Industrial broker Aviva Sonenreich, who's known on social media for amassing more than 1 million followers on TikTok, retained her position as the top Instagram influencer in commercial real estate for the second year in a row, as measured by Commercial Real Estate Influencers, or CREi.
Sonenreich, the Denver-based managing broker of Warehouse Hotline who has 45,500 followers on Instagram, edged out other influencers including Justin Ferguson, senior director of investments at Marcus & Millichap in Richmond, Virginia; Tiffany Ann Ryland, a director at Arvo Realty Advisors in Houston; and Blake Haggett, a broker at KZB Real Estate in Meridian, Idaho. Ferguson ranked second, Ryland third and Haggett fourth on the 2025 CREi List of Instagram Influencers.
Instagram, where Sonenreich's handle is avivarealestate, has transformed how properties are marketed in a business "where most listings still live on static PDFs and cold email blasts," said said. Instagram offers brokers the opportunity to tell the story of each available building and space and create credibility with a broader online presence, Sonenreich said.
Sonenreich isn't afraid to show her authentic self in her Instagram posts, reels and stories. This week, she jokingly wrote, "Wait, what's wrong with that???" on a story that featured a satirical post about a residential agent being arrested after sending 159,000 texts to someone she met once.
Most important, she said, Warehouse Hotline has sourced deals "because someone’s spouse, assistant, or investor partner saw a video on Instagram and shared it internally."
So, she recommends that brokers ignore peers who question why they spend time on social channels.
"When we showcase a listing on Instagram, we’re not just posting specs, we’re showing the value story behind the asset: why the clear height matters, how drive-in access impacts operations, and what a tenant can actually do with the space," she said in an email. "Instagram isn’t a 'nice to have' anymore; it’s a critical part of the commercial real estate deal flow ecosystem."