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Mônica Poplawski, owner and sole employee of Alphahouser, became the broker of Alphaville’s mansions by recording unscripted videos with the help of her son, and has already closed a sale of R$ 25 million with clients that include celebrities
The real estate broker and influencer Mônica Poplawski is one of the protagonists of the new real estate market program by Exame, “Behind the Brick,” in an episode published on July 8. When she started promoting millionaire mansions on social media and heard that no one would buy luxury property through TikTok, she responded with the phrase that became her trademark: “The rich kid is on TikTok.”
The numbers prove her right: Mônica Poplawski operates in the ultra-high-end market of Alphaville, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, with properties reaching R$ 110 million, and has almost 1.8 million followers on social media, according to Exame. The most delightful detail of the story is where she came from: from the stage of the man of “who wants money?”.
The stage assistant who pulled Silvio Santos out of the water tank
Long before selling mansions, Mônica Poplawski was a “stage assistant” for Silvio Santos and Gugu Liberato, a type of official stage assistant for the presenters, according to InfoMoney, which recounted her journey in a profile. She was the one who helped pull Silvio out of the water tank where he fell during a game on the Sunday show, a scene that entered TV history and was recalled in tributes to the presenter, according to InfoMoney.
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The SBT school became a competitive advantage. “Having worked in TV helped me a lot with communication, understanding editing, and having a presence when recording. But I always worked with sales, even when I was a stage assistant for Silvio and Gugu, because we only recorded on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays,” Mônica told InfoMoney.
From R$ 900 rentals to high-end during the pandemic
Mônica Poplawski’s start as a real estate broker, about 7 years ago, was far from luxurious. “I started with a small rental, of R$ 900,” recalled the broker to InfoMoney, and the first property sale only came after 1 and a half years in the profession. The turning point happened in 2020, when the demand from families confined for larger spaces created competition for the luxurious properties in Alphaville, with skyrocketing rents and waiting lists.
Mônica decided to stay in the segment for good. Today, according to InfoMoney, the rent of a property listed by Alphahouser, the brokerage she owns and is the sole employee of, does not go for less than R$ 13,000 and can reach R$ 200,000 per month, while for sale the cheapest is an apartment of R$ 1.3 million.
The showcase: Diamond Mansion of R$ 110 million, with 18 parking spaces and 13 bathrooms
The top of the catalog is impressive. The Diamond Mansion, the most expensive property in Alphaville, is for sale for R$ 110 million and has over 2,000 square meters, a garage for 18 cars, 13 bathrooms, 8 suites with the master being 200 square meters, a spa with a heated pool, and construction with Italian marble, according to InfoMoney. In the video presenting the house, Mônica Poplawski surprises by playing the grand piano of the property.
The list continues with the Tamboré 2 Mansion, of R$ 79 million, with 1,950 square meters, 15 covered parking spaces and a garage with a rotating base for car exhibitions, as well as an elevator for 8 people, and with the Tamboré 2 House, of R$ 55 million, with a living room with a 9-meter ceiling, a 450 square meter rooftop, and 25 parking spaces, still according to InfoMoney.
Unscripted, with her son behind the camera: the “reality show” that sells houses
The recording method is the opposite of million-dollar productions. The broker records most of the content with the help of her son, in single sequences and without a script, and has already run from a dog in the middle of a recording and got soaked by a luxury kitchen sink while showing its features, according to InfoMoney. “We arrive at the houses and what we see, we show and record. There is no script. It comes out spontaneous, informal. And I have noticed that this is what people like,” she says.
In the conversation with Exame, she explains the logic of selling to those who already have everything: “My client already has a house, which probably also costs millions. I need to create in them, through a video of mine, a desire to have a house they didn’t even know they wanted to buy, but that they will want to have.” And the audience that will never buy has a role in the business: according to InfoMoney, it is precisely the engagement of this audience that makes the content reach the buyers.
Whindersson, Maiara and Maraísa and the clients who don’t allow photos
The client portfolio includes famous people. The list of those who have rented or acquired mansions with Alphahouser includes Whindersson Nunes, the country duo Maiara and Maraísa, former Chapecoense goalkeeper Jakson Follmann, and YouTuber Camila Loures, according to InfoMoney. Confidentiality, however, is a rule: “We sign confidentiality agreements and often cannot disclose the name of who bought the property,” explains Mônica. “These are clients with whom I would love to appear in a photo, to say that I closed the sale, but they don’t allow it.”
The size of the checks explains the discretion. In 2024, a year that marked her career according to InfoMoney, Mônica made her biggest sale until then, a mansion for R$ 25 million, and closed another deal for R$ 14 million. In São Paulo, the commission usually equals 6% of the property’s value, normally divided among the brokers involved in the negotiation. “It’s common to spend more than a year working on the sale of a house, bearing all the work costs,” she says, citing ads, photos, videos, receptions, and even the requirement of a good car: she recently celebrated on social media the purchase of a BMW.
The other side of the coin: the broker of “finds” and the “run-down” apartment
The same episode of Exame shows the reverse strategy. Broker Henry Ebert, with about 150 thousand followers and videos that surpass 200 thousand views, gained popularity by showcasing finds, opportunities, and iconic and modernist apartments at fair prices in traditional neighborhoods of São Paulo, according to Exame. “These are real properties for real people. Sometimes, instead of spending a lot on new buildings, I find a run-down one to renovate and restore,” he says on the show.
From the 1970 grandma’s house sold at a low price to the Alphaville mansion valued at R$ 72 million that appears in the episode, the message from both is the same: on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, there is room for almost all niches of the real estate market, and the broker who appears every day in the feed reaches those who didn’t even know they wanted to buy first.
The Background: São Paulo Has Never Had So Many Properties for Sale
There is a market reason for so much creativity. São Paulo ended 2025 with 517,000 property listings for sale, compared to about 180,000 at the end of 2024, an increase of more than 180% over four consecutive quarters of growth, according to Exame. There has never been so much supply, and never so many people wanting to sell.
In this sea of listings, waiting for the customer to enter the real estate agency has become a recipe for empty shelves. Here’s the observation from this newsroom, duly noted: the former telemarketer understood before most that the luxury property showcase has changed address, moved from the printed magazine to the 6-inch screen.
From the SBT stage to the Diamond Mansion, the story of Mônica Poplawski shows that a real estate agent who knows how to hold an audience’s attention succeeds in any market.
Tell us in the comments: have you ever found yourself watching a mansion tour you’ll never buy, or do you think million-dollar properties are really sold with a handshake?
