Midterm election trends filled social feeds after Democrats won many national, state and local races on Nov. 3. The jokes and memes spread faster than the votes could be fully counted, but the results with the most direct effect on clients make for great content for real estate agents.
What’s behind the Blue Tsunami
After the results came in, users on X, Instagram and TikTok began posting celebratory memes and selfies under the Blue Tsunami label, with hashtags such as #bluetsunami and #bluewave. The name reads as a nod to the size of the wins, and much of the content is just that. The label also covers a wave of thirst trap posts, the provocative selfies people share for attention.
Those posts trace back to campaign season, when users promised to post revealing photos if Democrats won a particular race or state. After Nov. 3, some followed through. An August Axios report described the party as entering its “thirst trap era.” Anyone who hasn’t followed that trend could easily be confused.
Why the hype isn’t worth chasing
Election trends on social media leave little room for misinterpretation or misunderstanding. Many followers see the stakes as personal, and the nuances are easy to miss.
Timing adds risk. Many races still haven’t been called, and an agent who celebrates or laments an outcome before it’s final may end up correcting the record in front of their followers.
Political posts can work when they are authentic and fit the audience. A note congratulating a new governor makes sense from an agent who has covered local issues before. A post that comes out of nowhere or a comment-section fight over partisan politics is harder to justify.
Political content can also slide into commentary on religion, national origin or familial status, classes the federal Fair Housing Act protects, and an agent’s social accounts double as marketing.
The results are the better story
The election is a trending topic agents can cover with authority if they focus on what changed locally. For example, Florida voters approved Amendment 3, which raises the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes. And in an Inman op-ed, Mainframe Real Estate CEO Sean Frank argues the cost could shift to renters, businesses and investors as local governments lose revenue. That kind of insight comes best from someone who knows the local area and repercussions.
California voters approved Prop. 37, which funds second mortgages covering up to 17 percent of a new home’s price. Voters in dozens of communities passed restrictions on data centers, even as MLS listings that mention data centers rose 49 percent from 2025, according to a Compass analysis.
Each outcome raises a question that a buyer, seller or homeowner may not know how to answer, and a local real estate agent can answer it.
What this means for real estate professionals
Skip the hype and talk about the results. Posts that explain what a local measure means for a tax bill or a down payment give followers something useful and keep agents relevant to clients across the political spectrum.
What should be on your radar
Instagram tests long-form video and pays creators to make it. Instagram is offering to pay creators for long-form content while it tests Features, a format that supports uploads up to 90 minutes long. Reports suggest some creators are getting five- to six-figure deals. If Features reaches your account, use it to test longer neighborhood tours or market breakdowns. Watch time will show whether your followers stay past the first few minutes.
Anthropic’s Claude Duet joins the personal agent race. Anthropic opened a preview of Claude Duet on Oct. 21. Anthropic bills it as an always-on agent that works through the apps connected to a user’s Claude account, sending daily briefings, scheduling meetings and building dashboards. Access is limited to U.S. Pro and Max subscribers who join a waitlist. An agent like Duet is only as useful as the accounts it can see, which for most agents means client email, calendars and a CRM. Check your brokerage’s data policies before connecting any of them.
Canva’s layoff package draws praise. Canva, a design tool popular with agents, announced a restructuring that affects nearly 1,300 employees, about 22 percent of its staff. CEO Melanie Perkins’ LinkedIn post laid out severance terms that include six months of salary, continued health care, career coaching and keeping their MacBooks, and it has drawn praise on social media. A company’s handling of cuts becomes part of its brand once employees start posting about it. Brokerages making cuts should expect departing agents and staff to share how they were treated.
Protip
Add music to your carousels. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said carousels with music can appear in the Reels feed. Carousels also get a second chance in the main feed. When a user scrolls past one, Instagram can show it again with the second slide first. Each slide gives followers another opening to like, comment or share. Put a strong photo or hook on slide two of a listing or market update carousel, since some viewers will see it before the cover.
Each week on Trending, Inman’s Jessi Healey dives into what’s buzzing in social media and why it matters for real estate professionals. From viral trends to platform changes, she’ll break it all down so you know what’s worth your time — and what’s not.
