What Real Estate Marketing Strategies Should REALTORS® Be Using in 2026—Looking Toward 2027?

Starting tomorrow, October 1, 2026, we have exactly 92 days remaining in the year.
And once you factor in the approaching holidays, there’s a whole lot less productive time than that! Let that sink in!

The year isn’t over 🛬 but the runway is getting shorter. 🛫

Real estate marketing keeps getting more sophisticated. AI can write the email, edit the video, build the campaign, nurture the lead, and probably remind you to drink water while it’s at it.

But more technology does not automatically equal better marketing.

Heading into 2027, I think the REALTORS® who win will combine technology with something decidedly old-fashioned: being useful, visible, credible, and human.

Here are my Top 8 marketing priorities I've learned this year - for the year ahead.

1. 🎥 Get Comfortable With Video

You don’t need a production studio. You need a phone, decent lighting, useful information, and enough courage to hit record.

Property tours, neighborhood videos, market updates, FAQs, vendor recommendations & interviews, and short educational clips all help prospects experience you before ever meeting you.

Tap into our own local video expert resource here: Andrew Mooers | 207.532.6573 

Social media remains the top technology source of quality leads reported by REALTORS®, according to NAR’s 2025 technology survey. National Association of REALTORS.

2. 🤖 Become Findable in AI Search

SEO isn’t disappearing, but discovery is changing.

Consumers increasingly ask AI platforms ChatGPT, Google, Claude, and other AI tools questions like:

“Who is a good REALTOR® in La Jolla?”
“What should I know before moving to San Diego?”

That means creating specific, authoritative content answering the questions consumers actually ask. Local search research already shows significant adoption of generative AI during search. 

3. 📝 Own Your Content

OK, REALTORS®—social media is rented land. And last I checked, we got into real estate to help people own, not rent forever. 😏 Build your audience there, sure—but make sure you’re also building something you actually own.

Your website, blog, neighborhood pages, videos, articles, and email database are assets you control.

One thoughtful article can become a video, Facebook post, email, Instagram carousel, newsletter topic, and AI-searchable resource.

Create once. Repurpose intelligently.

4. ⭐ Build a Review Machine

Reviews are no longer decorative testimonials. They’re part of how consumers research professionals.

BrightLocal’s 2026 research found 85% of consumers are more likely to use a business after reading positive reviews, while many continue to the company’s website or social media before deciding.

Ask consistently. Respond personally. Keep reviews current.

5. 📇 Work Your Database Before Buying More Leads

Before spending another dollar chasing strangers, ask:

How well am I taking care of the people who already know me?

Your CRM should help identify birthdays, anniversaries, past clients, homeowners considering a move, referral opportunities, and people you simply haven’t spoken with lately. I've avoided buying leads and working by referral for 27+ years based on this advice alone!

Technology should remind you who needs a conversation, not replace the conversation.

 

6. 🏘️ Become a Local Publisher

Stop posting only listings.

Talk about restaurants, neighborhoods, development, homeowner issues, local businesses, events, architecture, market statistics, and what actually makes your community interesting.

A REALTOR® who consistently teaches people about a community becomes associated with that community.

7. 🧠 Use AI as a Staff Member—Not Your Personality

Use AI to research, organize, repurpose, brainstorm, proofread, analyze data, and handle repetitive work.

But if everything you publish sounds machine-generated, you’ve automated away the very thing clients eventually hire: you.

Be relatable. Remain authentically and flawed you! 

8. ☎️ Have More Actual Conversations

Here’s the wonderfully low-tech strategy I believe may become more valuable as automation increases:

Call people. In my opinion, one of the most underrated touchpoints of the 2020s is still the phone call—actually getting voice-to-voice with another human being.
Hosting Coffee Across The Miles has taught me this!

Ask how they’re doing. Listen. Be curious. Help without immediately trying to convert the conversation into business. 🥷 *F.O.R.D. them! 
*Your questions center around their: Family Occupation Recreation Dreams

The 2027 Marketing Formula

Technology creates efficiency.
Content creates visibility.
Reviews create credibility.
Conversations create relationships.
Relationships create business.

The agents who understand how those pieces work together
probably won’t need every shiny new marketing tool that comes along.

They’ll simply need the right ones! 😉