Real Estate Marketing Trends for 2025

So this article recently got published in Real Estate Magazine that I wrote. Marketing Trends for 2025.

Here’s a little behind the scenes. That version was not quite what I submitted. I wrote a piece inspired by my love of Page 2 Bill Simmons writing from 20 years ago.

Our editor, Jordana, was right. It didn’t fit the tone and style of REM. The version that was published fits it better.

It went back and forth a few times with my editor. You should check it out. So for a little insight into the process. I want to show you the original article I submitted.

(Yes, even as the owner, I still have to go back and forth with my editor to get content approved. We give her editorial control and we mean it.)

So here it is, my original version for the Marketing Trends for 2025 article:

My team asked me to write a piece on the Marketing Trends I'm seeing for 2025. You know, the type of piece that 100 other people are going to hit publish on in the next few weeks.

To look at what is going to happen next year, you have to look at what happened this year.

It's about understanding why things are playing out how they are. Then figuring out what that leads to.

In honour of Vince Vaughn  returning to form with the 2024 show Bad Monkey, I thought I’d take a Page 2 Bill Simmons style spin on this forward looking piece.

Rule #7: Blend in by standing out.

We’re going to take a different approach here this year:

2025 Marketing Trends explained through Vince Vaughn movie character quotes.

Will it work? You be the judge. I’m taking a shot. Let’s see where it lands.

“I’m not perfect, but who are we kidding? Neither are you. And you wanna know what? I dig it!”

Two years ago everyone was talking about the big trend of AI. Especially how it will change the SEO game. They’re still right about it changing the SEO game. If we’re looking ahead, anyone who gives you a specific timeline on those changes would be lying. It could completely change the game in 12 months. It could be 5 years until people start using ChatGPT over Google in enough numbers to change marketing approaches. 

It’s too early to tell. Consumer behaviour is changing but not as fast as some think.

A long term trend is that a completely SEO focused approach could be in trouble. Anti-trust issues in the US forcing changes with Google and their products. Consumers, especially younger ones, have realized how much people game the search engines. They are turning more to Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, and others to get their answers first. 

If I said the trend for 2025 is a move away from Google, it would be dishonest. For 2025 it's going to be as strong as it was in 2024 for those who know how to take advantage of it. A 5 year horizon? What might SEO or Google Ads look like in the 2030s? It could be completely different.

There's enough people turning to ChatGPT for answers that I'm paying attention. It's a trend worth watching in the long term. It's not yet changed consumer behaviour as it relates to real estate. Not enough to worry about yet.

For most of you, there's more impactful trends to consider.

So let’s talk about what you should focus on for 2025 from a marketing perspective.

Bring it in for the real thing

AI-Powered, not AI-Centred.

If I were you, I would NOT market myself as the AI Realtor. People don’t trust AI businesses as much. It's impersonal, and for real estate, the personal touch makes a huge difference. They want the real thing, not an AI.

Let’s take a look back at another big tech shift in the industry.

About ten years ago, e-signatures were finally allowed on paperwork in Ontario. I was running a paperless business so I started getting asked to do training sessions. So I travelled across the province teaching Realtors about going paperless.

The most common objection I heard? It would lead to Realtors not seeing their clients anymore in person. It would detract from the human element of being a Realtor. I argued that it would give you more time with your clients.

The same arguments started popping up with AI. The truth is it gives you more time with your clients. First-drafts are faster. Polishing of content happens faster. AI can do a lot of simple admin tasks on its own.

You should be enhanced by AI. This way you can spend more time doing what brings you business. Spending time with clients and potential clients. That’s who’s going to win next year, not those who advertise how much they use it to impress clients. It’s those who use it so they can spend more time with their clients. 

At REM, AI doesn’t write articles, but it can speed it up. It can help search transcripts, brainstorm question ideas, and more. Our core business is great content, we let the people handle that. 

Then we find ways for AI to let us do more of that.

Grab that net and catch that beautiful butterfly, pal

Discovery feeds have made social media more effective in getting clients organically. Even someone just starting out can get results quickly.

You can thank TikTok for this one. They made discovery feeds popular. The trend was there already but they kicked it into overdrive. It was a lot harder to get results from your content when only your followers would see them. Now your content can be in the feed of non-followers. This is why you need to leverage discovery feed friendly content.

It can mean getting in front of people who don't know you. More people will discover you exist and you can turn those people into clients.

Right now that means short form videos via Instagram Reels or TikTok. They drive tangible results. You can get clients from them. Without having to do some gimmicky dance or sharing every detail of your personal life. 

If you want to get clients on social media, without spending on ads, you need to leverage discovery feeds.

Rule #6, do not sit in the corner and sulk, it draws attention to you in a negative way, draw attention to yourself, but on your own terms.

The dark side of social media is gaining steam. Not like the infamous dark web you hear about.

Most people just post to their social media and wait for people to find it. There’s so little attention on their profile there’s no light that touches it. It’s the land Simba is not destined to own.

From a marketing perspective, the dark side of social is the part of social media you can’t see. It's not happening in News Feeds. People are sharing, talking, and connecting more over private messages than anywhere else. 

People don’t want everything happening for everyone to see. They like the privacy of direct messages. You should optimize your content to be something people will share in the DMs.

Think about how your content will drive those actions. Whether it's DM'ing you or sending it to their friends & family.

Like with listings for example on Instagram. If you get zero shares no one is doing the "look honey, you should check this out!" reaction. That's what you should be optimizing for. The "look honey" reaction.

If you're not getting that, adjust your approach.

"Oh, that’s Blue. An old navy vet who hangs around my store a lot. Don’t worry. He’s legit"

The world is getting smaller. People are learning all the tricks to what happens online. How marketers have ruined it, especially with AI content. So they’re going into their communities more. Even if they don’t trust their neighbours anymore, they at least know they’re real people.

They trust real people more than the bots. AI avatars of celebrity endorsements have been popping up. Fake Voice or video content is scaling. It's eroding the little trust people already had online.

When you can’t trust what’s online, like that, people are going to their communities. Where they have genuine relationships with people. People they trust more to be real.

The biggest example of this are local Facebook groups. They are often buzzing with activity. Joining and contributing can lead to a lot of business. Being able to take those online communities and adding in-person components has opportunity.

Agents are leaning into community in-person events more than ever. Especially after Covid people want that connection.

For big teams, host big community events. These can be big fun events like Cindy & Craig Real Estate do with their movies in the park. Don’t have the big database or the budget for a big event? Host intimate dinners with a handful of clients and referral partners.

Events don’t need to be big. Build a community, get people together, and be the hub of it. It will grow your business in 2025. Share what you're doing online, people will want to join.

There’s someone out there for everybody. In some cases, there’s two somebodies for one person. I like to call that the jackpot

Taylor Hack and I have talked about this a lot on The Leads are Sh*t. If you want to get more business you should optimize everything you’re doing to get more clients. With the market on fire, most didn't put that much thought into it. They rode the wave.

That’s why if you’re focusing on buyers, focus on ones with a house to sell. Increase the chances of getting a listing from them. Focus on investors who want to buy more than one property, not the odd one here or there over the years. 

In Hacks business, Realtor.ca leads are turning into appointments at a better rate than PPC leads. How many of you are trying to optimize your listings for Realtor.ca? Have you considered the parts of your presence there and which parts you can control?

People searching on Realtor.ca also are less likely to have their own agent. Most Realtors move consumers to their MLS software based search. If you're leveraging your listings to get more clients, work on what you can control on Realtor.ca. Not for what they’d see through an MLS search set up by another real estate agent. 

People are closing deals there, but more are leaving a lot of money on the table, too.

“You left me in the trenches taking grenades, John”

It’s not pointing out a trend to say that online can be a very toxic place. A place that is incredibly unfriendly to a lot of people.

There’s no better example than the post-election rise of Bluesky. With X (formerly Twitter), a lot on the left side of the political spectrum have left. The direction of the platform hasn't been for them.

They’ve been flocking to Bluesky in droves. Bluesky, not Threads, is looking like the biggest threat to X right now. Threads didn't embrace political content. That style of content drives a lot of engagement on X. The now former X users weren't getting that fill on Threads.

Now that's led to the left side of the political spectrum spending more time on Bluesky and the right side on X.

They want to avoid the negativity they perceive coming from the other side. They want to be with like-minded people. Now that there's a viable alternative to X, it's going to speed up.

On Facebook, a lot of people only log in for Groups. They almost never post themselves but engage in groups. Whatsapp, Instagram, and others are doing broadcast channels through DMs. In other words, people are joining cliques more than ever.

Private communities through Slack, Discord, Skool, and more are popping up. People want to be where others like them are. They want to feel that sense of belonging.

Being out in the “public” side of the internet people aren’t enjoying it as much. You can blame AI where it’s so easy to pump out mass engagement that sounds more human but isn’t. The uncanny valley bot accounts. 

The solution is people retreating to their corners. There’s pros and cons to this.

For your business? Find the corners your ideal clients are going to, and jump in with them.

“I’m here to tell you, you’re perfect just the way you are. But if you feel like losing a few pounds, getting healthier, and making some good friends in the process then Joe’s is the place for you.”

You don’t have to be pushy to get sales. You don’t have to be in their face all the time with aggressive offers. Sometimes you only have to be there and have their best interest at heart. 

This isn’t even a new trend, but as content ramps up more and more it's becoming more pronounced than ever. People want a helpful advisor. Not slimy sales tactics. They want experts who know their stuff. Ones they believe are passionate about it. 

If I had a question about maple syrup? You know who I’d ask? Someone who said this:

“I happen to know everything there is to know about maple syrup! I love maple syrup. I love maple syrup on pancakes. I love it on pizza. And I take maple syrup and put a little bit in my hair when I’ve had a rough week. What do you think holds it up, slick?”

That’s a guy who knows maple syrup. That's someone who will give you an honest opinion. It’s okay to show you’re passionate about topics. Passionate about protecting your clients. About getting them results and helping them. Show your passion, show how you help.

Put yourself out there.

“I found that if you have goal, that you might not reach out. But if you don’t have one, then you are never disappointed. And I gotta tell ya…it feels phenomenal.”

Here’s a trend that’s not specific to marketing, but all aspects of your business.

The market has been tough the last 18 months for most people. Between REM and my marketing agency, Just Sell Homes, I've seen a lot first hand. We've seen two very distinct approaches.

Approach #1: “Well, the market is unpredictable, I’ll see where we end up and be happy if we make it through.”

Approach #2: "Let's analyze where every dollar is going. Where our efforts are going. Let's double down on what's working, and be ruthless cutting what's not.

For many, the market was so hot they didn't have time to catch their breath and look everything over. Now they have a little breathing room and they're taking advantage.

Whether it's marketing, overhead, staff, or team members. They’ve been doubling down or cutting where they need to.

You know who’s having their best years? The people tracking the numbers, analyzing the data, and making informed decisions.

Hoping you survive without a plan? That’s shakier than a 50 year old deck in a hurricane.

I know what you’re thinking, “Andrew, that’s not a real expression”

You know what?

“None of them are real expressions until someone says them, okay? So I’m a groundbreaker.”

Here’s to 2025

With whatever you’re doing, good markets and bad, the focus should be on quality. What I was doing back when I got into the real estate industry as an Agent to now hasn’t changed THAT much. Back then it was Facebook, Twitter, and blogging. My approach has always been to create content that people will like.

Then I promote it on the different platforms I’m using in the way the platforms will like. That was true 10+ years ago, it’s true today, and it will be true 10 years from now. The key is knowing what makes good content, and how platforms want you to use them.

Help them reach their goals with users, and they'll return the favour by putting you in front of more of them.

You don't have to try and do something for every trend we're seeing. That leads to overwhelm. Pick one you can see the path forward with. Then execute on it. Get focused on what will have an impact and you have clarity on how to do it.

I want to thank you for a great year of supporting us here at Real Estate Magazine. I hope you found this article both valuable and a little entertaining. 

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