How We Generated 8 Real Estate Leads for $7 on Facebook and Instagram

By Ray Wood, Founder of Ad Machine · November 11, 2026

How many people could you get to put their hand up for a property with seven dollars?

I put that to the test with a lakefront listing in Eatonton, Georgia, about 90 minutes from Atlanta. We launched a Facebook and Instagram campaign with a US$10 daily budget. Before the first 24 hours were up, the ads had generated 72 clicks and eight leads on about US$7 in ad spend.

That worked out to US$0.88 per lead. Here’s how we set up the campaign and what I’d look at next.

We gave one listing 40 ways to get noticed

When you run one version of a property ad, you’re betting on one combination of copy and creative. If the ad struggles, it’s hard to tell whether the opening line fell flat, the image failed to catch someone’s eye, or the combination simply didn’t connect.

For the Eatonton listing, Ad Machine built 40 ad combinations in about five minutes. As performance data came in, the campaign shifted more of the budget toward the versions getting better results.

That’s what I want from a small budget. Give the property several chances to catch someone’s attention, then put more of the spend behind the ads people actually respond to.

How does 88 cents compare?

WordStream and LocaliQ’s 2026 Facebook ads report puts the real estate cost-per-lead benchmark at US$13.74. That’s a broader industry benchmark. Our US$0.88 came from the first day of one Eatonton campaign. (Source: www.wordstream.com)

At the published benchmark, eight leads would represent about US$110 in ad spend. This campaign generated eight for about US$7.

What happened after someone clicked?

Seventy-two people clicked. Eight took the next step and became leads. That gave the agent eight people to follow up with while the property was still fresh in their minds.

The first call or text can be as simple as, “What caught your eye about the property?” Some people will want to see it. Others will tell you what they’re looking for and when they plan to move. Those conversations help you measure what the campaign is doing for your pipeline alongside the cost per lead.

Results are from the first day of one campaign and are not typical or guaranteed. Individual results vary.