Templates · 10 messages
iMessage templates for real estate follow-up
The agent who follows up fastest wins the deal. Here are 10 templates for the real estate cycle: the showing follow-up, the offer, and the objection recovery.
Free to copy and adapt, no signup
Ground rules before you send
- The inquiry is your consent basis. Someone who asked about a house on your site or a portal expects a fast, direct answer, so give them exactly that.
- Answer the question they asked before asking any of your own. Lead with the house, not with qualification.
- Any first text to a lead you did not generate yourself, like an expired listing or a long-cold sphere contact, carries a plain-language way out.
- Specifics beat scripts: the address, the number, the date. "Homes are moving fast" is filler; "the one on [street] went in 9 days" is information.
- One follow-up thread, not campaigns. Stay in the same conversation so your history is visible every time they open it.
1. The five-minute portal response
hey [first name], just saw you asked about [address]. it's still available. quick one before I send more: is this one specifically, or are you looking at the [neighborhood] area in general? I can send what matches either way.
When to send: Within five minutes of a Zillow, Realtor.com or website inquiry. The speed is the message.
Why it works: Portal leads go to whoever answers first, and "it's still available" answers the question they actually asked before you ask anything back. The either/or sorts the one-house lead from the area shopper in a single reply.
2. The open house follow-up
[first name], good meeting you at [address] today. you mentioned [detail they said, e.g. the kitchen felt small]. there's one two streets over with the layout you described, not listed yet. want the address before it hits the market?
When to send: Same evening as the open house, while they can still picture the property.
Why it works: Quoting the thing they said proves you listened, which no sign-in-sheet blast can fake. "Not listed yet" is the one offer a buyer cannot get from the portals themselves.
3. The showing confirmation
you're set for [address] at [time] [day]. park in the driveway, I'll be there 5 early. anything you want me to find out from the listing agent before we walk it?
When to send: Right after the showing is booked.
Why it works: Logistics plus one useful question turns a calendar entry into a working relationship. Their answer tells you what actually matters to them, which sharpens everything you show them after.
4. The after-showing read
honest gut read on [address]: is it a contender or a no? no wrong answer, it just changes what I line up next.
When to send: Two to three hours after the showing, same day.
Why it works: Buyers soften bad news to your face but answer a text honestly. "It just changes what I line up next" frames the question as service, not pressure, and a fast no saves you both a wasted week.
5. The price-drop alert
[first name], the one on [street] you liked just dropped [amount] to [new price]. that puts it inside your range. want me to get us in this week before it moves?
When to send: The day a property they viewed or saved drops its price.
Why it works: This is the follow-up buyers want and never get: real news about a house they already chose to care about. The urgency is real, price drops refill the showing calendar, so the ask lands as help rather than pressure.
6. The new-listing match
new one just hit that matches your list: [beds] bed in [neighborhood] at [price], and it has the [specific feature they wanted]. photos look honest for once. want a showing before the weekend crowd?
When to send: The day a genuinely matching listing goes live. Only when it actually matches their stated criteria.
Why it works: Naming the specific feature they asked for proves the match is curated, not a saved-search blast. Buyers know weekend open houses create competition, so "before the weekend" is real timing, not manufactured scarcity.
7. The ghosted-buyer save
hey [first name], you went quiet after [address] and I get it, this process is a lot. no pitch: are you pausing the search, or did that one just miss? either answer helps me help you, or leave you alone properly.
When to send: A week after a previously engaged buyer stops responding.
Why it works: Naming the silence without guilt gives them a graceful re-entry, and "leave you alone properly" shows you respect the pause. Most ghosted buyers are overwhelmed, not gone, and this is the text that finds out which.
8. The home-value check-in
hey [first name], it's [your name]. pulled the numbers on your street this morning: [comparable] just closed at [price], which puts your place around [estimate]. no agenda, just figured you'd want the data point. if these updates aren't useful, say so and I'll stop.
When to send: Once or twice a year to past clients and sphere contacts, pegged to a real comparable sale.
Why it works: A real closed comp is news they cannot easily get themselves, which makes this the rare agent text that delivers value with no ask attached. The exit line keeps a long-game touch from becoming a nuisance.
9. The expired-listing opener
hi [first name], [your name] with [brokerage]. saw [address] came off the market after [days] days. not here to trash your last agent, I just have two specific things I'd do differently on the relist. want them? and if you're done with agents entirely, tell me and I'll leave you be.
When to send: First touch to an expired listing, within a few days of it expiring. This is cold outreach, so the way out is mandatory.
Why it works: Expired sellers are drowning in identical agent calls the week they expire, and "two specific things" is a concrete offer where everyone else sends a pitch. The exit line separates you from the pile on its own.
10. The post-close referral ask
[first name], one month in, how's the house treating you? also, a favor when it's earned: if anyone you know starts looking, a text intro to me is the biggest compliment you could pay. that's it, that's the whole ask.
When to send: Thirty days after closing, after at least one no-ask check-in.
Why it works: Bringing up the objection first removes the adversarial framing. "Help me understand" is more disarming than overcome-this-objection.
Questions
How fast should I respond to a real estate lead?
Inside five minutes. Portal leads inquire with several agents at once and the first real answer usually wins the client, which is why the first template leads with availability rather than qualification. If you cannot answer that fast yourself, automate the first text and staff every one after it.
Can I text real estate leads without them opting in?
A lead who inquired about a property gave you the working consent basis for a direct response about that property, and TCPA compliance from there is behavior: identify yourself, stay relevant, send at human hours, stop when anyone asks. Cold touches like expired listings carry an explicit way out in the first message.
Why iMessage instead of regular SMS for follow-up?
A blue bubble reads as a person and a green broadcast reads as a drip campaign, and buyers reply to people. iMessage is not carrier SMS, so no A2P 10DLC registration stands between you and sending, and no per-segment billing punishes a two-sentence message with a link.
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