Idealista: It’s a budget thing …
Real estate agencies across Spain have diverse opinions about Idealista, influenced by their geographic location, market niche, and familiarity with the platform’s services. While Idealista is often regarded as an effective tool for increasing visibility and attracting potential buyers, many agencies find that the return on investment from monthly fees falls short of their expectations.
Here is our in-depth review of Idealista:
Real estate agencies generally view Idealista as an indispensable tool for advertising properties due to its massive audience and ease of use.
It’s particularly valued for lead generation and international exposure, however, agencies do express concerns regarding the competitiveness of the platform, the need for continuous spending to maintain visibility, and issues with lead numbers and quality.
1. Company Overview. Founded in 2000 with headquarters in Madrid, Spain.
2. Subsidiaries and Related Brands. Idealista operates multiple platforms and services within the real estate and property sector including Idealista Portugal, Idealista Italy, Housell (Real Estate Services), Trovimap (real estate portal and valuation tool), and a majority share in Yaencontre (Spanish property portal).
3. Pricing. Privates, real estate agents, and property developers can post properties for sale or rent on Idealista.
For privates, you have 2 free listings (with certain restrictions).
For real estate agencies, monthly subscriptions typically start at around €200-€500 per month and are priced according to the number of listings you would like to market.
Now, depending on how competitive your business area is (and most areas offering a good ROI in Spain are usually very competitive) you will soon realise that due to the quantity of listings published in your area, you will most likely need to spend extra to place ahead of your competitors’ listings. Idealista offers a host of extras on which you can spend your hard-earned money including banner ads, branded campaigns, special promotions, highlighted listings, urgent tags, and video tours to boost visibility and leads. Agencies in competitive niches can spend anywhere from €1000 to €3000 extra per month (and many times a lot more) just to attract a decent amount of leads and not have their prime properties standing.
4. Reach and Audience. Attracting around 61 million monthly visits, Idealista is Spain’s largest real estate search engine.
According to major analytics websites, their audience is 88% Spanish, and that may be a concern for real estate agencies with a mostly foreign clientele. That said, Idealista do attract a decent percentage of valuable foreign leads (mostly US, UK, Central and Northern Europe). This can be explained by the fact that a) some of the Spanish audience are foreigners living in Spain, and b) they market their brand in Europe and Internationally on global real estate portals, luxury lifestyle magazines, expat-oriented publications, and c) the brand is already quite well known in Europe, and especially Southern Europe.
Here at ImmoEdge we have been working with the major real estate property portals in Spain for more than 15 years. We understand how to get the maximum return from each portal, and how to reduce your expenses. We know which paid strategies work, and we know how to improve your lead generation. Get in touch here or have a look at our real estate digital marketing services in Spain here.
5. Competitors. Idealista’s main competitors are Fotocasa, Habitaclia, Kyero, and various International real estate search engines including Rightmove, Properstar, LuxuryEstate, and Greenacres.
Idealista Opinions & Reviews
Feedback and reviews about Idealista are quite mixed. This may be because many real estate agents view uploading properties as their only responsibility. While that approach might have worked a few years ago, today, attracting leads and maximizing ROI requires more effort and strategy. Agents need to actively monitor performance, optimize listings, and invest in additional promotional tools to stand out in competitive markets. There is now a learning curve for using Idealista effectively to generate meaningful results.
It’s definitely not set and forget. You need to constantly analyse what’s working, where you can improve listings, and what packages you should add or drop.
Positive Feedback
High Visibility and Traffic
Many real estate agents appreciate Idealista’s large user base and international reach. Agencies are able to showcase their listings to both local and international buyers, making Idealista one of the most effective platforms for exposure in Europe.
Agencies often report that Idealista generates a consistent volume of quality leads, and delivers more inquiries compared to smaller or regional real estate portals.
User-Friendly Interface
Most of the CRMs used by real estate agencies in Spain (example Sooprema, eGO Real Estate, Inmovilla, Mediaelx, Inmoweb, Inmotek, InmoPC, Mobilia, Optima, Inmoba, HabitatSoft, Witei, Infocasa) will allow a quick upload of their real estate listings via XML or JSON feed to Idealista’s platform. This saves a great deal of time versus a manual upload.
It’s easy to view your listings on the platform, examine the analytics, and compare the performance of your properties. You also receive valuable insights regarding market trends, budgets, demographics, and real estate performance
International Exposure
Agencies appreciate the international presence of Idealista, especially in key markets like the UK, Central Europe, and Scandinavia, where there is strong interest in buying property in Spain. This exposure is particularly important for agencies specializing in coastal property, luxury, or investment real estate.
Negative Feedback
High Competition and Costs
While many agencies find Idealista’s basic services adequate, most express concerns about the cost of premium advertising, especially smaller agencies with limited budgets. Some agencies feel that the subscription cost does not always match the return on investment, especially in slower markets, and they feel Idealista’s pricing model is slow to react to changing markets.
Limited Reach Without Paid Promotion
In competitive real estate markets, the competition for top spots can be fierce. It’s often the case that the first few pages in a given area only show paid highlighted listings. Agencies sometimes feel that listings without paid features can receive limited to almost no visibility. This can lead to frustrations, as even high-quality and value offerings may not receive sufficient visibility without additional investment.
Maintaining a high level of visibility requires continuous spending on promoted listings.
Lead Quality and Conversion Rates
While Idealista can generate a good volume of leads, some real estate agents report that the quality of leads can be inconsistent. Some inquiries are from casual or unqualified buyers, leading to wasted time and resources. Others are from buyers who require a substantial amount of area education, while other leads are often shared amongst multiple agencies for an area.
International Advertising
Idealista primarily focuses its advertising on the European real estate market, but it also promotes its platform internationally to attract foreign investors and buyers, especially from regions where there is a strong interest in Mediterranean property.
To give you a better idea of your potential lead demographics, here’s an overview of some of the avenues that Idealista uses to advertise:
International Property Portals
Idealista often partners with major international property portals to market their brand and some of their listings. These include Rightmove (targeting UK buyers), Zoopla (International Section) A Place in the Sun (UK-based), and Kyero.
International Real Estate Publications
Idealista is also known to advertise in major real estate and lifestyle publications that cater to international buyers, investors, and expatriates. These publications are typically well-read by those seeking second homes or investment properties in Southern Europe. Some examples are: The Financial Times, The New York Times, and International Living.
Expat and International Lifestyle Websites
Given the interest in Southern European real estate from expatriates, Idealista is known to advertise on expat-oriented websites that help people relocating or investing abroad. These sites often cater to audiences in the UK, Northern Europe, Australasia, and North America. Some examples are: Expat.com, Internations, and Expatica.
Social Media and Search Engine Advertising
Idealista invests heavily in Google Ads and social media advertising (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn) to reach international audiences, targeting specific demographics interested in real estate abroad.
Trade Shows and Expat Events
Idealista is known to sponsor real estate trade shows and events where international buyers and investors gather. Some examples are: A Place in the Sun Live (UK), Expo Real (Germany), MIPIM (International Property Event in Cannes, France), and expat fairs in key expat hubs like London, Paris, and New York.
Property Magazines and Journals
Luxury property magazines and journals, which cater to affluent buyers and real estate investors, are also common places for Idealista ads. These include: Christie’s International Real Estate Magazine, Homes & Gardens, and Luxury Property Magazine.
Idealista employs a multi-channel approach targeting high-interest regions to capture the attention of both investors and people seeking second homes or relocation properties in Southern Europe.
Did you know? In September 2020, Swedish private equity firm EQT acquired a majority stake in Idealista for €1.3 billion, emphasizing its value and position as a leader in Southern European real estate.
If you would like a multi-channel approach to your real estate marketing then have a look at what ImmoEdge can do for your estate agency in Spain.
Boost Your Agency Sales. Let’s Make It Happen.
At ImmoEdge, we help real estate agencies in Spain enhance their digital marketing strategies. We specialize in crafting customized strategies that ensure maximum visibility in both local and international markets. Our digital services include SEO, Social Media Marketing, CRM and CMS optimization, Conversion Rate Optimization, Copywriting, AI and Automation, Multilingual Content, Targeted Demographics Marketing, and Property Portal Management, all designed to boost your online presence and convert leads into sales. Let us streamline your marketing efforts and help your agency grow effectively.
“Because ImmoEdge completely understood my industry it was easy to discuss strategies. I have worked with them for about 6 years and we have seen strong growth in traffic and leads.” Villas de Lujo
