April 23, 2025

Ep. 42 – The Market Flip “Nobody” Saw Coming: Where Did the Sockless Realtors Go?

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In this episode of The Last Honest Realtor, host David Fleming asks a question that says more about the market than you’d think: Where did all the sockless realtors go? And more importantly—what does their disappearance say about Toronto real estate in 2025?

What starts as a joke turns into a look back at the peak years of hype: pre-construction mania, staged social media hustle, and the agents who disappeared when the market got real. David walks through the signs we ignored, the lessons we’re still learning, and what’s left now that the dust has settled.

In This Episode:

  • Why the sockless realtor became a symbol of the boom years
  • What actually happened to pre-construction—and why it matters
  • The Real Estate Bitcoin & Wealth Expo, in hindsight
  • A $15,000 personal loss that hits a little too close to today
  • Who’s still here in 2025, and why that’s probably a good thing


Timestamps:
00:00 – Where Have All the Sockless Realtors Gone?
05:00 – The Disappearance of Social Media Real Estate Stars
10:00 – Pre-Con’s Collapse and the Fallout
16:00 – The Real Estate Bitcoin & Wealth Expo: Yes, That Happened
25:00 – David’s $15,000 Lesson from Nortel
30:00 – Investor-Built Cities and What They Left Behind
35:00 – What Real Professionals Are Doing Now
40:00 – Who’s Actually Buying and Selling in 2025?

Also in This Episode:

  • David breaks down how a bank draft photo, a Rolex, and a Mercedes became the defining image of an entire era
  • Why hype is so easy to believe when everyone else is making money
  • A straight-up look at what it takes to succeed in a market that isn’t doing anyone any favours


Subscribe to The Last Honest Realtor on YouTube or your preferred podcast app. Drop a comment if you lived through the sockless era—or if you’re just glad we’ve moved on.