TikTok's Caleb Simpson reveals how much he pays for rent in NYC: Everyone asks, 'why don't you move?'
The creator is famous for asking people on the street how much they pay for rent, followed by house tour
Renters aren't going to get a big break: Danielle Hale
Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale discusses the real estate market on 'Mornings with Maria.'
Viral vlogger Caleb Simpson asks this one question a lot – but how much does he pay for rent in New York City?
"My rent is $6,500 a month," Simpson told Fox News Digital. "I have two roommates, so we split it. I pay like $2,850 for my space. Everyone does ask me, ‘Why don't you move? You have roommates, you can now afford more of a nicer place.’"
"I like my roommates, there's a reason why I live with them. I think it's fun," he continued. "And in New York City, here, it's more accepted to have roommates and to live with other adults."
Simpson, who launched his social media career 10 years ago and was born and raised in North Carolina, has risen to TikTok fame by traveling around the world to ask people on the street his now well-known question, "How much do you pay for rent?" which is followed by a home tour of that person’s residence.
NEW POLL SHOWS DRAMATIC DROP IN SUPPORT FOR BANNING TIKTOK AMONG ADULTS AND TEENS SINCE MARCH
Filming his series in major cities like London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Miami, Simpson’s subjects pay rents ranging anywhere from $500 up to $20,000. He’s even seen inside the homes of celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Barbara Corcoran and Jersey Shore’s Vinny Guadagnino.
Caleb Simpson has gained popularity for his videos asking people on the street: "How much do you pay for rent?" (Fox News)
"Every city I've visited this year, every country, someone stopped, taking a picture with me, and I'm like, 'whoa, this is wild,’" Simpson reflected. "It's such a different way of living. And that was one reason why I wanted to start the series, because I wanted to explore and learn from people and just visit places I've never been. It's really just a way to get more information, really, just see more about the world and people in general."
He remembered his first time approaching a New Yorker with the question, before being told to "get the f*** out of [their] face."
"To get a ‘yes’ from somebody was very difficult. I actually did get someone to say yes pretty quickly, but I made a rule for myself that they had to do it that day," Simpson said. "We went and filmed the video, and it was an immediate success. So I think it was just like, I had to ask almost a hundred people before someone would say yes."
The TikTok "tipping point" was reached when Corcoran reached out, wanting to make a video with "the apartment guy." What’s now Simpson’s fourth most-popular TikTok, with 41.5 million views and counting, showed off the "Shark Tank" star’s $10,000 per month Manhattan apartment where she’s lived for four years.
"It really caught me off guard, and it was really just like her cosigning [on] me doing this, and then more celebrity culture and just being accepted as now this guy who's running around seeing people's homes," the vlogger noted. "So I think that one and how viral it went, was just insane."
"She even told me it was one of the more crazy moments of her life. She's like: I went to my grocery store and everybody in the grocery store is like, 'we love your apartment!’" he added. "We've been chatting about stuff the entire year trying to get an idea out there, but we have plans to do more stuff in the new year."
Commercial real estate is ‘in trouble’: Barbara Corcoran
The Corcoran Group founder Barbara Corcoran discusses issues facing the real estate market, warning the commercial market will see a 'bloodbath.'
The most important lessons Simpson’s learned throughout his viral fame has been acceptance, and more seriously, to "evolve or die."
"When you start making things, you have one idea of what you want your life to be and what it's going to be. And then one door opens, and you walk through it, and another door opens and you walk through it, and you find yourself down a path that [you] didn't think would be done at all," he said.
"I've evolved so many times on the app, and there's going to be a point where it's just going to stop, and you're going to have to evolve past whatever you were making before. So don't get too worried or trapped in where you are now because it's going to change again."
Leaning into that content transformation, Simpson now also produces videos like celebrity pizza reviews (his most recent with Jared Leto), and a cash-cab trivia game concept in his Tesla.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Jason Oppenheim: We’re ‘not immune’ to real estate market pressures
Jason Oppenheim, Oppenheim Group president and star of ‘Selling Sunset’ and ‘Selling the OC,' speaks to Fox News Digital about California’s mansion tax, slowing development and filming their next season.
However, his focus will always remain the same: spotlighting everyday people.
"My whole world opened up when I stopped trying to make content about myself and my life and how cool I was or things I was doing, and I started focusing on other people and other things that I found interesting," Simpson said. "I think a lot of people have this idea of being Kim Kardashian, when I think that's over. We want to see other things and focus on other things that we think are cool."
