Alyse Archer-Coite, a design strategist, shares a similar perspective. She is currently selling her Poughquag, New York, home and is offering its associated Instagram, @thenoxonhouse, as part of the deal. “It’s such an obvious addition, if you have the right followers,” she says. “I think I have under 3,000 followers, and I don’t even post on it super regularly anymore, but a lot of people are industry contacts. It’s not necessarily about how many people, but rather that it’s the right kind of people.”
She agrees that a successful Instagram—and all of its associated contacts and connections—impacts the asking price. “I think of it as a package deal,” she explains. The residence has a Superhost rating on Airbnb and is listed on Boutique Homes, which Archer-Coite says was a challenge to make happen. It’s also been photographed a number of times and booked as a production location. “It’s the difference between selling a brownstone and selling a brownstone with a renter already in the bottom floor,” she says. “Yes, you’re going to pay more when you buy it, but you also are going to have income baked in. And I think that’s valuable.”
Changing Hands
Still, there is a big difference between getting a new set of house keys and the password to an Instagram account. Where the former is often a private and exciting affair, the latter can be overwhelming in how public it is. “It was like stepping on a stage in front of an audience where you couldn’t see anyone’s faces and you didn’t know what they wanted and you’re just supposed to entertain them,” says Marc Moran, who bought the Frost House, a historic home in Indiana, with his wife, Jennifer, in 2021.
Located in Michigan City, Indiana, the residence was built in 1958 by Alside, a manufacturer of prefab aluminum homes. Its name derives from the original owners, Amelia and Dr. Robert Frost, and, for fans of modernist architecture, the home is a treasure trove of midcentury design history. It’s for this reason that Bob and Karen Coscarelli, who purchased the home from the Frosts in 2016, decided to start an Instagram account dedicated to the residence.
Karen had run blogs in the past, and Bob is a commercial photographer. The Instagram “was kind of a catchall for all of our passions and talents with telling and illustrating stories,” Bob says. The couple often shared images of the home accompanied by detailed captions about the property and its history. When the Morans purchased the residence, they asked that the Instagram account be transferred too. As Bob remembers it, “We were happy to pass along the page,” he says.
