Facebook Ads for Real Estate: A Step-by-Step Guide for Agents

According to the (NAR), Facebook (87%) is the most-used platform for real estate professionals, followed by Instagram (62%), LinkedIn (48%), and YouTube (25%). So in this new digitalize era, you need to have a strong online presence through social media platforms.

In this real estate market, you need to advertise your expertise to grab potential buyers. There are various online marketing strategies like- Search Ads (PPC/SEM), Display Ads, Email Marketing Ads, Influencer/Sponsored Ads, Video ads, Social Media Ads and so on. But among them, Facebook ads for real estate are the most effective to attract potential clients. Facebook ads have an average conversion rate of 9.21%, significantly surpassing other social platforms. Facebook offers multiple ad formats, including image, video, carousel, and slideshow ads for real estate marketing.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn from the basics, like how to create a business page, set up Ads Manager, and how to work with the special rules for housing ads. Then you can develop ad copy and high-quality images to attract your local market and run new campaigns to get more leads.

Moreover, you will learn how to use Facebook’s unmatched targeting power with both a single-listing carousel ad and a lead form for a large audience. So, being a real estate agent, you can create qualified leads, develop your brand, and gradually expand your business with proficiency in Facebook Ads for real estate.

What are Facebook Ads for Real Estate?

Facebook real estate ads are audience-based marketing strategies for realtors to connect with prospective buyers on the social media platform. These advertisements use various Facebook ad formats, such as carousel facebook ad, video, or collection ads, to enhance your branding. Facebook delivers the lowest average cost per lead in real estate at $13.87, making it the most effective platform for agents. You can target people based on where they live, what they like, and how they act. Real estate Facebook ads help to generate qualified leads, drive traffic to real estate listings, and build brand awareness. Capture attention by promoting ‘Just Sold’ listings to build credibility and demonstrate success in the market.The right Facebook real estate ads campaign strategy is very important to grab the attention of your potential buyers.

You can go Facebook library to see what other real estate facebook ads are ongoing-

You need to select country then “Select ad category” and type the term you want to search for

How Much Do Facebook Real Estate Ads Cost?

Real estate Facebook ads provide exceptional value that can transform your business. Here’s what you need to know about costs and why this investment makes perfect sense:

Current Facebook Real Estate Ad Costs (2025)

• Cost Per Click (CPC): For real estate, it is $1.81—much less than many other sectors and far less expensive than conventional advertising.
• Cost Per Lead (CPL): Real estate at $12.43, making it one of the most cost-effective industries for Facebook lead generation, with real estate having the lowest cost per lead among major business categories.
• Cost of a Facebook Ad: Most Facebook ads cost between $0.26 and $0.50 per click and $1.01 and $3.00 per 1,000 interactions and $0.00 to $0.25 per page like.

Why Facebook Ads Are a Game-Changer for Real Estate

• Exceptional Performance: Real Estate and Sports & Recreation both had high click-through rates (CTRs) on their Facebook ads, at 3.71%.
• Superior Targeting: Unlike traditional marketing, where you cast a wide net hoping to catch interested buyers, Facebook’s advanced targeting lets you reach people actively looking for homes in specific neighborhoods, price ranges, and life situations.
• Flexibility with your budget: Facebook’s platform can work for you whether you start with $500 a month or go up to $2,000 or more.

The Compelling Business Case

Consider this: If you’re spending $12.43 per lead and convert just 2-3% of those leads into clients, you’re looking at a customer acquisition cost of roughly $400-600 per client. For real estate agents earning $3,000-15,000+ per transaction, this represents an incredible return on investment.

Required Minimum Investment: Lead generation campaigns can start at $70 over seven days, which means you can try it out with just $10 a day.

As you can see from the numbers, real estate consistently does better on Facebook than most other industries. Facebook ads aren’t just an option for real estate agents anymore—they’re becoming necessary to stay competitive in today’s digital market because they have the lowest cost per lead, the highest click-through rates, and the most precise targeting options.

The question isn’t whether you can afford to advertise on Facebook—it’s whether you can afford not to when your competitors are already leveraging these remarkably cost-effective lead generation opportunities.

How Do Facebook Ads Work for the Real Estate Market?

Facebook boasts over 3 billion active users, providing one of the largest online audiences for businesses. Real estate Facebook ads during peak seasons can increase the potential for quicker sales.

• Optimizing Meta Ads Manager: Facebook ads empower real estate agents to connect with potential buyers, renters, or sellers through targeted advertisements on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. You can take help from Meta Ads Manager to generate interactive advertisements—like carousel ads, video ads, or single image ads—to display the properties. Meta Ads Manager is Facebook’s advertising platform. It has advanced optimization, budgeting, and performance tools so that you can make and keep an eye on ad campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. It also provides detailed analytics and reports to track the success of your ads. Moreover, Meta Ads Manager allows for A/B testing to determine the most effective strategies for your advertising campaigns.
• Audience-Based Targeting: Facebook ads help you to reach a wider audience according to demographics, interests (like house hunting or home improvement), behaviours, and more. Behavioural targeting on Facebook includes options for individuals identified as ‘likely to move.’ Legal protections for privacy and nondiscrimination are upheld when ads are shown in the Special Ad Category—Housing. Advertisers can create Custom Audiences on Facebook to target specific groups.
• Showcase Properties Visually: Moreover, you can use techniques like carousel ads, video ads, and collection ads. These Facebook ads can help you to demonstrate your various luxurious properties.
• Generate leads flawlessly: Real estate Facebook ads generate qualified leads more easily than other ads. Real estate agents can gather contact details directly from Facebook. So it’s less time-consuming and more efficient than traditional approaches.
• Affordable and Scalable Marketing: You can see results from Facebook ads even if you only have a small budget. You can turn up or down ads at any time based on how well they’re doing.
• Retargeting and Remarketing: Realtors can keep track of things like website visits, property views, and lead submissions with tools like Facebook Pixel. This helps retarget ads and makes them work better. Facebook ads are a cheap way to reach your target audience, who are really interested in buying or renting a home. Even with so many competitors, these Facebook ads for real estate can increase exposure in the market.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Facebook Ads for Real Estate

In today’s competitive real estate market, Facebook ads are a powerful way for real estate agents and businesses to connect with potential buyers, home sellers, and prospective clients. Whether you’re promoting real estate listings, luxury properties, or helping people with house hunting, running a smart Facebook ad campaign can generate more leads, drive traffic, and grow your business.

Here’s a complete step-by-step guide to creating compelling Facebook ads for the real estate industry, using the best ad types, strategy, and tools.

What are The Requirements for Facebook Real Estate Ads?

Basic Setup Requirements:

• Facebook Business Manager account
• Facebook Page for your real estate business
• The ad account has to be linked to your authentic business
• Valid payment method (credit card or PayPal)

Legal and Compliance Requirements:

• Real Estate License (must be active and valid)
• Fair Housing Act compliance – your ads cannot discriminate based on protected classes
• Local real estate advertising regulations compliance
• Proper disclosures and disclaimers as required by your state/jurisdiction

Content and Creative Requirements:

• You should use high-quality photos and videos.
• Compelling ad copy that follows Facebook’s advertising policies
• Clear call-to-action (schedule showing, contact agent, etc.)
• Landing page or contact form for lead capture

Special Considerations for Real Estate:

• Ads for housing on Facebook must follow certain rules.
• You’ll need to use Facebook’s Special Ad Category for housing.
• Targeting options are limited compared to other industries due to fair housing laws.
• You can’t target people based on their age, gender, zip code, or any other protected feature.

Recommended Additional Tools:

• Professional photography/videography
• Lead management system or CRM
• Budget allocated for ad spend (typically $500+ monthly minimum for meaningful results)
• Knowledge of your local market and target buyer personas

Step 1: Set Up Your Facebook Business Page

You should have a Facebook Business Page to run real estate Facebook ads.This will increase trust, show social proof, and help you to reach local customers.

1. Go to facebook.com/pages/create
2. Choose Business or Brand
3. Then you need to add your business name, logo, and cover photo
4. Don’t forget to include your contact info, services (like virtual tours or open houses), and a call-to-action (e.g., “Contact Us”)

Step 2: Create a Facebook Ad Account

If you want to begin creating ads, you require a Facebook Ad Account via Ads Manager.

• Connect it to your Facebook business page.
• Then add a payment method.
• Put in the time zone and money.
• Select your campaign goal, like what will you want through real estate facebook ads
• If you want to display several real estate listings, go to the Commerce Manager. Businesses can use Facebook’s Commerce Manager to set up and run web shops, product listings, and shopping experiences on Facebook and Instagram. You can easily do social shopping by adding products, keeping track of your stock, processing orders, and connecting to e-commerce sites.

Step 3: Go to Facebook Ad Manager and Click “Create” for start new campaign

In Facebook Ad Manager, click “+ Create” to start a new campaign.

Step 4: Choose Your Campaign Objective

The campaign objective is the most important part of real estate Facebook ads. You need to figure out what you want to gain through these Facebook ads. You will see the following options and choose according to your requirements-

• Lead Generation: In this segment, you can get contact info from home buyers.
• Traffic: It will link individuals to a real estate listing or landing page.
• Engagement/Video Views: These will give you the best virtual tours or brand awareness.
• Conversions: If you have a website that monitors transactions like bookings

After choosing your “Campaign objective” you should click on “Manual Leads Campaign” and then you get “Special Ad Category“

Enable Special Ad Category

This is the most important step for real estate Facebook ads. Facebook restricts audience targeting (e.g., by age, gender, ZIP code) for Housing ads to ensure fair housing practices. Enabling this is mandatory for real estate ads to avoid account penalties or ad rejection.

1. Then choose the “Housing”
2. After that, you can read and accept the housing advertising policy
3. This limits your targeting options but ensures compliance

You CANNOT target based on:

• Age (except 18+)
• Gender
• Zip code
• Detailed demographics
• Interests related to protected classes

You CAN target based on:

• Location (city/state level)
• General interests (home improvement, real estate)
• Behaviours (recent home buyers, frequent travellers)

Step 5: Define Your Target Audience

Although Meta gives advertisers unique audience targeting, the real estate sector is regarded as a Special Ad Category. For advertisers in the US or Canada, this is the rule to follow if they want to reach people in the US and its regions, Canada, the EU, and some European countries and provinces. 

New privacy laws and efforts to make sure everyone has the same chances in the housing market have led to this limited targeting. Before you begin advertising, it is best to find out what rules apply to you.

Even with audience-based limitations in the housing category, you can still target:

• You need to target a specific neighbourhood (e.g., San Francisco).
• Then you can focus on home buyers, home sellers, and renters.
• Interests: real estate, house hunting, luxury properties, rental price
• People who have interacted with your page or previous ad campaigns are part of custom audiences. You can go after these specific groups and customise your messaging and offerings to meet their needs and preferences. This personalised approach can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates within the housing category.

The more specific your target audience, the better your chances of connecting with qualified leads.

Set Location Targeting

1. Enter your service areas:
   • City names
   • Counties
   • Radius around specific addresses
2. Recommended radius: 25-50 miles from your office
3. Include/exclude specific areas as needed

Demographic Targeting

Limited options due to housing category:

• Age: 18+ (only option available)
• All genders (cannot specify)
• All languages or specific languages

Step 6: Creating Ad Creative

Best formats for real estate:

Visual appeal is very important in the real estate market. When your target audience sees some nice pictures of apartments, it automatically turns into buyers. So you need to focus on these Facebook ad types to attract your potential clients

• Single Image Ads- These ads consist of a high-quality photo with a short headline, brief description, and call-to-action. High-quality images and videos increase viewer engagement. These are the easiest to use ads to demonstrate a featured listing or promote an open house. Engaging visuals should showcase the property’s unique features. It is best for mobile users.
• Carousel Ad Format- You can display several pictures or videos in a scrollable format with links to each one using a carousel ad. These ads are great for real estate because they can show more than one property, room, or feature in one ad, like the kitchen, bathroom, or outside.
• Video Ads- Video ads connect with people on an emotional level and give them a real sense of the place. They’re great for telling stories and keeping people interested, especially mobile users and people buying their first house. Video marketing in real estate can increase inquiries by 403% compared to listings without video.
• Marketplace Ads : When advertisers use Facebook Marketplace Ads, they can choose exactly where their ads appear, and they will be seen by a lot of people who are looking for products and services. Realtors can now show off their listings in a place where buyers who are ready to buy are already searching. Along with paid ads, agents should use the Marketplace’s free listings to show off homes for sale or rent, complete with detailed descriptions, prices, locations, and ways to get in touch. The native design of Marketplace makes it easier to share, which makes it perfect for getting more people involved and exposed in the local real estate market.
• Collection Ads- This kind of mobile-only advertisement features product details, images, and videos and, when tapped, launches a brief full-screen experience. Collection ads allow users to browse without ever leaving Facebook. They’re great for showing off multiple items with information in one place. They make visual stories better in the real estate business and are more interesting.
• Lead Form Ads (Lead Generation Ads) – Facebook advertisements that incorporate a form to collect user names, contact information, and email addresses. This kind of advertisement is significant for generating real estate leads. They’re cost-effective, mobile-friendly, and quick to set up.It helps potential customers to get in touch immediately without requiring a website.You also don’t require a landing page for the lead generation objective, as the conversion occurs on Facebook.

Image Requirements:

• Minimum 1080×1080 pixels
• Less than 20% text overlay
• High-quality, professional photos
• Multiple angles of the property

Video Requirements:

• MP4 format recommended
• 15-60 seconds optimal length
• Include captions for silent viewing
• Professional quality preferred

Write Compelling Ad Copy

You can use just a few words to emphasise the main features of your real estate business. Moreover, you can use testimonials to enhance credibility and trust in ads. Moreover, the transparent ad copy develops trust with potential clients.

Primary Text Example:

🏡 JUST LISTED: Stunning 4BR/3BA Colonial in Prime Location!

✨ Features:

• Updated gourmet kitchen
• Spacious master suite
• Private backyard oasis
• Top-rated school district

📍 [Neighborhood Name] – $XXX,XXX

Ready to make this your dream home? Message me for a private showing!

#RealEstate #[CityName]Homes #JustListed

Headline: “Schedule Your Private Showing Today” Description: “Contact [Your Name] – Licensed Real Estate Professional”.The ideal length for ad headlines is between 40-80 characters.

Add Call-to-Action Button

Best CTA options:

• “Send Message”
• “Learn More”
• “Sign Up”
• “Contact Us”

Step 7: Set Your Marketing Budget and Schedule

After all the required steps were done, and now you have to set a daily or lifetime marketing budget. You have to design your budget according to your requirements.. If you set a small amount (₹200–₹500/day), it also brings more leads if your ad creative is strong.

You can control spending by:

• Choosing end dates
• You can stop underperforming ads anytime.
• Testing one single ad vs. multiple at once

Step 8: Launch and Monitor Your Ad Campaign

After implementing the real estate Facebook ads, you need to track your ad in Facebook Ad Manager. To track and optimize your Facebook ads, use Meta Ads Manager. First, install the Facebook Pixel on your website to monitor user actions like clicks, form submissions, or bookings. Then, you need to monitor the following aspects to get better results:

• Click-through rate (CTR)- Your click-through rate (CTR) shows how many people click on your ad after seeing it. It was found by multiplying (clicks x hits) by 100. More interesting ads have a higher CTR. A good Facebook ad CTR is usually between 1% and 2% across all businesses.
• Cost per qualified lead- A qualified lead is a potential customer who displays sincere interest in your product, meets your target requirements (budget, timeline, and needs), and has a higher chance of becoming a paying customer
• Which ad type is performing best (carousel, video, or image)? Then you need to go through which Facebook ad campaign runs well, and continue with that one.
• Use A/B testing: It compares two versions to see which performs better. You only change one thing at a time, like the image, headline, audience, or budget, and leave everything else the same. Then you use the best version to get the qualified leads.

8 Most Inspiring Real Estate Facebook Ad Examples

1. Home Central Singapore—Virtual Property Tours

Home Central from Singapore promotes one of its properties via Facebook Ads. The ad has a video tour that shows people around the property and answers all the questions a possible buyer might have about it. This immersive method lets potential buyers experience the property from afar, making an emotional connection with it before they decide to visit.

2. Gold Coast Estate

Australia’s Gold Coast Estate is great at Facebook ads because they combine very accurate local targeting with eye-catching creatives and data-driven optimization. Their ads are mainly shown in very nearby suburbs on Queensland’s Gold Coast, and they use carousel and video formats that are specific to what buyers want. Gold Coast Estate claims that their ads bring in $3 for every $1 they spend on them, which shows that they know how to use Facebook’s algorithm well by using multivariate testing and precise ad placement on both mobile and desktop. Their smart use of audience data, changing content, and metrics that focus on return on investment makes them a leader in real estate social advertising.

3. Harry Norman Realtors

Harry Norman Realtors, which is based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, is known for having some of the best real estate Facebook ads. A mix of high-quality visuals, localized messaging, and targeted stories that appeal to wealthy homebuyers makes their campaigns different from others. They effectively use carousel and video ads to display luxury listings while complying with Facebook’s Special Ad Category requirements. Their ads are very specific, mobile-friendly, and come with strong calls to action that get people to actually do something. Harry Norman Realtors is the best at real estate advertising on Facebook because they combine smart digital strategy with elegant aesthetics.

4. Boston Proper Real Estate—Detailed Information Strategy

Boston Proper Real Estate does a wonderful job at this by giving a very detailed description with all of their properties. In the case below, they tell their audience about the rental price, times, and location, as well as what comes with the ad (like heat, water, etc.). Transparency increases trust and saves time for both agents and prospects.

5. Zac McHardy—Facebook Live Virtual Tours

Zac McHardy—They use Facebook Live to create a virtual tour of a property. Live streaming creates urgency and authentic interaction. People who watch the virtual show can ask questions in real time, which makes them feel like they are being personally helped.

6. Flyhomes—Educational Content Marketing

This real estate Facebook ad from Flyhomes is an invitation to a Homebuying 101 webinar. Obviously, they inform their prospects about “buying now vs. preparing to buy later.” The educational strategy presents agents as dependable consultants rather than obtrusive salespeople.

7. Windermere Real Estate

American real estate company Windermere Real Estate is known for having some of the best Facebook ads in the business. High-quality images, targeted advertising that is specific to the area, and emotional stories that show off not only homes but also ways of life are what make them successful. They frequently use lead form ads, video walk-throughs, and carousel formats to engage users at different stages of the buying journey. Windermere also complies easily with Facebook’s Special Ad Category policies, ensuring broad reach without policy violations. Their advertising strategy shows that they know a lot about both the U.S. housing market and how people use the internet.

8. Weichert Realtors – Market-Specific Targeting

Some of the best Facebook ads in the business are run by Weichert Realtors, a well-known real estate company in the United States. Their campaigns are appreciated for their focus on localized targeting, eye-catching property exhibits, and persuasive copy that targets both buyers and sellers. Weichert gets qualified leads and promotes listings across multiple regions by using Facebook’s Lead Ads and Carousel formats. Their uniform branding, mobile-optimized graphics, and use of Facebook Pixel for retargeting make them a standard in real estate digital marketing, especially for agents looking to scale online lead generation.

What are The Best Tools for Real Estate Facebook Ads?

You need some tools to monitor real estate Facebook ads. These tools help you create visually appealing ads, track performance, generate qualified leads, and give you a competitive advantage in the real estate market.

1. Meta Ads Manager – This is the main tool for managing, tracking, and creating campaigns. You need for reporting, budgeting, and targeting.
2. Facebook Pixel – It keeps track of what people do on your website, which helps with optimization and retargeting.
3. Canva – You can create excellent social media graphics, carousels, and real estate images with Canva, even if you don’t have any experience.
4. AdEspresso – This tool is ideal for real estate teams as it streamlines reporting, performance analysis, and ad testing.
5. Zapier – It helps you to integrate Facebook Lead Forms with CRMs such as HubSpot or Google Sheets to automate lead collection.

What are The Facebook Ads Mistakes You Should Avoid?

1. Ineffective Targeting Technique: It is against fair housing regulations to target protected categories or use audiences that are too wide. To attract high-quality prospective consumers, concentrate on location-based targeting and relevant hobbies like “home improvement” or “real estate investing.”
2. Disregarding Special Ad Categories: Real estate advertisements that do not choose the “Housing” category will be rejected right away. This requirement for compliance ensures adherence to fair housing laws while restricting targeting.
3. Low-Quality Creative Assets: If you use low-quality images, it will reflect poorly on your brand and may deter potential buyers from engaging with your ad. Make sure to use high-quality, professional images that showcase the property in its best light.
4. Insufficient Allocation of the Budget: Don’t set budgets under $20 to produce significant outcomes. Facebook’s algorithm is unable to properly optimise your real estate advertising due to insufficient expenditure constraints.
5. No way to follow up on leads: Ad spend goes to waste when leads are collected without quick response tools. For the best conversion rates, set up automatic replies and a way to get in touch with new leads within 15 minutes.
6. Testing and optimisation not done enough: Running only one version of an ad without A/B testing different titles, pictures, or groups stops campaigns from getting better. Test different parts of your business all the time to see what works best for your target market.FAQs

Frequently Asked Question

Let’s Wrap Up

So, at the end of our discussion about Facebook ads for real estate, I can assume you got all the answers. As of now, Facebook has the most users, so it is very relevant to run ads on Facebook. It ultimately depends on your target audience and advertising goals. Though you can run your own Facebook campaign, there are also many advertising agencies that specialize in social media marketing and can help you optimize your campaign for better results. There are professional Facebook Ads agency that can provide expert guidance tailored to your brand’s specific needs. They design your whole Facebook ads campaign from scratch and monitor its performance to ensure maximum effectiveness. But it’s up to you how you want to run and manage your ads on Facebook.

But one thing: don’t waste time thinking so much; Facebook ads definitely give you leads and don’t disappoint you in terms of results.

Additional Resources:

• SEO for Real Estate: A Step-by-Step Blueprint to Higher Rankings
• A Beginner’s Guide to Real Estate PPC Advertising
• Google Local Services Ads for Realtors: Everything You Need to Know
• 7 Ways to Use Social Media Marketing for Real Estate: Get New Clients