New Rules For Real Estate on Facebook: Can I Still Post Listings on my Facebook Business Page?
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In the age of social media, when most home buyers begin their searches online and with print media dying a slow death, most Realtors have moved the bulk of their marketing efforts to digital formats. If you go to any high-producing agent or group’s website, and you’ll find links to their social pages, likely including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and if they’re really with it — TikTok.
So it’s understandable that when real estate industry folks with Facebook Business pages began receiving emails Sept. 30 announcing upcoming changes to the way they would be able to market listings on Facebook, there was some panic in the air.
The email, which was from the Meta Business Help Center, announced that starting Jan. 30, 2023, Facebook Business pages would no longer be allowed to post either real estate or vehicle listings on Facebook Marketplace. This news trickled down through broker meetings, MLS meetings, and networking groups, and there were a number of agents who (incorrectly) interpreted the message to mean that they would no longer be allowed to post listings on their Facebook pages.
What The Facebook Business Pages Change Means For Realtors
What it actually means is that Realtors (or anyone, for that matter) will no longer be allowed to list real estate properties on Facebook Marketplace from their Business Pages. If that is a sales tactic they have used in the past — which, honestly, I don’t see Realtors in our area doing this, ever — they could still do it using their personal Facebook Page. This is in an effort to keep sales of real estate (and vehicles) on Marketplace between individuals, rather than letting big companies take over what is meant to be a person-to-person marketplace.
In other words, it shouldn’t affect most Realtors in our area in any way whatsoever. A cursory search on Marketplace showed FSBO listings and rentals, as far as I could see.
As a freelance digital marketing professional for the real estate industry, I became aware of the issue when one of my clients, a luxury agent in San Antonio, forwarded me an email from her broker. “URGENT! We can’t post listings on Facebook anymore???” The brokerage had called a meeting to discuss it, and all the agents were panicking. I assured her that wasn’t the deal, but it took a few phone calls, and backup from the San Antonio Board of Realtors, to get everyone back down from their respective trees.
MetroTex, Dallas-Fort Worth’s Realtor association, released a statement to inform members about the changes, but even their statement starts out a bit confusing:
“Starting Jan. 30, 2023, you will no longer be able to create real estate sales and rental listings using your Facebook business page.”
Wait, what?
They go on to clarify, but that headline is a little double-take worthy, in my humble opinion. MetroTex didn’t respond to my request for comment. (Neither did Facebook, but I can dream.)
Agents’ and marketers’ tendency to panic about new rules from Facebook is completely understandable after the dramatic changes Facebook made to its real estate advertising rules in 2019. We had become comfortable and confident in our ability to use Facebook advertising to target listing and branding ads to specific and useful demographics, only to have all those specific targeting tools taken away.
“I’ve stopped using Facebook ads as a tool for that reason,” said Joanne Bryan of Coldwell Banker. So it might not be such a huge leap to hear that Facebook was announcing that Business Pages could no longer post about real estate listings.
It would be a pretty huge mistake, however, since that’s what an entire multibillion-dollar industry posts about almost exclusively, all day every day.
“It is a good tool,” Bryan said. “I use it more for promoting my expertise, my services, than for trying to find a buyer for a listing. But to take that away would certainly negatively affect the business as a whole.”
Luckily, that’s not what’s happening. So, in case there is any lingering confusion or doubt:
You may continue to post pictures, links, descriptions, and what-have-you about your listings on your Facebook Business Page. The ONLY thing the upcoming change affects is your ability to list your property on Facebook Marketplace — which you probably don’t do anyway.
Let us Know
Did you hear about this and initially panic? Does this change affect you? Do you list properties on Facebook Marketplace?
Tell us in the comments.
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Hi Brenda, I’m seeing several real estate Facebook pages being unpublished for no apparent reason. When you go through the steps to contact them, they call you, and still no answers. Any idea what’s up with that one?
Thank you for sharing this! Just what I’ve been searching for. Great info!
Actually it’s already been a rule that you cannot use Facebook or Craigslist. To sell or show pictures or address of the house you are selling. Due to the fact of scammers and unsafe reasons. They talk about this in realer estate classes. Anyone who sells house should know this. If you don’t then you where not paying attention in class.
I think that I udnerstand what you are saying about not using your brokerage page to post listings on the Marketplace, which we do not do at LoneStar Properties. A little clarification on the ad portion. Can we create ads still as long as they do not go to marketplace?
Correct. You can still create an ad for your listing, but you need to check the box for “Special Ad Category” and select “Housing” for the ad to be approved. Thanks for reading!
What about using a personal Facebook profile to do live open houses and promote listing? Can I avoid advertising rules and just sell directly by guessing on investment property returns and solicit comments on price? All without listing my broker information and everything else require? Asking for another agent…
Hi Douglas! Lots of things here: Yes, you can go live on your personal page at an Open House. You would do so at your own risk if you haven’t listed your broker information anywhere on your page, or on the post itself. That would be a TREC violation, and I wouldn’t recommend it. Easy enough to post your broker and your license info on your page and in the text on the live post. I’m not sure I understand the second part of your question, but you can’t avoid the advertising rules on Facebook regarding housing. It’s a bot, and you can’t argue with a bot. It can tell you’re selling real estate.
Someone contacted me asking me if I wanted to make money by posting a listing of houses on my Facebook page and when the people inbox me about the house I give them their contact information about the listing is that legal for me to do? I had put up a post, but then I took it down because I want to make sure it was legal for me to do so first. Because I don’t want to get in trouble for nothing that I’m not supposed to be doing. I will let the people know that I’m not the one selling the house and I give them the contact information that is provided to is that okay
I am not a legal authority on this, but according to my source who is, you can post about someone else’s listing on your Facebook page, as long as you prominently mention the broker and listing agent, otherwise you are misrepresenting yourself as the listing agent/broker. If it’s a non-MLS listing, then you could be breaking the law, depending on your state. Hope that helps!
I’m an assistant to a realtor and am wondering if I’m able to put our listed houses on marketplace from my personal FB page, or do they need to be posted from her personal page? She just had surgery and won’t be able to do this any time soon. Thank you!
Hi Lorrie, as far as Facebook is concerned, it doesn’t matter. Legally, you’ll want to check on the regulations of your particular state. Check with your local Realtor Association. If you’re here in Texas, you can post it from either profile, just make sure to explicitly state the name of both the listing agent and her broker, as well as the MLS number (or if it’s a private sale).
Hey! Just to clarify, for real estate listing. the realtor’s name and the brokerage should be included either on the description on one of the photos? Thank you!
Hi! If you’re posting your own listing, you don’t have to include the brokerage every time, as long as your name, title, and brokerage are clearly shown on the About section of the page. If you’re posting someone else’s listing, you should include the Realtor’s name and the brokerage in the description.