Reaching first-time homebuyers on Facebook can be one of the most lucrative opportunities for real estate agents, mortgage lenders, and property developers. However, without a clear strategy, much of your ad spend can go to waste. With U.S. homeownership rates at 65.9% in 2024 and millennials making up over 43% of homebuyers, this demographic represents a major segment of the real estate market.
Here is how to precisely target first-time homebuyers on Facebook using effective audience segmentation, smart budgeting, and the power of custom and lookalike audiences.
Understand the First-Time Buyer Profile
Median first‑time buyer is age 38 with household income near $97 000, putting about 7% down on a ~$404 000 home
Before launching your campaign, define the profile of your ideal first-time homebuyer. Typically, this group:
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Is aged between 25-35
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Often lives in urban or suburban areas
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Has recently searched for mortgage options, home listings, or real estate agents
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May have growing families or plans to start one
Use Facebook's demographic targeting features to narrow your audience by age, location, and life events like "New Job" or "Recently Engaged."
Build Custom Audiences Based on Intent
Custom Audiences allow you to target users who have already shown interest in your services or similar topics. Use these tactics:
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Upload your CRM list of leads or newsletter subscribers
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Retarget website visitors who have viewed listings or mortgage calculators
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Create engagement audiences from those who interacted with your Facebook or Instagram content
LeadEnforce simplifies this by letting you create Custom Audiences based on users who engage with relevant communities, groups, or competitors' pages.
Lookalike Audiences: Scale With Precision
Once you have a solid Custom Audience, use Facebook's Lookalike Audience feature to find similar users. Focus on high-quality source data for better results.
Layer Interests With Behavioral Data
Use interest and behavioral targeting to further qualify your audience. Based on internal keyword analysis, focus on interests such as:
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First-time buyer
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Mortgage loan
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Real estate investment
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Open house
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FHA loan
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Credit score improvement
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House hunting
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Apartment rental (as a transitional indicator)
Combining these interests with demographic and behavioral filters dramatically improves your chances of reaching ready-to-act buyers.
Optimize Ad Spend With Micro-Segmentation
First‑time buyers declined to a historic low of just 24% of all sales in 2024, down from 32% the prior year
One major budget drain is overly broad targeting. Instead:
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Break your audience into micro-segments (e.g., age 25-29 urban buyers, age 30-35 suburban families)
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Customize creatives and messaging for each segment
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Monitor performance by segment to reallocate budget to the highest-performing groups
A/B testing with different creatives and placements (Stories vs. Feed vs. Reels) can increase ROAS by up to 42%, according to Meta Business research.
Use Retargeting Wisely
Retargeting helps capture leads who didn’t convert the first time. Key tactics:
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Show testimonial or success story ads to warm leads
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Use urgency-based messaging ("Rates are changing soon")
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Offer lead magnets like homebuying checklists
Retargeted users are 70% more likely to convert, making this a critical tactic for budget efficiency.
Conclusion
Targeting first-time homebuyers doesn’t have to involve guesswork or wasted spend. With smart use of Facebook’s built-in tools and deeper segmentation from LeadEnforce, you can zero in on your most valuable prospects.
