Real Estate Social Media Statistics 2026: Platforms and Leads

Social media is used by 75% of REALTORS and remained the top lead-generating technology at 39%, per a July 2025 member survey. The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) ran that survey, and in its May 2024 survey, 52% named social media for the highest number of quality leads. In these real estate social media statistics, social media still tops agents’ lead list, but fewer agents name it.

Buyers are on the same platforms. Realtor.com surveyed 1,000 US adults interested in buying or selling their primary residence, or who had done so within the past two years, in August 2025. Nearly 90% of them rely on social media, led by YouTube (73%) and Facebook (57%). Trust is weaker than reach: 30.5% said social media offered an inaccurate picture of the market.

Key Takeaways

• Social media is used by 75% of REALTORS, behind eSignature at 79%, per NAR’s July 2025 survey.
• In NAR’s July 2025 survey, social media was the top quality-lead technology for 39% of respondents, down from 52% in its May 2024 survey.
• 87% of respondents used Facebook in their real estate business, 62% used Instagram and 48% used LinkedIn, per NAR’s May 2024 survey.
• Agents and buyers lead with different platforms: 25% of REALTORS used YouTube in their real estate business in May 2024, while YouTube (73%) and Facebook (57%) were the most used among surveyed consumers, according to Realtor.com’s August 2025 survey.
• 30.5% of surveyed consumers said social media offered an inaccurate picture of the market, and in a UK survey for Lloyds Bank, 31% of prospective first-time buyers said they don’t trust any social media platform for homebuying advice.
• Videos of homes and communities were the most popular virtual search tool at 42% among new-construction buyers, per Homes.com’s survey released in September 2026.
• NAR’s 2026 figures show Gen Z made up 4% of home buyers, while 76% of Gen Z respondents in Realtor.com’s August 2025 survey say TikTok is one of their go-to sources for housing content.

Editor’s Choice

• NAR membership, 2026 Member Profile: 1,438,569.
• Agents who say they most often use social media scheduling/content tools, NAR’s latest technology report: 32%.
• Median age of all buyers, NAR’s 2025 buyer profile: 59.
• Buyers who found their home online, NAR’s 2025 buyer profile: 52%.
• US adults who use YouTube, Pew Research Center 2025 survey: 84%.
• Meta Family daily active people, June 2026: 3.60 billion.

How Many Real Estate Agents Use Social Media

• In NAR’s July 2025 survey, social media is used by 75% of respondents, behind eSignature at 79%.
• NAR’s report lists drone photography/video at 75% in its highlights text and at 52% in its chart. With two different figures in one report, that item is left out of the table below.
• In July 2025, NAR invited a random sample of 49,233 active REALTORS to the online survey and received 1,241 usable responses, for a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.78%.
• Sales agents made up 68% of respondents and associate brokers 14%, with a median of 11 years as real estate professionals.
• NAR’s current membership stands at 1,438,569, per its 2026 Member Profile release.
• The survey share describes respondents, so it is not a head count of NAR’s full membership.

Source: NAR, 2025 REALTORS Technology Survey

What is social media real estate?

Social media real estate is the use of social platforms to market listings, find clients and research homes. Agents and brokerages post listings and tour videos, while home shoppers browse them on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. Among agents, social media is used by 75% of REALTORS, per NAR’s July 2025 survey.

About This Data

The figures come from 14 sources. That total covers 8 NAR reports and releases and 3 consumer surveys from Realtor.com, Lloyds Bank and Homes.com, all from the organizations that produced the data. The rest are 1 Pew Research Center report, 1 Meta earnings release and 1 US Department of Justice case page. Most were published between August 2024 and September 2026; the latest event captured from the DOJ case page is June 2023. Figures are reviewed on a rolling basis and updated when sources publish new editions.

Social Media Platforms Real Estate Agents Use

• In NAR’s May 2024 survey, 87% of respondents used Facebook in their real estate business and 62% used Instagram.
• YouTube was used by 25% of respondents in their real estate business, a low share next to the buyer surveys further down.
• 15% used TikTok in their real estate business, in the same survey.
• In May 2024, NAR invited a random sample of 46,625 active REALTORS and received 1,007 usable responses, for a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.05%.
• We found no platform-by-platform split in NAR’s 2025 and 2026 public releases, so the 2024 figures are the newest we could source for agents.

Recent Developments

• September 2026: NAR’s latest technology report lists social media scheduling/content tools at 32% of agents, drone photography/video at 48% and virtual tours at 29%.
• September 2026: In the same report, marketing tasks are a leading application for AI among REALTORS.
• September 10, 2026: A Homes.com study of over three thousand new-construction decision-makers found videos of homes and communities the most popular virtual search tool at 42%.
• September 10, 2026: The same study found objective reviews carried more weight than social media when buyers chose a builder, and 51% of respondents used AI tools during their home search.
• July 29, 2026: Meta reported Family daily active people of 3.60 billion on average for June 2026, with ad impressions up 14% and average price per ad up 12% year over year.

Real Estate Social Media Statistics on Quality Leads

• When NAR asked which technologies provided the highest number of quality leads, 39% of respondents said social media, followed by Customer Relationship Management (CRM) at 23% and their local MLS at 17% in the July 2025 survey.
• NAR describes the result as “consistent with last year’s reporting”.
• In NAR’s May 2024 survey, the top three tech tools for the highest number of quality leads in the last 12 months were social media (52%), CRM (32%) and local MLS (26%).
• A digital ad campaign, such as Google AdWords, Facebook Business or display ads, was named by 12% in the 2025 survey, against 19% in 2024.
• The two surveys drew 1,007 and 1,241 usable responses from separate random samples of active REALTORS.
• Each survey drew a new sample, so the lower share does not prove social media now produces fewer leads.

Source: NAR, 2024 Technology Survey and 2025 REALTORS Technology Survey

Key finding: Social media was the top quality-lead answer in both NAR surveys. Social media was named by 52% of respondents in May 2024, and 39% of respondents said social media in July 2025, an outcome NAR calls “consistent with last year’s reporting”. A total of 1,241 usable responses were received in the July 2025 survey.

Real Estate Video and Virtual Tour Statistics

• In a Homes.com survey released in September 2026, videos of homes and communities were the most popular virtual search tool at 42%, followed by interactive floor plans.
• The study surveyed over three thousand American adults aged 25 or older who were primary or joint housing decision-makers, with a newly constructed home purchase price or budget of at least $250,000.
• Among Gen Z buyers, one in four said they struggle to visualize a completed home.
• 51% of respondents used AI tools during their home search.
• Among agents, NAR’s 2026 report asked which tools they most often use: drone photography/video was used by 48% and virtual tours by 29% on that measure. The July 2025 survey measured current use instead and recorded 38% for virtual tours, so the two shares are not comparable.

Real Estate Marketing Tools Agents Use

• In NAR’s latest technology report, about half of the 1,200 agents surveyed say they budget between $50 to $500 monthly for technology expenses; 22% spend more than $500 monthly; and 18% spend less than $50 per month.
• From NAR’s 2026 list of the tech agents say they rely on most: Social media scheduling/content tools are used by 32% of agents, behind CRM at 46%.
• Marketing tasks are a leading application for AI in real estate among REALTORS, per NAR’s latest technology report.
• Scheduling and content tools are a narrower item than the general social media use NAR measured in 2025, and the 2026 list ranks the tech agents rely on most, so the two shares do not show a decline.

How Homebuyers Use Social Media in Their Home Search

• In an August 2025 Realtor.com survey, nearly 90% of respondents relied on social media, with YouTube (73%) the most used overall.
• The sample covered 1,000 US adults (aged 18+) who are interested in buying or selling their primary residence or have done so within the past two years.
• 52% of buyers found their home online, per NAR’s 2025 buyer profile.
• That order is reversed among agents: in NAR’s 2024 survey, 87% of respondents used Facebook and 25% used YouTube for business.

Source: Realtor.com consumer survey (August 2025); NAR, 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

Homebuyer Trust in Social Media Housing Information

• 52.6% of respondents called time spent on social media a positive use of time, against 65.6% for real estate agents, in Realtor.com’s August 2025 survey.
• 30.5% said social media offered an inaccurate picture of the market, and 28.8% said its information was not applicable to their specific market.
• Respondents pointed to real estate agents (62%) and AI (61%) as the sources that make them smarter about the market.
• In the UK, 31% of prospective first-time buyers said they don’t trust any social media platform for homebuying advice, in a Lloyds Bank survey from July 2025.
• Objective reviews carried more weight than social media, and 57% considered the quality of materials while 54% considered builder experience, in the Homes.com new-construction study.

Why it matters: In Realtor.com’s survey, 52.6% called social media a positive use of time, below real estate agents at 65.6%, and 30.5% said social media offered an inaccurate picture of the market. Social platforms put listings in front of buyers, yet buyers give them less credit than the agents who post there.

Gen Z Homebuyers and TikTok

• 76% of Gen Z say TikTok is one of their go-to sources for housing content, more than any other generation, in Realtor.com’s August 2025 survey.
• Gen Z made up 4% of buyers in the past year, up from 3%, in NAR’s 2026 generational report.
• In a Lloyds Bank survey of UK prospective first-time buyers, around 31% of those aged 18 to 24 trust TikTok as a source of mortgage advice, compared with 20% of all respondents and 12% of those aged 35 to 44.
• Around 34% of respondents said parents were their most reliable source, rising to 46% among 18 to 24-year-olds, in that Lloyds poll.
• TikTok use reached 37% of US adults, up from 21% in 2021, according to Pew Research Center.

Source: Realtor.com (August 2025); Lloyds Bank and OnePoll (July 2025); Pew Research Center (2025)

Social Media Use Among US Adults by Platform

• The vast majority of US adults (84%) say they ever use YouTube, and 71% report using Facebook, according to Pew Research Center.
• Half of US adults now report using Instagram, up from 40% in 2021.
• 26% report using Reddit, compared with 18% four years ago.
• YouTube and Facebook are the only sites asked about that a majority in all age groups use.
• Pew surveyed 5,022 US adults from February 5 to June 18, 2025.

Home Buyer Age and Social Platform Reach

• Baby Boomers remained the largest generational group of home buyers at 42%, according to NAR’s 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends release.
• Millennials made up 26% of buyers, down from 29%.
• First-time buyers made up just 21% of all buyers, the lowest share since NAR began collecting the data in 1981.
• The median age of all buyers was 59, and the typical age of first-time buyers was 40, per NAR’s 2025 buyer profile.
• The typical REALTOR was 57 years old, per NAR’s 2026 Member Profile.
• Pew data show Facebook use is most common among 30- to 49-year-olds (80%), while Instagram is used by 19% of adults 65 and older.
• An older buyer base fits agents’ Facebook-first mix, though no survey here tests why agents chose it.

UK First-Time Buyers and Social Media Advice

• Around 23% of all respondents said they trust YouTube for homebuying advice, and TikTok came second at 20%, in a Lloyds Bank survey of UK prospective first-time buyers.
• 21% said they don’t get their information from social media.
• 33% of men said they’d trust YouTube as a source of information, compared with 19% of women.
• Around 16% of men would turn to Reddit for advice, compared to just 9% of women.
• OnePoll surveyed 2,000 UK adults who are prospective first-time buyers online from July 17 to 21, 2025, on behalf of Lloyds.
• The Lloyds survey is UK-only and over a year old.

Facebook Housing Ad Rules and Meta Ad Data

• The US Department of Justice complaint alleged that Meta’s housing advertising system discriminated against Facebook users in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA).
• The complaint also alleged that Meta uses algorithms in determining which Facebook users receive housing ads, and that those algorithms rely, in part, on characteristics protected under the FHA.
• Under the settlement, Meta stopped using its Special Ad Audience tool for housing ads and developed the Variance Reduction System (VRS).
• The third-party reviewer, Guidehouse Inc., issued its first report on June 29, 2023.
• Meta’s Family daily active people (DAP) was 3.60 billion on average for June 2026, an increase of 3% year over year, per its second quarter 2026 results.
• Ad impressions delivered across Meta’s Family of Apps increased by 14% and average price per ad by 12% year over year.
• The case record describes how Meta changed housing ad delivery; it is not guidance on how any single listing campaign should run.

Source: US Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division; Meta Platforms Q2 2026 results

By the numbers: Meta reported Family daily active people of 3.60 billion on average for June 2026, up 3% year over year, with ad impressions up 14% and average price per ad up 12%. Those totals cover Meta’s whole Family of Apps, not housing ads alone.

Conclusion

Social media is used by 75% of REALTORS and remained the top lead-generating technology at 39% in NAR’s July 2025 technology survey. Meanwhile, 30.5% of Realtor.com’s surveyed consumers said social media offered an inaccurate picture of the market. Agents led with Facebook in NAR’s May 2024 data, buyers and US adults reach YouTube first, and in two separate buyer surveys roughly three in ten respondents doubt or distrust what they see on social platforms.

A future NAR survey that repeats the quality-lead question will show whether the lower share holds, and whether NAR publishes a new platform-by-platform split for agents.