# Zillow, Facebook and Other Paid Real Estate Leads: How to Follow Up Each

> What Zillow, Realtor.com, Facebook lead ads, Google LSA, open houses and your IDX site charge, how each lead arrives, the first text and follow-up rhythm for each, and a worked cost-per-closing example.

Published 2026-01-05, updated 2026-10-12. By Out Nurture Team. Source: https://www.outnurture.com/blog/real-estate-marketing-2026

Paid real estate leads differ by source in three ways that decide how you follow up: how the lead reaches you (a live call, a form, a message), what you pay (per lead, per connection, or a share of your commission at closing), and how close the person is to buying. A Zillow live connection is a buyer on the phone now. A Facebook lead filled out a form while scrolling and may be a year out. Work both the same way and you either annoy the first or give up on the second too early.

Buying more leads is the expensive lever; converting the ones you already paid for is the cheap one. Prices below come from each vendor's own pages as of October 2026.

## The six sources at a glance

| Source | How it arrives | How you pay | Where the lead usually is |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Zillow Premier Agent | Live phone connection, tour request with a date and time, or an inbox lead | Per connection: average $223 in major metros, $139 elsewhere | Looking at a specific home, often wants to see it |
| Zillow Preferred (formerly Flex) | Zillow screens the buyer, then connects them to you live | Nothing upfront; 15% to 40% of your commission at closing | Confirmed ready to talk to an agent |
| Realtor.com Connections Plus | Buyer inquiries on listings in your market | Upfront; ZIP-level price shown in Realtor.com's Online Store | Asked about a listing |
| Realtor.com ReadyConnect Concierge | Text or push alert; first agent to claim gets a live transfer | Nothing upfront; referral fee on closed deals | Pre-screened on timeframe and pre-approval |
| Facebook and Instagram lead ads | Instant form inside the app | Ad auction; real estate averaged $13.74 per lead | Early; often months from buying |
| Google Local Services Ads | Phone call, message or booking request | Per valid lead, set by your bid and market | Searching for an agent now |
| Open houses | Sign-in sheet or app, in person | Your time and materials | Mixed: neighbors, early browsers, buyers with agents |
| Your website and IDX search | Registration to save a search or see details | Site, IDX feed and the ads that drive traffic | Browsing; behavior tells you more than the form |

## Zillow leads: Premier Agent and Zillow Preferred

**Premier Agent** sells connections. Zillow's [Premier Agent page](https://www.zillow.com/premier-agent/) says the price varies by market and home values, with an average cost per connection of $223 in major metro areas and $139 in non-major metros. Connections arrive as live calls to your phone, tour requests with a specific date and time, and nurtured connections to your inbox. Contracts are not required; Zillow offers 6-month contracts with discounts.

**Zillow Preferred (the new name for Flex).** Agents and teams in Flex on or before October 15, 2025 became Zillow Preferred partners automatically. It is invite-only, with no upfront cost; the one required expense is a Follow Up Boss subscription ([Zillow Preferred FAQ](https://www.zillow.com/preferred/faq/)). You pay a success fee when a deal closes. Zillow's [pricing page](https://www.zillow.com/preferred/pricing/) sets it by ZIP code and sale price, currently 15% to 40% of your commission, and 40% in every market for seller connections. Zillow can change the fee with 15 days' notice. Before connecting you, Zillow responds to the buyer's inquiry and confirms they're ready to work with an agent.

**What the lead wants:** a specific house, usually a showing. **First touch:** the call. Text right after it so the lead has your number saved and the next step in writing:

> "Hi Dana, it's Sam from Acme Realty, we just spoke. Confirmed for 412 Oak St Thursday at 5:30. I'll send the two similar homes nearby that I mentioned."

**Rhythm:** tour leads get a confirmation the same day and a reminder the morning of. If the house doesn't fit, ask what was off and send close matches within a day or two. Then weekly while they're touring. Buyers searched a median of 10 weeks in NAR's [2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers](https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/2025-11/2025-profile-of-home-buyers-and-sellers-highlights-11-04-2025.pdf), so a buyer who goes quiet in week two is usually still looking.

## Realtor.com: Connections Plus and ReadyConnect Concierge

**Connections Plus** sends you buyer inquiries on listings in your market and includes automated email and text response tracks ([Realtor.com](https://www.realtor.com/marketing/real-estate-lead-generation/connections-plus/)). Realtor.com describes it as a single upfront cost for a predictable volume of leads, and its [Online Store](https://www.realtor.com/marketing/online-store/) shows the price for your ZIP code without a sales call.

**ReadyConnect Concierge** works the other way ([Realtor.com](https://www.realtor.com/marketing/real-estate-managed-services/concierge/)). Its reps contact the inquirer, on average within 4 seconds, and screen for intent, timeframe and pre-approval. They then send a text or push alert to matching agents, and the first agent to claim it gets a live transfer. There's no upfront cost and you pay a referral fee on closed transactions; the percentage isn't on the public page, so read your agreement.

**First text for a Connections Plus inquiry** names the listing and asks one question:

> "Hi Marcus, Sam with Acme Realty. You asked about the 3-bed on Pine Ave. It's still active and there's a showing slot Saturday morning. Want it, or are you still narrowing down areas?"

**Rhythm:** if Realtor.com's own track already sent the first message, don't send a second greeting; reply with something new, like a showing time or a comparable listing. Day 0, day 1, day 3, day 7, then weekly for the first month and every two to four weeks after, each message tied to a new listing or a price change in their area. Concierge leads follow the Zillow live-connection pattern: the call is the first touch, then a written recap.

## Facebook and Instagram lead ads

**How it arrives:** the person taps an ad and submits an instant form without leaving the app. You get the lead in Leads Center, as a CSV, through the API or in a connected CRM. Meta keeps lead data for only 90 days, so pull it into your own system ([Meta Business Help](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/734933888443065)). If your CRM has no direct Meta integration, Meta supports connecting it through Zapier ([Meta Business Help](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/871411756318123)).

**Price:** an auction, not a list price. In LocaliQ's [2026 Facebook ads benchmarks](https://localiq.com/blog/facebook-advertising-benchmarks/), real estate lead campaigns averaged $13.74 per lead, among the lowest of any industry. Housing ads must run in Meta's housing special ad category. In the US that means no ZIP code targeting, no location exclusions, a minimum 15-mile radius around any city or pin, and age fixed at 18 to 65+ ([Meta developer docs](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/audiences/special-ad-category/)). Expect leads from well outside your farm area.

**What the lead knows:** the offer in the ad they tapped. Name it in the first text:

> "Hi Priya, it's Sam with Acme Realty. You asked for the list of homes under $450k in Northpark from our Facebook ad. I can text it here or email it. Which is easier?"

**Rhythm:** these leads are early, so plan for months. Day 0, day 1, day 3, day 7, day 14, then every two to four weeks with something specific: a new listing at their price, a price drop, a rate change that moves their budget. Ask timeframe early ("Are you hoping to move this year or next?") and slow down for anyone who says next year rather than dropping them.

## Google Local Services Ads

**How it arrives:** a searcher picks your profile from the Local Services ads in Google Search and calls, messages or sends a booking request. Google charges per valid lead, not per click ([Google: how leads work](https://support.google.com/localservices/answer/7195435?hl=en)). An answered call counts, as does a missed call during business hours where the caller waits more than 20 seconds, a text or email, or a booking request. Follow-ups with the same customer within 15 days aren't charged again, and leads Google's models later judge low quality can be credited automatically.

**Price:** Google publishes no real estate rate. It depends on location, job type, lead type and bid, and message leads typically cost less than phone leads ([Google: manage leads](https://support.google.com/localservices/answer/6224859?hl=en)). Your account shows an estimate for your area. Real estate agents in the US can't target LSA by ZIP code ([Google](https://support.google.com/localservices/answer/7419052?hl=en)). Agents who opt into buyer's agent jobs also appear in Home Listings Ads, where shoppers can call or message a buyer's agent from a listing ([Google](https://support.google.com/localservices/answer/17137804)).

**What the lead wants:** an agent, now. They chose you from a short list after reading your reviews. If you have two or more message leads in 90 days, your estimated response time can appear on your ad, so slow replies are visible to the next searcher.

**Rhythm:** answer calls live. Reply to message leads within minutes, then book a call or meeting in the second message. If they go quiet, follow up on day 1, day 3 and day 7, then move them to the longer cadence above.

## Open houses

No lead fee, but the sign-in list is mixed: neighbors, people a year out, and buyers who already have an agent. Ask on the sheet whether they're working with an agent, and text the same evening while they still remember you:

> "Hi Jordan, Sam from today's open house on Elm St. Was it close to what you want, or was something off, like the yard or the layout? I can send a few that fix it."

If they have an agent, stop there. If not, follow the Facebook rhythm, matched to the homes they said they liked.

## Your own website and IDX

A registration on your IDX site (to save a search, see photos or get alerts) costs nothing per lead beyond the site, the feed and whatever ads drove the visit. What the person typed in the form says little; what they viewed says a lot. Use it in the first text:

> "Hi Alex, Sam with Acme Realty. I saw you saved a search for 3-beds in Westside under $500k. Two new ones hit this week. Want me to text them as they list?"

**Rhythm:** let new listings set the pace. Automated alerts handle the volume. A personal text when a strong match lists, or when they view the same home three times, beats a calendar.

## Worked example: cost per closing by source

Assumptions, all yours to replace: a $429,100 sale (NAR's national median for August 2026, from its [existing-home sales report](https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/nar-existing-home-sales-report-shows-2-0-decrease-in-august)) at a 2.5% buyer-side commission, for $10,728 of gross commission. The close rates are assumptions for illustration, not industry figures. Track your own by source.

| Source | Cost | Assumed close rate | Cost per closing | Share of $10,728 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Premier Agent, major metro | $223 per connection | 3% | $7,433 | 69% |
| Premier Agent, major metro | $223 per connection | 5% | $4,460 | 42% |
| Premier Agent, non-major metro | $139 per connection | 3% | $4,633 | 43% |
| Zillow Preferred | 15% to 40% at close | Doesn't change the fee | $1,609 to $4,291 | 15% to 40% |
| Facebook lead ads | $13.74 per lead | 0.5% | $2,748 | 26% |
| Facebook lead ads | $13.74 per lead | 1% | $1,374 | 13% |

Cost per closing is lead cost divided by close rate, so close rate moves it as much as price does. Taking Premier Agent from 3% to 5% cuts cost per closing by 40%, with no change to the ad budget. The break-even against a referral model is the connection price divided by the referral fee: at $223 a connection and a 35% fee ($3,755 on this deal), pay-per-connection is cheaper only if you close more than 5.9% of connections. At $139 it's 3.7%. Facebook's per-lead cost is low, but the time spent on months of follow-up isn't in the table, and that time is where those deals are won or lost.

To decide where next quarter's budget goes, pick a ceiling for cost per closing as a share of commission (for example 30%; set your own). Move budget toward sources under it. For a source over it, check how its leads were followed up before you cut it, since a low close rate can come from slow or short follow-up rather than the source.

## What every source needs

-   **Tag the source on every lead** so you can compute the table above from your own numbers.
-   **Answer fast. Realtor.com says its Concierge reps reach out to new inquirers within 4 seconds on average, so on a shared inquiry someone else may get there first. See [why speed to lead matters](https://www.outnurture.com/blog/speed-to-lead-why-instant-response-matters).**
**-   **Keep following up after the first week.** With a 10-week median search, most of the work happens after the lead stops replying the first time. After about 90 days of silence, drop to one useful text a month. Stop when they opt out, buy, or tell you they've hired another agent.
-   **Ask about representation in the first exchange.** "Are you working with an agent yet?" sorts out open-house visitors and browsers who already have one, so you stop spending follow-up on them.
-   **Measure close rate by source.** Count closings from each source divided by leads from that source, grouped by the month the lead came in, and look back 12 months. Closings lag the inquiry by the search plus the escrow period, so last month's leads will look worse than they are.
-   **Register your texting number first.** Business texts from a local number need an approved A2P 10DLC registration; see [A2P 10DLC registration: cost, timeline and rejections](https://www.outnurture.com/blog/what-is-a2p-messaging).**

**

For message writing and texting mechanics, see [real estate AI texting](https://www.outnurture.com/blog/real-estate-ai-texting). For who should do the follow-up (an in-house ISA, a virtual ISA or AI texting), see [real estate ISAs](https://www.outnurture.com/blog/ai-real-estate-isas). Zillow Preferred requires Follow Up Boss; [Follow Up Boss vs Out Nurture](https://www.outnurture.com/blog/follow-up-boss-vs-out-nurture) covers how the two fit together.

## If you use Out Nurture

Out Nurture texts leads that reach it by webhook (Meta and Google lead ads, website forms, a CRM) or by CSV upload, and uses the source and notes sent with each lead in its first text. During texting hours (8 AM to 9 PM in the lead's time zone) a new lead gets its first text within seconds. It then decides each follow-up from the conversation and hands ready leads to your agent by group text or email summary. It doesn't make or take calls, so Zillow live connections and Concierge transfers stay with you. It costs $25 a month plus about $0.025 per text; the [cost calculator](https://www.outnurture.com/calculator) works it out for your lead volume.

**