4 proven ways to use paid ads in real estate

The untapped potential of ads in real estate

If you are an agent and you are not running Facebook and Instagram ads, you are leaving money on the table, often with almost no one competing for it. One example from our clients: Darek earned more than PLN 110,000 in a single month of campaigning from the sale of an apartment in Spain, after spending about PLN 2,500 on ads.

Another client, Monika, works in Bydgoszcz, a mid-sized Polish city where almost no agents advertise on Facebook. In her first month she signed agreements for 5 properties and has since sold 3 of them. What she spent on working with us came back tenfold.

Below are four ways to use Meta ads in real estate and the kind of results you can expect. All figures come from our campaigns in Poland and are given in Polish złoty (PLN), as reported.

Way #1: ads that bring you sellers

To stay in business and earn well, you need steady cash flow. That means keeping the top of your pipeline full, in other words winning new listings. This is where we start with every agent.

How it works

The campaign targets property owners who want to sell or rent out, depending on your specialisation. Start with the popular segments: there are far more apartment owners than owners of commercial units, and they pay back faster.

Keep it simple

You do not need a website or a landing page for this. Two simple options are enough:

• An ad with a “Call now” button. The easiest format, because people can call straight away. The catch: many click, but not all of them call.
• Instant forms. Our recommended option. In the basic version it takes 3–4 taps to leave contact details, and there are far fewer empty clicks.

Isn't the market already crowded?

Many agents assume it is. Take Bydgoszcz again. The Facebook audience there is under 350,000 people. The leading Polish property portal listed almost 190 agencies in the city, yet the Meta Ad Library showed only 6 of them advertising.

In other words, about 97% of the agencies in that city competed for clients by cold calling, and only around 3% used ads. It is worth checking the Ad Library for your own area.

There is another difference. Cold calling puts you in competition with other agents for properties that are already on the market. With ads you reach owners who are only thinking about selling and do not yet have a listing with an unrealistic price.

Real results and costs

• Bydgoszcz: 76 leads in 2 months on a PLN 2,500 budget, under PLN 31 per contact. Result: six signed agreements and four properties sold.
• Elbląg: 25 contacts on a PLN 912 budget, which turned into two agreements.
• Warsaw: contacts at PLN 21 each.
• Kraków: more than 30 enquiries on a monthly budget of PLN 1,600.

Way #2: ads that promote your listings

Winning listings does not pay the bills on its own; you still have to sell them. Portals often do this job better, but a small budget behind your listings extends their reach, puts them in front of new buyers and helps you stand out in the eyes of sellers.

Why it is worth it

Most serious developers use social media ads to promote their projects. Not because other channels are not enough, but because they think about their business long term.

If you want to stay in the market for years and grow your margin, you need to think ahead and make your work more efficient.

A real example

In June 2023 we promoted a new development in Wilczyce, just outside Wrocław. We recorded a one-minute video with the agent and added drone footage. We spent just PLN 333 and got 65 contacts.

For comparison, the leading property portal brought about 120 enquiries a month, at a cost of up to PLN 4,000. In the end those PLN 333 led to the sale of two terraced houses and an apartment of over 100 m², with a total commission of about PLN 40,000.

Way #3: ads that find investors

One of our agents moved to Spain and sells apartments there to Polish investors. How do you find those clients? Either you already have a large network of wealthy people, or you put around PLN 2,500 a month into ads and look for a handful of serious buyers who are willing to fly over.

Case study

With a budget of just under PLN 2,500 we reached more than 30,000 potential investors. 217 of them asked to talk and left their contact details. We even had to pause the campaign because the agent could not keep up with the calls, especially once some people had already booked flights.

Two months of this on-and-off campaign led to two apartments sold and more than a dozen meetings booked. The commission: €24,500.

The principle carries over to any market that sells to buyers from abroad: run the campaign in the countries your buyers actually come from.

Way #4: building your personal brand

An ad does not always have to sell something. You can use it to grow your personal brand and reach a wider group of potential clients.

That is how Mateusz uses ads himself: no sales ads, just reaching more agents. As a result, he can choose who to work with and focus on the clients who fit best.

What your results depend on

Will you get similar results? That depends on several factors.

What you control

• Campaign type and settings. Optimise for real contacts, not empty clicks.
• Budget. Real estate leads are among the most expensive; in these campaigns they averaged over PLN 40. With a very small budget, Meta's algorithm may not get enough data.
• Ad format. Video works much better than static images for winning contacts. For promoting listings, a photo carousel can be more effective.

What you don't control

• Competition in your city. If nobody is advertising, the road is open. If many agents are, it gets harder.
• Seasonality. Fewer leads come in during school holidays.
• Your own approach. Newer agents often do better, because they are less hesitant and take on a wider range of listings.

Summary

Meta ads give agents real potential. It was easier a year or two before this was recorded, but there is still more room than in cold calling. And you will only know whether it works for you once you test it.

If you are tired of working the same way as every other agent in town, ads are worth considering. They can raise your earnings and give you an edge in your market.