Advertising Rules Every Agent Should Know Pt.1 | AgentEDU.com

Advertising Rules Every Agent Should Know—Part 1

Regardless of whether your advertisement is written, verbal or electronic, real estate brokers must follow these basic rules and laws governing real estate advertising.

Article 12 Standards of Practice (#1-7)

Article 12 of the REALTORS® Code of Ethics calls on all REALTORS® to be honest and truthful in their real estate advertising, marketing, and other representations. Below are the first seven of the 13 Standards of Practice listed in Article 12.

12-1: REALTORS® may use the term “free” and similar terms in their advertising and in other representations provided that all terms governing availability of the offered product or service are clearly disclosed at the same time.

The easiest way to do this is by disclosing all terms in fine print at the bottom of your advertisement.

12-2: REALTORS® may represent their services as “free” or without cost even if they expect to receive compensation from a source other than their client provided that the potential for the REALTOR® to obtain a benefit from a third party is clearly disclosed at the same time.

Again, this information can easily be disclosed in fine print at the bottom of your advertisement.

12-3: The offering of premiums, prizes, merchandise discounts or other inducements to list, sell, purchase, or lease is not, in itself, unethical even if receipt of the benefit is contingent on listing, selling, purchasing, or leasing through the REALTOR® making the offer.

But your listing presentation and experience should be what wins over clients, not inducements.

12-4: REALTORS® shall not offer for sale/lease or advertise property without authority. When acting as listing brokers or as subagents, REALTORS® shall not quote a price different from that agreed upon with the seller/landlord.

Never change a listing price without consulting your clients. Once you and your clients decide on a list price, stick with it. If the home isn’t selling, consult with your clients to determine whether a price change is necessary.

12-5: REALTORS® shall not advertise nor permit any person employed by or affiliated with them to advertise real estate services or listed property in any medium without disclosing the name of that REALTOR®’s firm in a reasonable and readily apparent manner.

While it is legally required, it’s also best practice to disclose both your name and your brokerage’s name on every piece of marketing material you distribute. In doing so, potential clients can more easily find your information online and hire you as their agent.

12-6: REALTORS®, when advertising unlisted real property for sale/lease in which they have an ownership interest, shall disclose their status as both owners/landlords and as REALTORS® or real estate licensees.

Not doing so deceives potential buyers or renters. Transparency is a necessary route to take when selling or leasing a property you have ownership interest in.

12-7: Only REALTORS® who participated in the transaction as the listing broker or cooperating broker (selling broker) may claim to have “sold” the property.  Prior to closing, a cooperating broker may post a “sold” sign only with the consent of the listing broker.

When you’re working with buyer clients to close a deal, it’s important to establish a professional relationship with the selling broker and respect the selling broker’s rights.

You can find the full Article 12 of the REALTORS® Code of Ethics here.


AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth.

AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.

3 Quick Steps to Set Your Real Estate Budget | AgentEDU.com

3 Quick Steps to Set Your Real Estate Advertising Budget

One of a the biggest mistakes a real estate agent can make is neglecting to see value in marketing their brand with a sufficient advertising budget.

Successful marketing campaigns can increase awareness of your brand, your business and your income. But how do you determine just how much of your annual income to allocate to marketing? Below we outline three steps to determine just how much you should budget for your advertising efforts.

#1. Observe Market Trends

To understand what marketing strategies are worth investing in, take some time to analyze market trends and compare your company with others in the industry. Look at marketing efforts from similar companies, both online and offline, to determine where companies in your industry advertise and how much they spend. Understanding the ad budgets of comparable companies in your industry can be valuable insight for developing your own budget.

#2. Calculate a Percentage

Look at your average annual income and consider how long you’ve been in business. Younger companies rely heavily on aggressive marketing plans to increase brand awareness and drive revenue. If your company is five years old or younger, experts suggest devoting between 12 and 20 percent of gross revenue to marketing. For older companies, brand awareness and a profitable customer base have already been established, meaning these companies can allocate a slightly smaller budget to advertising efforts, between six and 12 percent of gross revenue.

#3. Determine the When, Where, and How

When, where and how should you spend your marketing budget? Your initial observation of market trends and other comparable companies advertising strategies can be a great starting point to determine where to spend your marketing budget. Once you know where you want to spend your marketing dollars, how much should you spend in each place?

How To Allocate Your Budget

With the rise in online marketing, it can be assumed that a significant portion of your budget will go to online marketing efforts, and Forrester Research provides great insight into how your online budget should be allocated:

Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing, including keyword optimization, requires the most significant online spending, capturing about 14 percent of total marketing budgets.

Display Advertising

Display advertising, like banner ads and re-targeting, is the next largest, taking ten percent of total marketing budgets.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is relatively cheap, but by no means free: Most companies devote two percent of their total marketing budgets to maintenance on social sites.


AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth.

AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.