Property leads are cheap to collect and easy to lose. A valuation form takes seconds to fill in, the reply comes the next morning, and by then the seller may have called another agent. Closing that gap is most of what a digital marketing agency for real estate should do, and it's how we approach the job: Facebook and Google ads, landing pages and lead follow-up for agents, developers and letting agents in the US and UK, judged on appointments and signed listings, not clicks.
- For real estate agents and brokers, property developers, and letting and property management firms, in the US and UK.
- Facebook and Instagram ads built inside Meta's housing category, which covers the US, Canada, the UK and much of Europe.
- Google Ads for people already searching to buy, rent or sell in your area.
- Every lead gets a reply in seconds, at any hour, and a named person who calls them.
- Monthly services run $500-$2,000 a month, month-to-month. Websites and landing pages run $1,200-$15,000.
Why real estate marketing stalls
- Hundreds of leads, a handful of appointments. Instant forms with every detail pre-filled, no qualifying question, and a first reply the next day.
- Ads rejected or restricted. Housing ads run without the special ad category, or built on age and ZIP targeting the category doesn't allow.
- Boosted listings with plenty of likes. Boosts that optimize for engagement, so the people who react are rarely the people about to move.
- No idea which ads won a listing. Tracking that stops at the form, and a CRM that never tells Google or Meta which lead signed.
Housing ad rules, in plain English
Meta treats an ad as a housing ad when it promotes or links to a housing opportunity or related service: sale, rental and temporary housing listings, mortgages, appraisals, and real estate and house hunting services. You must choose the housing special ad category if you advertise from the US, or if your audience is in the US, Canada or a list of European countries that includes the United Kingdom. Skip it and the ad may be rejected.
- Location. Country, region, state, province or city, but not ZIP or postal code, and no excluded areas. A city, address or pin gets an expanded radius; Meta's own example is 15 miles around a US city center.
- Age and gender. Ages are fixed at 18 to 65+, and every gender is included.
- Audiences. Lookalike audiences, saved audiences, audience exclusions and some interests are limited or unavailable.
- Valuation ads count. Appraisal services are on Meta's list, so a "what's my home worth" ad is a housing ad too.
Google's personalized advertising policy stops housing ads shown in the US and Canada from targeting by gender, age, parental status, marital status or ZIP code. UK estate agents aren't covered by that Google rule, but they are covered by Meta's.
The law sits underneath both. In the US, the Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to publish a housing ad that indicates a preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin, so the words and pictures matter as much as the targeting. In the UK, consumer law treats leaving out something a buyer needs to know as a misleading omission. This is a summary, not legal advice. The practical upshot: the ad does the selecting. Name the area, the price band and the kind of property, and the right people pick themselves.
What our agency does for real estate
- Facebook ads for local businesses. You need seller valuations, buyer leads or landlord sign-ups, inside the housing rules.
- Google Ads for local businesses. People nearby search for homes, agents or selling a house, and find someone else.
- Local SEO. You want the map pack and reviews working in every neighborhood you cover.
- Landing pages. A launch, an open house or a valuation offer needs its own page.
- Lead follow-up and automation. Leads arrive at night and on weekends, and nobody replies until the morning.
- AI search visibility. Sellers ask ChatGPT which local agent to use, and your name isn't in the answer.
Three property businesses, three different jobs
- Agents and brokers. Sellers are usually the scarce lead, not buyers. A valuation offer and a quick, personal reply win the appointment that becomes a listing.
- Property developers. A launch has a deadline: a register-interest page, model home or show home visits, search ads on the development's name, and follow-up until reservation.
- Letting and property management. Landlords bring the revenue and tenants bring the volume, so most of the budget usually belongs on landlords.
How a property lead system fits together
The ad, declared correctly
Housing category selected, location set by city or region, and creative that names the area and the offer.
A form or page that qualifies
One or two questions before submit: buying, selling or renting, and when. Lead forms or a landing page covers which to use.
A reply in seconds, a call the same day
The first email goes out at any hour, and a named agent gets an alert with the lead's answers. Why Facebook leads don't answer covers the call.
Follow-up that lasts months
Sellers and landlords decide slowly. Useful emails and local market notes keep you in the conversation.
Results back to the ad platforms
Appointments and signed listings sent back to Meta through the Conversions API and to Google as offline conversions, so both learn which leads become business.
One number each week
Cost per appointment and listings won, by source. Leads and clicks are diagnostics, not results.
Proof: what we can show you
We haven't published any real estate client work, and we won't borrow results from other industries to suggest we have. What we can show is the part that matters most in property: the minutes after someone fills in a form.
Nurture is the lead follow-up app we built and run for clients' Facebook and Instagram lead forms. It routes each lead by their answers, sends the first email within seconds at any hour, alerts a named person and runs the follow-up after. The build note shows when its first live leads arrived, what broke, and the 20-point checklist we hold any follow-up setup against. Our case studies cover how we run the ad accounts themselves.
What it costs
| Service | Price | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Ads management (Google, Facebook or Instagram) | $500-$2,000 a month | Month-to-month, no setup fee, ad spend paid straight to the platform |
| SEO and AI search visibility | $500-$2,000 a month | Month-to-month, no long-term contract |
| Website, landing page or store build | $1,200-$15,000, fixed price | Agreed in writing; 50% to begin, balance on delivery |
Entry plans start at $500 a month. Full details are on our pricing page.
Who we're not for
- Anyone who wants leads by the hundred and has nobody to call them.
- Anyone who needs age, gender or ZIP targeting the housing rules don't allow. We won't build around the category.
- Budgets that can't cover real ad spend alongside a management fee.
Guides for property marketers
- Facebook leads not answering the phone?: why it happens, and the follow-up that fixes it
- Facebook lead forms vs landing pages: when each wins, and how to test them on cost per customer
- Facebook ads not getting leads? 9 checks: from leads stuck in Meta to the wrong objective
- Boosted post vs Ads Manager: why boosted listings bring likes rather than sellers
- How to get recommended by AI search: a checklist for showing up in AI answers
Questions agents ask a marketing agency
What does a digital marketing agency for real estate do?
It brings in buyers, sellers and landlords through Google, Facebook and Instagram, works inside the housing ad rules, and makes sure every lead is answered fast. It should report cost per appointment, not clicks or likes.
Do Facebook's housing ad rules apply to UK estate agents?
Yes. Meta asks for the housing special ad category when your audience is in the US, Canada or a list of European countries that includes the United Kingdom, with the same targeting limits. Google's housing restrictions cover the US and Canada only.
Can I target real estate ads by ZIP code, age or lookalike audience?
Not in a Facebook or Instagram housing campaign in the countries Meta covers: no ZIP or postal codes, ages fixed at 18 to 65+, every gender included, and lookalikes limited or unavailable. Google bars gender, age, parental status, marital status and ZIP targeting for housing ads in the US and Canada.
Should real estate agents use Facebook ads or Google Ads?
Google Ads first when people in your area already search for homes, agents or selling a house. Facebook and Instagram for sellers and landlords who aren't searching yet, and for launches and open houses. Judge both on cost per appointment.
How fast should agents follow up a property lead?
In minutes, not hours. Leads often arrive in the evening and on weekends, so the first reply should go out automatically within seconds, with an alert to a named agent who calls the same day.
How much does real estate marketing cost?
With us, ads or SEO management runs $500-$2,000 a month, month-to-month, with ad spend paid straight to Google or Meta. Websites and landing pages are fixed-price and run $1,200-$15,000.
Do you work with property developers and letting agents?
Yes. Developers need launches with a deadline and follow-up until reservation. Letting agents usually grow when landlords sign up, so that's where most of the budget goes.
Want to know what your leads cost per appointment, and how long they wait for a first reply? Book a strategy call and we'll trace it with you.