising viewings. Perhaps you desperately try to squeeze as many as you can into a Saturday because you've been working all week. Or maybe you do the lunchtime dash out of the office, racing around the property so you can get back to your desk in time.

But that’s all about to change. This week, a house viewing is going to be livestreamed on Facebook for people around the world to watch. It takes place at 1pm on Thursday, so you can attend the house viewing from the comfort of your desk while munching on your sandwiches. This is the first viewing of its kind in the UK!

The livestream, hosted by estate agents Housesimple, will guide users around a three-bedroom semi-detached bungalow in Rainham, East London. The homeowner will provide a virtual tour of her home, and viewers will be able to ask questions in the comments section during the Facebook Live session.

Read more: How to add value to your home

kitchen area with white cabinet and black worktop

‘I took part in Housesimple’s livestreaming service because I wanted to sell my home as simply as possible,’ says homeowner Shanty Helim.

‘Arranging a viewing over Facebook Live seemed to me the perfect way to allow potential purchasers to ask me questions, look around the house and make an offer, in a much more convenient way.’

bedroom with window with curtain and bedside table and lamp

The property is currently valued between £470,000 and £475,000, and viewers will be able to make an offer via Facebook Messenger during and following the livestream.

Data compiled by Housesimple shows that technology is having a huge impact on the speed of house sales. ‘Our business is all about making house selling better and simpler,’ says Sophie Gosling, co-founder of Housesimple. 'Organising a viewing live using social media is a good way to make something that can be difficult to attend more convenient.'

bathroom with bathtub and grey wall and white cupboard

‘We advised Shanty to livestream the viewing at 1pm so that people would be able to see her lovely house during their lunch break, which is one of the busiest times for our site,' Sophie adds. 'We’ve got our fingers crossed that she will even sell her home during the livestream.’