Are property portal leads worth it? How to judge 99acres, MagicBricks and Housing.com leads

Why portal lead quality varies so much

Portals such as 99acres, MagicBricks and Housing.com reach a large number of active home seekers, which is why most developers use them. The same reach explains why lead quality is uneven:

• Buyers shop around. Someone early in their search may enquire on many listings in one sitting to compare prices.
• Enquiries are easy. A tap on “contact” sends a name and number, just like a social lead form.
• The same buyer appears more than once. One person can enquire on two portals and your own website, and appear as three leads.
• Packages differ. What you receive depends on your listing type and package. Ask your portal account manager how leads are generated, whether the enquirer may also be shown other projects, and how the portal checks phone numbers.

Measure each portal by what it brings to the site

Lead count says little about value. For each portal, track over the same period:

• Unique leads after removing duplicates and unreachable numbers
• Site visits from those leads
• Bookings from those visits
• Cost per site visit and cost per booking

A portal that sends fewer leads but more visits is often the better buy. Our cost per site visit calculator helps you compare them quickly, and our guide to real estate marketing attribution explains how to follow each buyer from first enquiry to booking.

Remove duplicates before you report

Match leads by phone number across every source: portals, ads, your website, walk-ins and channel partners. Decide which source gets credit, for example the first enquiry, and apply the same rule every month. Without this, portals and campaigns all claim the same buyer and every channel looks better than it is.

Call fast, with the listing in mind

A buyer who enquired on several projects will remember the first developer who called with something useful. Call within minutes, mention the specific listing and configuration they enquired about, and offer something concrete: the cost sheet for that unit type, a floor plan or a site visit slot. See speed to lead in real estate.

Move interested buyers to your own project website

A portal shows you that someone enquired. It does not show you which floor plans they compared or whether they came back. Where the portal allows it, link your listing to your project website, and in your first message share a link to the unit or tool that matches what they asked about. Once the buyer is on your own site, every visit tells you more about their intent.

Use your data when you renew

Bring your cost per site visit and cost per booking for each portal to renewal conversations. They give you a factual basis to change packages, shift budget between portals or ask for better placement, instead of negotiating on lead volume.

When to cut a portal

Cut or reduce spend on a portal when, over a fair period, its cost per site visit stays well above your other sources and the leads it sends rarely visit, even when your team calls them quickly. Give a new package at least a full sales cycle before deciding, and check that slow follow-up is not the real cause.

How Spotmink helps

Spotmink builds one profile per buyer from what they do on your project websites. When a portal lead comes to your site, Spotmink shows which units they look at and how often they return, so sales can call the serious ones first. Direct connections to property portals are coming soon. Learn more about buyer profiles.