After He Lost His Dad and 9-5 Job, This Agent Built a Multi-Million Dollar Real Estate Career By Using Instagram Reels. Now He’s Sharing His Process So You Can Do The Same.
Before he was a 3X Capper, eXp’s #1 Certified Mentor for 2026, and a headliner at eXpcon Salt Lake City, Rafael “Rey” Reyes was holding a microphone instead of home keys.
From middle school through his early college years, Rey traveled internationally as part of a touring music group. Long before he ever learned how to run a team, he was learning how to command a stage, read a room, and connect with strangers across different continents.
When he eventually traded the stage lights for a traditional 9-to-5 sales job, that performance background stayed in his back pocket. It sat there until the spring of 2020, when the world paused and his retail job vanished overnight.
Faced with sudden uncertainty and grieving the loss of his father during that same turning point in his life, Rey decided to bet entirely on himself.
"When the pandemic hit, the retail store I was working at shut down," Rey recalls.
"I had two choices: wait for life to return to normal or figure out how to create an opportunity with what I already had, and what I had was my smartphone, my personality, my story, and social media."
Without a massive ad budget, thousands of followers, or a deep real estate database across Greater Boston, he grabbed his phone and started educating first-time buyers on camera.
Making Real Estate Content Go Viral
While other agents were posting basic digital flyers, Rey went full creative mode. He hired a cameraman to follow him through properties, cutting fast-paced 60-second walk-throughs synced to trending audio. In 2021, he pushed the envelope further by introducing seamless indoor drone flythroughs to his market.
His phone started ringing, not just from local buyers, but from fellow agents looking to learn his digital process.
“I started creating content consistently, putting myself out there, talking about real estate, educating people, and building relationships online,” he describes. “Little by little, I began seeing that my phone could become a tool for building an entirely different future.”
Over a multi-year period, Rey converted that organic digital footprint into 50 home sales directly from social media, eventually co-founding Apex Empire.
Now, he organically reaches over 85,000 followers across his platforms (@BuyWithRey), runs weekly Mentee Mondays trainings, and mentors agents on bridging traditional relationships with modern digital media.
Rey’s Quick Fixes for Your Social Media
“The first thing I tell agents is to stop creating content just to get views and start creating content that solves problems.”
If your current social media presence gets likes but zero actual clients, Rey points out three adjustments you can make to your feed today.
Solve real problems. Stop posting content designed just to get views. Talk about down payment assistance, financing options, local market conditions, and homebuying mistakes. Educational content builds long-term trust.
Add a direct next step. Every post needs a clear call to action. Tell viewers to comment a keyword, send a direct message, or click a link to grab a guide. Give them a reason to reach out.
Build a system for the back end. Content generates attention, but your system converts it into revenue. Have a consistent plan to capture contact information and follow up.
Not doing those three things is the biggest mistake Rey often sees.
“They focus so much on views, likes, followers, and going viral that they forget the goal is to create conversations and relationships that eventually turn into business,” Rey states. “You can have thousands of people watching your content, but if there’s no clear call to action, no system to capture their information, and no consistent follow-up, that attention disappears.”
Catch Rey Live at eXpcon
At eXpcon Salt Lake City, eXp’s #1 Certified Mentor for 2026 takes the main stage to break down how to convert digital attention into actual revenue. He is saving his biggest takeaway for the keynote crowd: "Content equals currency."
Ready to learn how to scale your video strategy in person? Grab your ticket for eXpcon Salt Lake City to catch Rey’s main stage presentation and connect with top producers from around the country.
