“Should we run Google or Facebook?” is one of the first questions agents and developers ask us, and the honest answer is that the two platforms do different jobs. Google Search catches people who are already looking. Facebook and Instagram reach people before they start looking, and usually do it at a lower cost per lead. Which one deserves your first dollar depends on your market, your inventory and how fast your team follows up. In this guide we compare Google Ads and Meta ads for real estate the way we compare them in client accounts: by intent, cost, lead quality, targeting limits and what each one needs from you to work.
The short answer
For most real estate projects we start on Meta and add Google Search once the offer is proven. That is not because Google is worse. It is because Meta lets you test creative angles and audiences quickly on a small budget, and the lessons from that test (which price point, which benefit, which buyer type answers) make the Google campaign better when you launch it.
There are clear exceptions. If you are a local agent in a market where people actively search “homes for sale in [neighborhood]” or “[city] realtor”, Google Search can bring higher-intent leads from day one. And if you sell a new development with a known name, a brand search campaign on Google is close to mandatory, because people who saw your Facebook ad will search for the project and you want to be the first result.
Intent: demand capture vs demand creation
The core difference is when in the buyer's journey each platform reaches them.
- Google Search captures demand. Someone types a query, which tells you what they want right now. A search for “2 bedroom condo downtown Austin” is a stronger signal than any interest targeting on any platform. The catch: the volume of those searches is limited, and you compete for them with portals and every other agent in the area.
- Meta creates demand. People on Facebook and Instagram are not looking for a home at that moment. A good video of a property, an area or a payment plan makes them think about it. Volume is much larger, but the average person who fills in your form is earlier in the decision.
This is why the two platforms should not be judged on the same number. A Meta lead that costs a third of a Google lead may be fine if your team can nurture it, and a waste if they cannot.
Side-by-side comparison
| Google Search | Facebook and Instagram | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you reach | People actively searching | People who match location and behaviour, before they search |
| Typical cost per lead | Usually higher | Usually lower |
| Lead quality | Higher intent on average | Mixed; depends heavily on the form and offer |
| Volume | Capped by search demand | Large, limited mainly by budget and creative |
| Creative | Text ads, a strong landing page | Video and images; creative does most of the work |
| Best for | Local agents, brand search, high-intent queries | New developments, off-plan, international buyers, lifestyle-led listings |
| What it needs from you | A fast landing page with a clear next step, conversion tracking | Good visuals, qualifying form questions, fast follow-up |
“Usually” matters in that table. We have seen markets where Google leads were cheaper than Meta leads, typically niche searches with little competition. Your own test is the only benchmark that counts.
Targeting limits on both platforms
In the US and Canada, both platforms restrict how you can target housing ads, and you should plan around that before you compare them.
On Meta, ads for the sale or rental of homes must run under the Housing special ad category. That removes targeting by age, gender and ZIP or postal code, sets a minimum radius around locations, removes many detailed interests and changes how lookalike-style audiences work. We cover this in detail in our guide to Meta's Housing special ad category.
Google has a similar housing policy for ads shown in the US and Canada: you cannot target or exclude by age, gender, parental status, marital status or ZIP code. Keyword targeting is not affected, which is part of why Search stays strong for real estate: the query does the targeting for you. Both companies update these rules, so check what each account currently allows when you set up campaigns.
The result is that on both platforms your best targeting tool is the message itself. A creative about three-bedroom family homes near good schools attracts families without you selecting “parents”. A Google ad that names the neighborhood and the price range filters out people who will never buy there.
What each platform costs
Cost per lead varies so much by market that any single benchmark is misleading. A condo in a mid-size city and a luxury villa sold to international buyers are different businesses. What we can share from our own accounts: on Meta we have run real estate lead campaigns with leads from €4.65, and for a villa project in Bali (three villas at about $150K each) Meta campaigns brought 541 buyer leads in 90 days. Those numbers came with qualifying questions inside the form, which is how the sales team avoided spending all day on people without a budget.
On Google you pay per click, not per lead, so the cost per lead is the cost per click divided by your landing page conversion rate. In competitive metros real estate clicks can be expensive, and a slow or vague landing page doubles your cost per lead without anyone noticing in the ad dashboard. Before you compare platforms, make sure both are measured the same way: cost per qualified lead and cost per booked viewing, not cost per click or cost per form.
For a deeper breakdown of the numbers on Meta, read how much a real estate lead costs on Facebook.
Not sure whether Google or Facebook fits your listings? Book 30 minutes with Nick. You leave with a concrete 7-day ad test, whether you hire us or not.
Book a free call →When to start with Google
- You are a local agent with clear search demand. If people in your area search for “[town] homes for sale” or “sell my house [town]”, Search lets you appear exactly then. Seller-intent keywords are often worth more than buyer ones.
- Your project has a name people search. Run a brand campaign on the project name and your agency name. It is usually cheap and stops competitors and portals from taking those clicks.
- You have a strong landing page. Google sends people to a page, not to an in-app form. If your page loads slowly or hides the next step, fix that first.
- Your team cannot handle many low-intent leads. Fewer, warmer leads may fit a small team better than a large volume they cannot call back.
When to start with Facebook and Instagram
- New development or off-plan sales. Nobody searches for a project that does not exist yet. You have to show it to people, and video works best for that.
- International or investor buyers. Meta lets you reach people in several countries with one campaign and test different angles (lifestyle vs return on investment) quickly.
- Lifestyle-led properties. A view, a pool, a walkable neighborhood: things that sell visually do better on a feed than in a text ad.
- You want to learn fast. A 7-day Meta test across 2–3 audiences and several creatives tells you which message works. That knowledge carries over to Google ad copy and landing pages.
Running both: how the platforms work together
The strongest real estate accounts we run use both, with clear roles:
- Meta cold campaigns find new interested people with video and lead forms.
- Meta retargeting follows up with video viewers and site visitors, showing floor plans, payment terms or open-house dates. See our guide to retargeting for real estate.
- Google brand search catches people who saw the Meta ads and then searched the project or agent name.
- Google non-brand search captures high-intent queries in your area, once you know which offer converts.
A practical warning: the platforms will both claim credit for the same buyers. Someone who watches your Facebook video and then searches your name on Google will often be counted as a conversion by both. Judge the total, not each dashboard: total qualified leads, viewings and sales from all paid channels, divided by total spend. If you pause one platform for two weeks and total viewings barely change, it was taking credit, not creating results.
Common mistakes when comparing the two
- Comparing cost per lead without lead quality. Track which leads answered, qualified and booked a viewing, per platform. A spreadsheet is enough.
- Sending Google traffic to a generic homepage. Each ad group should land on the page that matches the search: the listing, the project or the valuation form.
- Using an instant form on Meta with no questions. It gives the cheapest leads and the worst ones. Add one or two qualifying questions, as we explain in our guide to stopping junk real estate leads.
- Splitting a small budget across both from day one. With a few hundred dollars, two half-funded campaigns teach you less than one properly funded test.
- Slow follow-up. No platform can fix a lead that waits until tomorrow for a call. Both work much better when someone answers within minutes.
A simple plan to decide
If you are unsure, this is the sequence we would follow with a new real estate client:
- Set up tracking on both platforms: Meta pixel with Conversions API, Google conversion tracking on form submissions and calls.
- Launch a brand search campaign on Google if anyone searches your name or project.
- Run a 7-day Meta test with 2–3 audiences and several creative angles, with qualifying questions in the form.
- Call every lead quickly and record which ones qualify and book viewings.
- Use the winning message to write Google non-brand ads and landing pages, and test them on your best local keywords.
- Move budget to whichever platform gives the lower cost per booked viewing, and keep the other at the level where it still pays.
Google vs Facebook is not a choice you make once. It is a question you answer with data from your own market, and the answer often changes as your inventory and season change. More on how we run property campaigns is on our real estate ads page.
FAQ
Is Google or Facebook better for real estate leads?
Neither wins everywhere. Google Search usually brings higher-intent leads at a higher cost, while Facebook and Instagram bring more volume at a lower cost per lead. Most projects start on Meta to test the offer, then add Google Search, and judge both on cost per booked viewing.
Can I target by age or ZIP code in real estate ads?
Not for housing ads shown in the US or Canada. Meta's Housing special ad category and Google's housing policy both block targeting by age, gender and ZIP code, among other limits. Both platforms update these rules, so check what your account currently allows.
How much budget do I need to test Google vs Facebook for real estate?
Start with one platform and a 7-day test on a few hundred dollars of ad spend rather than splitting a small budget in two. Add the second platform once you know which message and audience produce qualified leads.
Not sure whether Google or Facebook fits your listings? Book 30 minutes with Nick. You leave with a concrete 7-day ad test, whether you hire us or not.
Book a free call →