Finding first-time homebuyer leads on Instagram does NOT have to be difficult for real estate agents. It does NOT have to be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Seriously, it doesn’t.

Now before we go diving into Instagram, we have to understand WHO we are looking for, right?

The average age of someone who is a first-time homebuyer is roughly 25-35. They are the young professionals of your community who likely live in apartment complexes.

When you post to Instagram, you have the option of tagging your location. Many people will tag their apartment complex if they are posting from home.

When you open up Instagram, type in “apartment.” Then click on the tab labeled “places.”

Instagram will populate the search results with all the apartments near your current location.

Pick on of those apartment complexes. Now you have either 2 options. You can see the top posts that have the most engagement OR you can view the most recent posts. My recommendation would be to look at the most recent posts.

Because not everyone loves sharing where they live (#stalkeravoidance), there may only be a few posts within the past 6-12 months. That’s totally okay!

When you click on a post, do NOT like it unless it’s been posted in the last few weeks. No need for you to look like you’re fishing for leads, okay?

Instead, go their profile and start engaging with their more recent posts. Like a few posts, drop a comment about how cute their dog is, follow them, send a DM. Do whatever feels natural to you!

Go find the Instagram account of a local apartment complex. Go to their account profile and click “Followers.”

These are people who are following the apartment complex where they likely live.

Engage with a few of these accounts. Start some conversations.

Don’t get discouraged if many of the Instagram profiles you visit are private. Not everyone likes to share their lives with the world!

If you want to find people being followed by their landlord, go to the apartment complex’s profile nad then click “Following.”

Logically, an apartment complex will be following their own tenants plus other local apartment complexes.

Boom! Lots more accounts for you to engage with.

When you go to a local apartment complex’s profile, they likely have some posts, right? The people who like and/or comment on those posts are likely people who live in that apartment complex and are regularly on Instagram. Those could be some extra hot leads for you right there!

First-time homebuyers tend to be a few years out of college but not fully engaged in their mid-life crisis. (Kidding! …mostly.) They’re young professionals, newlyweds, and new parents.

Search for Instagram accounts of community groups geared to these people.

Try typing in “Young Professionals” into your Instagram search bar. Instagram will likely pull accounts local to you that include the name “Young Professionals.” Because of this, the potential is magnified. Not only will you find your city-wide young professionals group but also all of the nearby YP groups associated with particular churches or religious institutions. Triple win!

Now type in your city name followed by “mom.” I bet at least 1 local moms group popped up!

Just like before, go engage with the people who are connected to these accounts – whether they follow them, are followed by the account, or have engaged with the account’s posts. Make sense?

Treat Instagram like a cocktail party. You’re having conversation and creating connections. You don’t ask someone to marry you on the first date, do you? (If you do, it may be time to go talk to someone.) Before you ask someone to be your client, get to know them first! Build that like, know, and trust factor through consistent connection and conversations!