A click on a real estate Google Ads keyword costs $1.78 on average, 84% less than the $10.82 average across 23 industries, making real estate the second cheapest of the 23. The searches that cost real money are the ones from home sellers, investors and agents, led by "real estate agent selling a house" at $39.29.
Analysis of 947 real estate keywords · Google Ads Keyword Planner, September 2026
Key Findings
- 1.A click on a real estate Google Ads keyword costs $1.78 on average, 84% less than the $10.82 average across 23 industries, placing real estate 22nd of the 23.
- 2.Half of real estate Google Ads keywords cost $0.98 or less per click, and only 2% cost $10 or more.
- 3.A click on "real estate agent selling a house" costs $39.29 on Google Ads, 22 times the $1.78 real estate average.
- 4.A click on a real estate keyword costs $0.94 on Microsoft Ads against $1.62 on Google Ads for the same keywords, 42% less.
- 5.Real estate advertisers in Texas pay 21% more per Google Ads click than the national price for the same keywords, while Massachusetts pays 10% less.
Summary
A real estate agent sets up a Google Ads campaign expecting a bidding war for home buyers. The prices say otherwise. "zillow", searched 20.4 million times a month, costs $0.08 a click. A search from someone ready to sell, "real estate agent selling a house", costs $39.29.
Cost per click, or CPC, is what an advertiser pays each time someone clicks its ad in Google's search results, whether or not that person ever calls. For an agent or brokerage, it decides how many visits a monthly budget buys. Knowing which real estate searches are cheap and which are expensive shows where advertisers see real value.
Most real estate searches are cheap. A click on a real estate Google Ads keyword costs $1.78 on average, 84% less than the $10.82 average across 18,477 keywords in 23 industries, and half of real estate keywords cost $0.98 or less. The expensive exceptions are searches from sellers, investors and agents themselves.
What we measured
In September 2026 we collected Google Ads Keyword Planner prices for 947 real estate keywords with a cost per click above zero, each searched at least 2,900 times a month in the US. For those keywords we calculated the average, median and spread of cost per click, and compared real estate with 18,477 keywords across 23 industries. We also collected state-level prices for the 25 largest US states, and Microsoft Ads prices for the 812 keywords priced on both platforms.
Cost per click is Google's estimate of the average price an advertiser pays for one click on an ad shown for that search. The median is the middle keyword: half cost less, half cost more. The volume-weighted average counts each keyword by how often it is searched, so busy searches count for more than rare ones. Each state is compared with the national price of the keywords priced in that state, so a state's percentage shows how much more or less a local agent pays for identical searches.
Real estate clicks are among the cheapest on Google
Real estate ranks 22nd of 23 industries by average cost per click, the second cheapest. The middle half of real estate keywords cost between $0.56 and $1.72 a click, and the most common price band is under $1, which holds 481 keywords, 51% of the total. Only 2% of real estate keywords cost $10 or more, and the most expensive 10% start at $2.99.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 947 real estate keywords · Google Ads Keyword Planner, September 2026
| CPC range | Keywords | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1 | 481 | 51% |
| $1 to $2 | 284 | 30% |
| $2 to $5 | 127 | 13% |
| $5 to $10 | 36 | 3.8% |
| $10 to $20 | 16 | 1.7% |
| $20 to $50 | 2 | 0.2% |
| $50 to $100 | 1 | 0.1% |
Weighted by how often each keyword is searched, the average falls to $0.74, because the busiest real estate searches are portal names. "zillow" alone is searched 20.4 million times a month and costs $0.08 a click: people typing a portal's name want the portal, so few advertisers bid against it. Keywords containing "near me" cost about the same as the rest, $1.75 against $1.78.
Seller and agent searches cost the most
The top of the price list is not about buying a home. The priciest search from a home seller, "real estate agent selling a house", costs $39.29, followed by "mark spain real estate" at $22.72 and "zillow premier agent" at $18.08, the name of Zillow's advertising program for agents.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 947 real estate keywords · Google Ads Keyword Planner, September 2026
| Keyword | CPC | Monthly searches |
|---|---|---|
| charitable donation of real estate | $85.84 | 6,600 |
| real estate agent selling a house | $39.29 | 8,100 |
| mark spain real estate | $22.72 | 12,100 |
| zillow premier agent | $18.08 | 14,800 |
| real estate agents in cypress texas | $17.73 | 22,200 |
| real estate franchise | $14.30 | 8,100 |
| real estate investment | $13.85 | 110,000 |
| real estate agents in utah | $12.34 | 6,600 |
| real estate agent commission | $11.61 | 6,600 |
| real estate signs | $10.98 | 9,900 |
| commercial real estate agent | $10.63 | 9,900 |
| how to get into real estate | $10.31 | 8,100 |
The single priciest keyword, "charitable donation of real estate" at $85.84, is a tax and charity search rather than a search for an agent. Beyond it, the pattern is clear. Sellers, investors and people choosing an agent are worth far more to an advertiser than someone browsing listings, because a listing brings a commission. Several of the priciest searches are typed by people in the business rather than by home owners: "real estate franchise", "real estate signs", "how to get into real estate" and "zillow premier agent". The advertisers bidding on those are selling to agents, not competing for clients.
Texas pays 21% more than the national price
Location changes the price of the same search. Among the 25 largest states, Texas is the most expensive for real estate clicks, 21% above the national price of the same keywords, followed by Maryland (20% above) and Alabama (17% above). Massachusetts is the cheapest at 10% below, with Missouri and New Jersey each 8% below.
| State | vs national price |
|---|---|
| Texas | +21% |
| Maryland | +20% |
| Alabama | +17% |
| New Jersey | -8% |
| Missouri | -8% |
| Massachusetts | -10% |
Demand is seasonal too. Real estate searches peaked in May 2026 and were lowest in December 2025, with about 1.36 times as many searches in the peak month as in the quietest, matching the spring listing season.
Microsoft Ads charges 42% less for the same searches
For the 812 real estate keywords priced on both platforms, a click on Microsoft Ads, which shows ads on Bing search, costs $0.94 on average against $1.62 on Google Ads, 42% less. On clicks this cheap the saving per visit is small in dollars, but it still stretches a small test budget further.
What this means for real estate agents and brokerages
Cheap clicks do not mean easy leads. Most low-cost real estate searches come from people browsing listings on the big portals. Spend on the searches advertisers already value most: sellers looking for an agent and people in your specific town looking for representation, such as "real estate agents in cypress texas" at $17.73.
Use the low prices to test. With half of real estate keywords under $1 a click, an agent can try neighborhoods, seller offers and home valuation pages on a small budget, keep what books appointments and cut the rest. Expect to pay more in Texas, Maryland and Alabama, and raise budgets ahead of the spring peak.
A google ads agency that separates seller campaigns from buyer campaigns puts the budget where the commissions are.
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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/real-estate-google-ads-cpc">Real Estate Google Ads Clicks Cost $1.78 on Average vs $10.82 Across Industries - Suff Digital</a></p>
Cite this study
Suff Digital. (2026). Real Estate Google Ads Clicks Cost $1.78 on Average vs $10.82 Across Industries. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/real-estate-google-ads-cpc
Real Estate Google Ads Clicks Cost $1.78 on Average vs $10.82 Across Industries - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/real-estate-google-ads-cpc
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