Real Estate Lead Generation & Conversion

Posts Tagged ‘internet real estate leads’

A simplistic answer to the question of what percentage of Internet real estate leads result in sales is probably that the across the board rate for all Internet leads is about 2-3%. However, this statistic by itself is not terribly informative. The range in conversion rates from Internet real estate lead program to program varies tremendously.  

In a  similar vein, knowing that the average height of an NBA basketball player is 6’7” is not a particularly informative piece in regard to a particular player. The player could range in height from 5’8” to 7’4”. 

Among the key factors that will determine the closing rate for Internet leads are: 1) lead quality, 2) how quickly the lead is contacted and the contact method; 3) the quality, quantity, and frequency of the lead incubation follow-up contacts; 4) and how effective the team or agent managing the lead is at closing the sale.

Thus, an exclusive “schedule a showing” lead that is contacted within 15 minutes of their clicking on the submit button may convert at a 10% rate.  A “forced registration” lead that is sold to multiple real estate professionals and is not instantly forwarded to the lead purchasers’ for follow-up will probably close at a rate of under 1%. (For reference, Broker Dynamix has a client that indicates that over 5% of the leads we supply convert to closed transactions)

 The conversion rate issue becomes particularly tricky in regard to factors that trigger a trade-off between lead quality and number of leads. A lead capture form that requires phone numbers will generate fewer leads than one that only requires an e-mail address, but leads without a phone number are of lesser value. A forced registration Web site that requires registration in order to view information will generate more leads than a free IDX search Web site that captures leads through voluntary registration, but the lead quality will be lower from the forced registration website. Conversion rates can also be impacted by whether or not invalid leads are included in the calculation.

Thus, it becomes challenging to provide a definitive answer in regard to the question of what percentage of Internet real estate leads result in sales.  However, the more important question to ask it “what is the conversion rate from lead to sale for a particular program?”.