What are the best marketing methods for property agents?

There is no single best marketing method. Search ads reach people already searching for a project, social ads and TikTok widen your reach, and past clients, referrals and events build on trust. Portals, your own website, print and messaging each add something. Compare them on cost, effort, lead intent and the CEA, PDPA and platform rules each one carries.

This guide compares nine methods for agents marketing new launch condos. Singapore buyers are easy to reach online: 98% of resident households were connected to the internet as of 2025, according to IMDA.⁸ But reach is not the same as intent, and every method comes with its own rules. We run Google search ads for agents, so weigh our view on that method accordingly; the rules below come from CEA, the PDPC, Singapore's statutes and the platforms themselves.

How do the main marketing methods compare?

Search ads and your own website catch people who are looking. Social ads, portals, events and print reach people who may become interested. Referrals and past clients depend on relationships, and messaging depends on consent.

CEA's starting point covers every row:

"As a general principle, all regulations and policies respecting advertising apply equally to the Internet." (CEA, PG 02-11)¹

Are Google search ads worth it for new launches?

Often, yes. They show your ad to people already searching for the project, you pay for clicks rather than views, and you can see which keywords bring enquiries.

Google describes Search campaigns as a way to "show ads to people actively searching online for your products and services".⁹ With cost-per-click bidding "you pay for each click on your ads", and you are often charged less than your maximum bid.¹⁰ Conversion measurement then shows "which keywords, ads, ad groups, and campaigns are best at driving valuable customer activity".¹¹

The catches: you compete with every other advertiser on the same searches, and a weak page wastes the clicks you pay for. Our guides to Google Ads cost per lead and the new launch landing page checklist cover both. Before a project is approved for sale, your ads and page must say "pending approval for sale" and leave out words such as "New Launch" and "Register for VVIP Preview".²

What about Facebook, Instagram and TikTok?

They reach people who are not searching yet, so they suit building awareness and a following over time. Expect to spend more effort on content, and to qualify enquiries more carefully.

• How Meta works. Meta says lead ads "are designed to help you find people who may be interested in your products or services and collect information from them".¹⁴ They can use an instant form or send people straight into a chat in Messenger, Instagram or WhatsApp. Meta runs an auction, and you are usually charged per impression.¹⁵
• How TikTok works. You set a daily or lifetime budget, and TikTok requires minimum budgets at both campaign and ad group level.¹⁸ Plan on a steady stream of short videos.
• TikTok's real estate rule. TikTok allows real estate ads if advertisers "Comply with relevant laws and be registered and licensed with regional authorities" and "Disclose advertiser information and contact details on landing pages".¹⁷
• CEA on social accounts. If you use a social account for estate agency work, your agency's licence number and your registration number must be "clearly stated in the account profile".¹ Your ads still need the five particulars.¹
• Personal data. A lead form collects personal data, so state the purpose before people submit and get their consent.⁵
• Meta's special ad categories. Meta limits audience options for housing ads that reach the US, Canada and certain countries in Europe.¹⁶ Check the category rules if a campaign reaches any of them.

Should you use property portals?

Yes, if your agency lets you list the project and you can keep the listings current. Portals reach people who are already browsing, but you compete with every other listing on the page.

CEA's rules for portals are specific. Your name, CEA-registered number, licence and registration numbers must be shown, and you must be able to declare that the advertisement is not copied and that "all information and photos used are actual and not misleading".¹ Copied advertisements are "strictly not allowed", listings must be "kept current and accurate", and expired listings must be removed.¹ CEA also requires the owner's prior consent before you advertise a property.¹ For a new launch the owner is the developer, so list only what your agency is authorised to market. Each portal sets its own listing rules and packages; read them before you buy.

Is your own website and SEO worth the effort?

A website is worth having as the place your ads and messages point to. SEO is a slower, longer-term addition, not a way to fill a launch weekend.

Google is plain about timing: "Some changes might take effect in a few hours, others could take several months," and it suggests waiting a few weeks before judging whether a change worked.¹² It also says "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google."¹³ Content matters more than tricks: "don't copy others' content in part or in its entirety".¹² For a new launch, that means adding your own details, answers and next steps rather than copying the developer's brochure.

Your website is advertising under CEA's rules, so it needs your particulars, your agency's vetting and current details.¹ Our comparison of the 360 Marketing Package and doing it yourself sets out what running your own site and ads involves week to week.

How should you market to past clients and referrals?

With their consent. Past clients and referrals start from trust, but the PDPA does not treat an old transaction as permission to market to someone.

• Using their details is a use of personal data. The PDPC's real estate guidelines give the example of an agency that mails new launch flyers to its salespersons' former clients by name: it "has used the personal data of these former clients to market the new launch".⁴ You need consent for that purpose.⁵
• A past sale is not an ongoing relationship. The PDPC says one-off transactions are not enough to establish an ongoing relationship.³ Its example of an agent who calls a buyer two years after the sale to offer his services is a marketing message covered by the Do Not Call rules.⁴
• Ask at the right moment. The PDPC counts an email reply of "Yes" to an agent's question about calling with other properties as likely clear consent, if you keep the evidence.⁴ Asking at the end of each transaction, in writing, gives you a record.
• Referrals. A number passed on by a friend is not consent from the person who owns it; the DNC rules look for consent "from the user or subscriber of the number".³ Ask your friend to have the buyer contact you, or check the number against the DNC Registry first. If you plan to reward referrals, check your agency's rules before you offer anything.

Do events, roadshows and seminars still work?

They can, because people who turn up have chosen to. They take a lot of time and money per event, and each kind has its own rules.

• Seminars. At a talk on the general property market, no one may market or sell a particular development "with pricing and other details" unless they are licensed or registered with CEA or exempted.¹
• Guestbooks. A showroom guestbook with a box to "tick here if you wish to be contacted by phone or SMS" is likely clear consent if you keep the record. A sign saying "ABC or its salespersons may contact you for marketing and promotions" is not.⁴ Calling someone whose number you took from a guestbook without speaking to them is covered by the DNC rules.⁴
• Before approval for sale. Do not collect cheques or conduct sales, and do not advertise a "Register for VVIP Preview".²
• Banners and public spaces. Banners must meet BCA's outdoor advertising rules, and stickers or ads in HDB common areas, at bus stops or along roads need approval.¹

Are flyers, SMS blasts and WhatsApp outreach still allowed?

Yes, within the rules, and the rules for messaging are the strictest of any method here. Flyers need your particulars, a date of issue and proper distribution; our post on why traditional marketing is no longer enough covers print in detail.¹

For SMS and WhatsApp:

• Do Not Call. Check each Singapore number against the DNC Registry within 21 days before a marketing message, unless you hold "clear and unambiguous consent in evidential form".³ The rules apply to "any data applications (such as 'Whatsapp', 'iMessage' or 'Viber') which use a Singapore telephone number".³
• Bought and scraped lists. A database bought from a third party, even with claims that consent was obtained, is not likely to count as clear consent, and nor is a number from a public social profile.⁴ Numbers obtained by address-harvesting software or dictionary attacks must not be messaged at all.³
• Spam Control Act. Messages that advertise land or an interest in land are commercial messages. Sending more than 100 with the same or similar content in 24 hours counts as sending in bulk, and unsolicited messages sent in bulk must carry a way to unsubscribe.⁷
• CEA's SMS rules. Include your name and CEA-registered number and a mobile number for unsubscribe requests, stop when someone asks you to, and send nothing between 10.00pm and 9.00am.¹
• WhatsApp's own policy. Businesses may contact people only if they have given their number and "you have received opt-in permission from the recipient".¹⁹
• Penalties. The PDPA caps financial penalties for Do Not Call breaches at S$200,000 for an individual.⁶

How do you choose the right mix?

Start where buyers are already looking, add methods you can keep up properly, and measure each one by the enquiries it brings.

1. Catch active searches first. A search campaign and a page for the exact project reach people looking for it now.⁹
2. Build on people who know you. Ask past clients and new contacts for clear, recorded consent, then keep in touch within it.⁴
3. Add reach you can sustain. Use social ads or TikTok only if you can post and reply consistently.
4. Use print and events for local presence, with a link or QR code on every piece so you can track it.
5. Measure the cost of a real enquiry. Set up conversion measurement where you can and compare methods on enquiries, not clicks or likes.¹¹ Our free leads projection gives an estimate for search ads before you commit.
6. Get every piece vetted. Your agency must vet all your advertising before it is published.¹

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Council for Estate Agencies, Practice Guidelines on Ethical Advertising PG 02-11, version 2.0, issued 29 Jun 2011, revised 10 Dec 2020, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
2. Council for Estate Agencies, Practice Circular PC 04-13: Marketing of development projects where approval for sale has not been granted, 27 Jun 2013, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
3. Personal Data Protection Commission, Advisory Guidelines on the Do Not Call Provisions, revised 1 Feb 2021, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
4. Personal Data Protection Commission, Advisory Guidelines for the Real Estate Agency Sector, 16 May 2014, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
5. Personal Data Protection Commission, Advisory Guidelines on Key Concepts in the PDPA, revised 29 Apr 2026, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
6. Singapore Statutes Online, Personal Data Protection Act 2012, section 48J, current version as at 12 Nov 2026.
7. Singapore Statutes Online, Spam Control Act 2007, 2020 Revised Edition, current version as at 12 Nov 2026.
8. Infocomm Media Development Authority, Annual Report 2025/2026, Sep 2026, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
9. Google Ads Help, Create a Search campaign, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
10. Google Ads Help, Cost-per-click (CPC): Definition, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
11. Google Ads Help, About conversion measurement, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
12. Google Search Central, SEO Starter Guide, updated 10 Dec 2025, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
13. Google Search Central, Do you need an SEO?, updated 5 Jun 2026, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
14. Meta Business Help Centre, About lead ads, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
15. Meta Business Help Centre, How Meta charges for ads, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
16. Meta Business Help Centre, How to choose a Special Ad Category, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
17. TikTok Advertising Policies, Other products and services, updated Oct 2026, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
18. TikTok Ads Manager Help, About budgets for ads in TikTok Ads Manager, updated Jul 2026, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
19. WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, updated 23 Sep 2026, accessed 12 Nov 2026.
20. ProjectSG, Agent Packages, accessed 12 Nov 2026.

Written by ProjectSG Editorial TeamGTReviewed by Grace Tan

The ProjectSG team writes about Google Ads, lead generation and new launch marketing for Singapore property agents, drawing on campaigns we run every day.

Researched and drafted with AI assistance, then fact-checked and approved by a named ProjectSG reviewer before publishing. Last updated 12 Nov 2026. Read our editorial policy. Spotted an error? Email info@project.sg.