Advertisers are now eyeing realtors

Realtors are in for a big surprise as advertisers have now set their eyes on them for specific product campaigns. This is quite a new and interesting development since realtors are used to using advertising as a medium to generate their leads on property search portals. But now, it seems that the advertising world had seen potential in their unique market segment.

The IMAPP Inc. said that ads specifically targeting realtors are being placed by title insurers, homebuilders and other home improvement stores and are even willing to pay premium rates to reach realty professionals.

IMAPP said that these businesses are acknowledging their wide and deep access to multiple listing services (MLSs) that reach 120,000 realtors. IMAPP said that it is paying MLSs 30 percent of the gross revenues for relaying ads to realtors.

Advertisers are paying a premium rate for targeted of $2-5 for every one thousand of web page views. But IMAPP said that advertisers are willing to go as high as $35 to $55 per thousand impressions for highly-precise targeted ads. It also said that 95 percent of the listing services had already signed up for these targeted ads and are either now carrying ads or will soon deliver them to their subscribers.

The soft launch period will have subscribers seeing ads generated by the MLSs themselves, which include news and events. These will be followed by ad campaigns by mortgage lenders, titling companies, movers, home warranty firms, home inspectors and even mobile phone providers.

IMAPP said that targeting realtors is a practical way to sell products and services since they have the ability to influence a buyer’s purchase decision. Advertisers are deeply encouraged by this new prospect and are eager to show their product lines more often to this new market.

The ad runs could earn big profits for MLSs who have at least 30,000 subscribers with possible gains of 30 to 60 thousand dollars a month in ad revenues. Smaller listing services can still earn from $2,500 to $4,000 a month.

The WAV Group report said that aside from advertising, MLSs could also generate income by licensing data to third parties particularly to the realtors. But IMAPP said that it is going into data licensing since MLSs are resisting the idea.