From Zillow to sphere: Why you must know the source of your real estate referrals

"McClelland said his research has found that over 30% of buy-side deals came from leads agents paid for from third-party referral companies. I tell brokerage companies, if you're going to run a study on your firm, that's one of the studies you need to run, he said. You say, all right, wait a minute. Where did these deals come from? Because we all think, it's the agent. That the agent originated it not so much anymore."

"When it comes to referrals not made by clients, typical Realtors gained 32% of those from non-personal referral sources. Common referral sources include community social media boards/groups (20%), church and school groups (14%), and non-profit work in the community (10%). A little over a quarter (26%) of typical Realtors said they did not relieve any non-personal referrals in 2024. In total, the typical Realtor reported that just 1% of their business came from non-personal referrals in 2024."

McClelland's research found that over 30% of buy-side deals came from leads agents paid for from third-party referral companies. The typical Realtor earns 20% of their business from past clients, with that share rising for more experienced agents. Typical Realtors gained 32% of non-client referrals from non-personal sources, with community social media boards (20%), church and school groups (14%), and non-profit work (10%) cited. A little over a quarter reported no non-personal referrals; the typical Realtor attributed just 1% of business to non-personal referrals in 2024. Thirty percent of respondents received at least some business through paid third-party lead sources. Realtors commonly reported zero spending on lead generation and affinity/referral relationship expenses. Popular tech tools for quality leads included CRM platforms (32%), the local MLS (26%), firm websites (20%), digital ad campaigns (19%), and email marketing (19%), while listing syndication sites ranked lower (14%).

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