Facebook Lawsuit Means Big Changes for Real Estate Ads

Facebook is expected to release a new real-estate specific ads platform by the end of the year.On March 28, 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development filed charges against Facebook. The suit states that Facebook violates the Fair Housing Act by allowing real estate professionals and lenders to target ads based on race, gender, religion, familial status, disability, and national origin.

Many real estate pros rely on Facebook to micro-target to the ideal buyer, seller, or renter. But that opens up the door for discrimination - whether intentional or not.

Currently, Facebook just makes you check a box to "certify compliance" with nondiscrimination laws if they detect real estate content in your ads. But that's not enough to prevent intentional or accidental abuse.

Now, Facebook has announced that they'll be developing an entirely new interface just for real estate ads. This platform is expected to be released before the end of the year.

So how will this impact you, a real estate professional, if you use Facebook for advertising? Here's what to expect from the new platform.

1. Removal of discriminatory targeting options

Facebook will remove real estate pros' ability to target based on age, race, gender, religion, familial status, disability, and national origin for real estate ads. Even if the settings are still available to you, there is no need to use them.

2. 15-mile radius minimum

Instead of targeting specific neighborhoods, you'll need to start using radius targeting around ZIP codes. The minimum radius requirement will be 15 miles.

3. No more "likely to move" or "renter" targeting

This is actually old news, as these features went away in August 2018. But if you haven't been in there in a while, just know that you're no longer able to target based on those behaviors.

4. New features

We're not sure what (if any) new features Facebook will offer to make up for the lost capabilities. One thought is that they will offer a real estate marketplace built right into the platform. This could put Facebook in competition with Zillow and Redfin.

Moral of the story? Be prepared. Change your mindset from, "How can I get this specific ad in front of the ideal buyer/seller" to "How can I adjust my ads to be relevant to more people?" 

Trust us, this is a mindset shift for us too, and we're riding right alongside you! We'll get through this together and be better for it.