Ways to Generate Real Estate Buyer Leads

In this article:

• How to find buyers for real estate with paid advertising
• How to find real estate buyers with non-paid advertising

Leads, contacts, prospects — whatever your terminology may be, real estate buyer leads are the foundation of your business. You can generate real estate buyer leads through a paid online service, like social advertising, or through offline means such as referrals and campaigns. Bret Calltharp, a noted expert who trains real estate agents, recommends using three to four methods of lead generation to maximize your reach. No matter the approach, obtaining real estate buyer leads is crucial to consistently making sales. This guide covers both traditional and cutting-edge methods for solving the industry’s biggest question — how to find buyers for real estate.

How to find buyers for real estate with paid advertising

Paid advertising connects you with a larger demographic, ensuring lots of eyes on you and your product. When creating a paid ad, be sure to link back to your IDX website or landing page to capture leads. Here are five paid advertising strategies to generate real estate buyer leads:

1.  Create targeted social media ad campaigns

Social media networks allow you to pay for engagements and boost ads for greater visibility. When creating a post or sharing on social, it’s important to maintain a consistent voice across all networks. Make sure all shared content is engaging and relevant to buyers in your market.

Facebook ads

With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the best social platform to connect to a large demographic and link traffic back to your website. Facebook tracks people's interests, which means you can target people interested in buying a home. Launch a Facebook ad using a keyword or category like 'real estate' or target a narrow group with a phrase like 'buy a home in Seattle.'

Promoted tweets

Twitter offers a pay-for-engagement platform. Successful promoted tweets could include market updates, listing features or a link to a blog post.

2.  Promote listings with Google Ads

Bid on long-tail keywords (phrases of three or more words) that are relevant and specific to your market. For example, if you’re marketing homes in Seattle, bid on keyword phrases that include the location or type of home, such as:

• Buy homes in Seattle
• Buy houses near me
• Buy luxury home in Seattle
• How to buy a home in Seattle

Because long-tail keywords are more specific than single keywords, they have a higher conversion value. In other words, bidding on specific queries like those bulleted above will help you target a qualified buyer. These keywords can be pretty expensive when you’re bidding against larger companies. One way around that is to bid on keywords that feature smaller neighborhood locations, like 'buy houses in Greenwood' or 'buy a home in Beacon Hill.'

3.  Purchase an IDX lead-generating website

An IDX website generates real estate buyer leads by allowing shoppers to search for homes. The IDX (or Internet Data Exchange) taps into MLS listings, providing accurate information. 

4.  Build landing pages to capture real estate buyer leads

With less distraction than an IDX website, a landing page is a simple solution to capture real estate buyer leads. Landing pages let you host digital listing flyers with contact information. That means that finding buyers for real estate will be easier — because they’ll find you! Landing pages can be customized with your own URL (purchased through your website provider) and can be shared through social media ads to drive traffic.

5.  Become a Zillow Premier Agent

Becoming a Zillow Premier Agent is a great option for anyone who's serious about increasing their contacts and growing their local real estate business. You’ll be able to purchase an affordable share of voice in your market. In addition, the service offers live connections — allowing agents to connect with home shoppers when it’s convenient for both parties. That means less cold-calling and more sales.

How to find real estate buyers with non-paid advertising

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to generate real estate buyer leads. Here are some proven methods for real estate buyer lead generation that don’t cost anything more than your time:

1. Find buyers for real estate within your network

An agent’s network, or sphere of influence, consists of online and offline connections. Agents will often expand their networks outside of their target area so they can pass buyer leads to other real estate agents in that location. This creates a flow of free real estate buyer leads. Consider expanding your network with these tactics:

• Join a professional group (consider service clubs, the local chamber of commerce or other networking associations).
• Connect with other agents online.
• Build an agent partnership.

2.  Be a referral for real estate leads 

Referrals are free real estate buyer leads that are passed to you by others. Referrals often come from previous clients, which is why it’s so important to stay in touch with buyers after they’ve purchased their homes. Here are a few fresh ideas to keep referrals flowing in:

Present mini-CMAs or market updates. Keep clients informed about their house value and the state of their housing market by updating them a few times each year.

Give a housewarming gift. Consider waiting a month or so and bringing a gift directly to your buyer's home. A special door knocker for the front door or a framed drawing of their home are gifts that will last for years and bring your name to mind when they're discussing real estate with potential referrals.

Socialize with local small businesses. Take a walk to some local businesses, make a purchase, introduce yourself — and then see if you can leave a stack of your business cards. Doing this regularly will make an impression on business owners, and they’ll come to see you as part of the community.

3.  Use niche marketing to target real estate leads

Niche marketing targets specific types of buyers. Consider first-time buyers, military or veteran buyers, buyers looking for a home on a golf course or any other groups of buyers who share an occupation or interest. Figure out what’s most important to your target buyer and become an expert on that topic. This will help you tailor your messaging to the right group.

4.  Geo-farm your real estate buyer leads

Geographical farming (or geo-farming) is an effective strategy for real estate buyer lead generation. This approach works well for small areas like subdivisions but can also be effective for larger residential neighborhoods. These geo-farming tactics are smart ways to find real estate buyer leads:

Direct mail. Send market reports, 'just listed' or 'just sold' notices, newsletters, postcards, flyers or even personalized or handwritten notes.

Door hangers. Announce an open house or a recent sale in the neighborhood, or promote a seasonal deal.

Local events. Host a seminar for first-time home buyers or plan an event for buyers in your area. You can collect information from the attendees and follow up after the event.

Local print ads. Promote current listings or open houses while distributing your contact info.

5.  Cold-call your buyer leads

Few things can get real estate agents debating more passionately than a discussion about cold-calling for real estate buyer lead generation. No point debating here — some people do it and some don’t, but successful callers will almost always tell you that volume is the most important factor for generating leads from cold-calling. Make sure you understand the Do Not Call registry and its rules — and the ramifications for breaking those rules.

6.  Start an email drip campaign

Nurture your network with market updates and service reminders, and answer any questions your buyers might have based on their stage in the process.

7.  Find buyer leads for real estate by door knocking

Walk around your farming area and just start knocking on doors. If you're sending info to a home, it’s a good idea to knock on the door at least once or twice per year. When the homeowner answers, introduce yourself as a Zillow Premier Agent and hand them an MLS sheet. You can ask owners if they’d like an update on their home values and obtain their email info for follow-up messages. It may sound old fashioned, but there’s a reason it’s been around for a long time — it works.

8.  Connect on social media

Millions of people plug into Facebook, Twitter and Instagram every day. Gain exposure by connecting with home buyers through social media.

Facebook

Facebook offers organic ways to find buyers in real estate online:

Identify influencers who are attracting home buyers with their posts. Commenting on their posts or liking their page is a perfect way to start interacting with them and get your name in front of a large audience.

Share content that buyers care about. Post new listings on your timeline or share useful blog posts about how to renovate or buy a home.

Twitter

Tweet the same message you’d say in a promoted tweet and see what kind of engagement it gets. Twitter is also great for gaining exposure to buyers by interacting with other users.

Instagram

Share images of homes with a specific call to action or highlight a listing each week. Use the caption to direct users to your bio, which should contain a link to your landing page. Having a designated landing page keeps the user’s focus on the property and makes them more likely to provide their contact information.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is also great for networking and generating new leads. Maximize your LinkedIn presence by creating a professional and informative profile. Use the advanced search tool to identify potential contacts in your market, and make sure to engage with groups and share valuable content.