One woman turned to Instagram in order to help bridge the gap between younger generations and historical homes, and it’s working. It may seem like a big job for one social media account, but the account is an offshoot of a listing website for old homes, CIRCA, created by the same woman, Elizabeth Finkelstein. Cheap Old Houses, the name of the account, posts old home listings priced less than $100,000, according to Business Insider. The account has garnered more than 1 million followers through posting listings and has paired bright-eyed Millennials with fixer-uppers across the country.
Finkelstein told Benowitz that her follower count has doubled twice its typical rate per week, but that the growth during this time doesn't surprise her. "You get this kind of feeling of escapism. It's the perfect storm of emotions," she said.
She added that the site helps make homeownership more attainable for millennials, many of whom have plenty of time on their hands during quarantine for restoration projects.
But while the houses come cheap, the renovations don't. One 27-year-old Benowitz spoke with said she paid $18,500 for a Victorian home in West Virginia, but estimates her renovation budget to total $125,000.
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