Learn About Real Estate Texting & How to Get Started with Real Estate Text Messaging Software
Your success in real estate depends largely on your ability to nurture relationships and communicate with clients and contacts.
Obviously, communication tools like email are essential to success.
But I hear from a lot of realtors, agents, and brokers. They all say that communication preferences are changing.
Many admit that they need easier, faster, more convenient ways to:
- Reach audiences with listing information, and promote open houses
- Send reminders and event invites
- Personalize messages for real estate marketing
- Share images, videos, and media that enrich the home-buying experience
- Generate more leads and close deals faster
- Organize a lot of conversations
This is where text messaging for real estate agents and brokers can make a big difference.
In this article I cover:
- What real estate text messaging is
- Why texting works for real estate agents
- 8 ways agents, brokers, and others use real estate text messaging
- How to get started with real estate text messaging software
- Free real estate text message templates and examples
By the end, you’ll have everything you need to integrate texting into your existing real estate messages and communications processes.
Read on for more.
What Is Real Estate Texting?
Real estate texting is SMS business text messaging for agents, brokers, and others involved in real estate and the sale of a property. Real estate texting is most often done with a business texting service. These services offer advanced texting software features that make it possible to get a dedicated SMS number, send text messages in bulk, and manage many two-way text conversations individually or as a team. Real estate agents and brokers frequently use business texting for real estate marketing and other campaigns like:
- Open house invitations and reminders
- Scheduling and reminding about appointments and showings
- Announcing new listings and price changes
- Linking potential buyers to real estate listing information
- Sharing images and other media that highlight a listing
- Generating leads with click-to-text and text-to keywords like “INFO” or “SUBSCRIBE”
Why Texting Works for Real Estate Agents
There will always be a place for email and phone calls. But texting has some clear advantages and benefits—particularly compared to email and voice. This is because texting enhances communication between everyone involved in the property marketing and sale process.
SMS doesn’t replace email and phone calls. Instead, real estate texting fills in the gaps left by these more traditional communication methods.
Real estate texting vs. email
Email is a great way to reach property buyers and sellers. But email inboxes are getting overwhelmed. Many email providers like Gmail automatically flag promotional messages. It’s why 53% of emails get marked as spam.
Compare that to the 3% spam rate for text messages. You can understand why real estate agents are opting for texts. Plus, 74% of consumers respond to texts from a business within an hour. Compare that to only 41% for email.
Real estate texting vs. voice
Calling is a direct way to reach people, but people don’t always answer the phone. Consumers now prefer texting vs. phone calls. They’re skeptical about taking calls from unknown numbers.
But people are seven times more likely to respond to a text from an unknown number vs. a phone call.
Furthermore, texting allows property buyers and sellers to communicate and share offers and listings at a glance. It requires only a few seconds rather than an extended conversation, making it more convenient for everyone.
7 Ways Agents, Brokers, and Others Use Real Estate Text Messaging
Real estate SMS marketing is the first use that comes to most agents' and brokers’ minds. But business texting also works for many other types of messaging and communication including:
- Generating leads and interest with SMS marketing for real estate
- Sending text blasts with listing information, price changes, or event invites
- Scheduling and sending reminders about appointments and showings
- Linking potential buyers to real estate MLS listing information
- Sharing images and other media that highlight a listing
- Generating leads with click-to-text and text-to keywords like “INFO” or “SUBSCRIBE”
- Organizing text message conversations with a shared team SMS inbox
Here’s how real estate agents, brokers, and others use business text messaging.
1. Generating leads and interest with SMS marketing for real estate
Real estate text marketing is one of the most popular uses of SMS. SMS text message marketing makes it possible to send a mass text message as an SMS broadcast in the hundreds or thousands.
It’s also easy to send automated text messages and craft drip campaigns that send scheduled real estate messages to clients.
You’ll just need to be mindful of spam and TCPA compliance to send promotional messages and achieve optimal delivery and response rates.
As a best practice, only send promotional text messages to contacts who have already opted into messaging with you.
You’ll also want to use a business texting service that supports opt-in and opt-out keywords like “STOP”. This keeps you compliant by allowing contacts to stop receiving future messages from you.
{{broadcast_reminders="/media"}}
2. Sending text blasts with listing information, price changes, or event invites
SMS text blasts are a part of text marketing. They’re a versatile way to reach your audience.
Sending bulk SMS messages is an easy way to keep potential clients updated about new and existing listings. This helps generate interest in a property. You can also inform them of any price, listing, or property changes.
Similarly, many agents and brokers send mass text messages to invite people to open houses, showings, and other real estate events.
SMS messaging also simplifies mass communication. There’s no need to copy and paste the same message and send it to multiple people. Bulk SMS makes it easy to send customized text messages to dozens - if not hundreds - of contacts.
{{sms_phone="/media"}}
3. Scheduling and sending reminders about appointments and showings
Most agents and brokers already use some sort of meeting scheduling software to help manage appointments on their calendars.
Some of these services come with appointment reminders, others don’t. Regardless, many real estate text messaging software can integrate with these services and send texts to reduce appointment no-shows.
{{reminders_appointment="/media"}}
4. Linking potential buyers to real estate MLS listing information
Sending a web link to real estate listings is one of the simplest, yet most effective uses for real estate texting.
Business texting services also make it possible to organize and save multiple links to different properties. These can even be shortened into short links. The advantage of this is link tracking.
You’ll know exactly when someone clicks your link and views the listing. Tracking your link click-through and open rates then leads to future insights.
{{automation_link_clicks="/media"}}
5. Sharing images and other media that highlight a listing
Pictures speak a thousand words, so logically video speaks a million more. One way to enrich the real estate buying and selling process is to text MMS messages with video clips or pictures of potential listings.
You can also get creative with this and create infographics and PDFs with text details discussing prices, listing, location, amenities, etc.
Platforms such as MessageDesk have media galleries. This feature makes it easy to store, organize, and send picture messages. It works well for things like property photos and videos to prospective homebuyers.
{{broadcast_qrcode="/media"}}
6. Generating leads with click-to-text and text-to keywords
What’s the best way to start text conversations and generate leads from a website or web page? It's by setting up click-to-text and text-to-keyword autoresponders.
All you have to do is advertise your text-enabled business phone number and a keyword. That’s all it takes to start growing a text message subscriber list.
Keywords like “INFO” or “SUBSCRIBE” then trigger an automatic response and enroll your contacts in future messaging.
Business texting services like MessageDesk also offer forms. These make it possible to start a text conversation from any webpage after someone submits contact information in a form.
Here’s a real estate sign example that advertises a business phone number and keyword:
Bonus: for even more lead generation, consider running apartment PPC or home leasing PPC campaigns in conjunction with your text campaigns.
7. Organizing text message conversations with a shared team SMS inbox
The best business texting services for real estate text messaging come with a shared team SMS inbox.
The two main features that make SMS inboxes work for real estate businesses are conversation routing and assignment.
The whole idea of an SMS inbox is to make sure that all inbound messages get accounted for and routed to the right person or team. Many SMS inboxes, like MessageDesk, can assign and route conversations automatically or manually.
What’s the advantage of a shared inbox? It’s getting the right conversation to the right person without having to manually assign team members.
You can also think of it as your SMS mailbox. It’s a mobile SMS inbox online that’s available from anywhere, including phones, tablets, and computers.
An SMS inbox ultimately makes it easy to answer questions and resolve issues. This leads to efficiency, time savings, and expedited property sales.
{{inbox_annotated="/media"}}
How to Get Started With Real Estate Text Messaging Sofware
Getting started with real estate texting isn’t as easy as texting from your personal phone. The first mistake many real estate agents and brokers make is using a personal phone for work.
This is a problem because:
- Your personal number becomes visible to your clients and other business contacts.
- You can’t send or manage mass texts from your personal phone number.
- There’s no way to effectively organize a lot of text conversations.
- There’s no oversight, consistency, or tracking if you’re trying to text as a team.
So to start texting, you’ll need a dedicated real estate texting service with more advanced features. I outline how to get started below.
1. Select a real estate text messaging service
There are many text messaging providers on the market. But it's essential to select a service that offers A2P carrier-verified delivery for mass texting. Without this capability, your mass text messages will go undelivered.
You should also choose a service like MessageDesk that includes a shared team SMS inbox. This makes it possible for everyone on your team to access messages on their personal devices and even desktop computers.
Your provider should also offer several SMS phone number options including local and toll-free numbers. More on this below.
{{inbox_screen="/media"}}
2. Create a free account
Once you select a text messaging service, you’ll want to create a free account.
You can sign up for a free trial of MessageDesk by meeting with a messaging expert to talk about your needs.
{{inbox_login="/media"}}
3. Select a phone number and import your contacts
The next step is to get a text number for your messages. You can also port your existing phone number if you want to text with an existing business landline.
Once you’ve selected a phone number, the next step is to import your contacts into your messaging service.
MessageDesk lets you do this easily using a CSV file. It also lets you categorize and segment your contact lists.
{{sms_phone_number="/media"}}
4. Compose and schedule texts
Once you upload your contacts, the next step is to start composing and sending out personalized texts.
Platforms like MessageDesk make it easy to personalize messages and pre-save them as templates with tags, media, and links.
Once you're ready, you can schedule a text to send right away or at a later date. As people respond, your team inbox will automatically help you and your team sort and filter text conversations.
{{reminders_scheduling="/media"}}
Free Real Estate Text Message Templates and Examples
I’ve covered why and how texting works for real estate. But what are some of the most effective real estate text messages?
The best text messages are direct, simple, and concise. Below I’ve added a list of impactful SMS templates that will help you generate the responses you need.
Suggested Article: 100+ Business Text Message Templates & Examples (Copy & Paste)
1. Welcoming text list subscribers
Start conversations by greeting people who submit information through a web form or text your business number directly. Remember to include keywords like STOP to remain TCPA compliant - especially if you’re sending promotional messages.
Welcome to our {{ Agency }} text list! You’ve subscribed to receive the latest real estate updates in {{ Area }}. To opt out of future messages, reply STOP.
Hi {{ FirstName }}. Looking for homes in {{ Area }}? Let us know what you’re looking for by responding to this text. We’ll be in touch soon. To opt-out of messages, reply STOP.
2. Scheduling and reminding about appointments
No-shows are incredibly frustrating. Make them less likely by sending an appointment reminder. You can send a text the day before or the day of scheduled showings or other meetings.
Hi {{ FirstName }}, it’s {{ Agent }}. Looking forward to showing you {{ Link }} at {{ DateTime }}. If you wish to no longer receive texts from us, reply STOP.
Hi there {{ FirstName }}. This is {{ Agent }} from {{ Group }} contacting you about your interest in the property on {{ Link }}. What’s the best time to arrange a viewing? Feel free to reply to this message to set up an appointment.
Hey {{ FirstName }}, it’s {{ Agent }}. Any interest in checking out this property? {{ Link }} Let me know your thoughts!
3. Generating interest and qualify leads
You’ll start getting texts from unknown contacts once you start advertising your text number. A great way to do this is by putting your text number on real estate yard signs, open house signs, billboards, and other sale signs.
Texts can also be a great way to follow up, qualify leads and quickly determine where to focus your efforts. Staying in touch with people who have already expressed interest can also pay off.
Hi {{ FirstName }}. Thanks for reaching out. I’d be happy to help you buy or sell a home. But first, are you a realtor, or do you already have one? If you prefer to no longer receive messages, reply STOP.
Hi {{ FirstName }}! I’m scheduling a property search for three-bedroom apartments near {{ Area }} as we previously discussed. What other features are a must-have for you? {{ Agent }}
Hi {{ FirstName }}, thanks for visiting our website! Are there any specific properties you are looking for? Reply STOP to opt-out of receiving these types of messages.
4. Automating out-of-office messages
Your client's property search won’t pause while you’re away or on vacation. Texts are a great way to manage expectations and let people know when they can expect to hear from you.
Hi {{ FirstName }}. Thanks for texting me. I’m away on vacation until {{ DateTime }}. You can reach my partner, {{ Agent }} at {{ Number }}. They can arrange showings and answer your questions.
Hi {{ FirstName }}. Thanks for texting me. I’m away on vacation until {{ DateTime }}. You can reach my partner, {{ Agent }} at {{ Number }}. They can arrange showings and answer your questions.
5. Sharing new and existing property listings
Use text messages to link directly to new or existing listings. Texted links with property info can also help remind buyers and sellers to check their email inboxes to review property listings.
Hi {{ FirstName }}. I see that you’re interested in {{ Location }}. Would you like to view the property? Please reply to this text if you would like to set up a viewing. Or, you can schedule a viewing online here {{ Link }}.
Hi {{ FirstName }}, it’s {{ Agent }}. I’ve got some new listings that just hit the market. I think you’ll love them! Would you like me to send the info? Let me know, {{ Agent }}.
Hi {{ FirstName }}, thanks for your inquiry. Here is a link that provides more information about what we do: {{ Link }}
6. Sending texts about buying your home or selling your home
“I want to buy your house” text messages and texts about selling a house can help generate interest for buyers and sellers.
Hi {{ FirstName }}. It’s a great time to sell in your neighborhood and house prices have increased by 10% this month. Are you thinking about selling your home soon? Reply STOP to opt-out of receiving these types of messages.
Hi {{ FirstName }}. A few homes just sold above the asking price in your area, and it’s likely changed the value of your home. Can I send you an updated estimate of its value? Reply STOP to opt-out of messages.
7. Following up with inactive buyers
The buying journey can be full of stops and starts. In these situations, text messages are a great way to rekindle cold leads.
Hey there {{ FirstName }}, it’s {{ Agent }} with {{ Organization }}. Just checking in to see if you’re still hoping to buy a home this year. Wherever you’re at, I am happy to keep sharing property listings that match your requirements. Just let me know. To opt out of future messages, reply STOP.
8. Notifying about price changes
Price changes can be a timely way to continue a conversation and create urgency. Texting makes it possible to ping someone’s pocket immediately.
Hey {{ FirstName }}, it’s {{ Agent }}. Just wanted to let you know that the property we’ve been following just dropped in price by {{ Amount }}. Let me know if you’re interested in pursuing an offer.
9. Confirming a showing
Showings require coordination when the seller is still living in the home. Sending texts to confirm the details quickly ensures you and your clients are on the same page.
Hi there {{ FirstName }}, it’s {{ Agent }}. I’ve scheduled a showing for you at {{ DateTime }}. Please confirm by texting back CONFIRM.
10. Scheduling open houses
Texting allows you to eliminate unnecessary back and forth around scheduling events like an open house.
Hi {{ FirstName }}, it’s {{ Agent }}. I wanted to get your open house scheduled. Choose a time that works for you: {{ Link }}.
11. Requesting a buying or selling decision
Many aspects of homebuying are time-sensitive. Phone and email can stall the entire process. Texting is the most efficient way to keep things on track.
Hi {{ FirstName }}. You mentioned that you wanted to submit an offer for [property address]. Offers are due no later than {{ DateTime }}. If you’re still interested text or call me asap.
Hi {{ FirstName }}, awesome news! We got an offer on your home! Give me a call to discuss this as soon as you can.
12. Asking for reviews and testimonials
Many real estate professionals leverage Google reviews and other sources of social proof to ask for reviews and generate new business. Text messaging is a great way to follow up and quickly ask for a review.
Hi {{ FirstName }}. Since you had such a great experience with our agency would you mind taking some time to leave us a review on Google? We’ve made it super easy for you. Just follow this link: {{ Link }}
Ready to start texting?
Real estate SMS messages can help you generate additional property sales and gain more clients.
MessageDesk can help you scale your reach, connect with your contact list, and complement existing marketing strategies. You’re always free to meet with a messaging expert.