5 SMS Templates for Real Estate Agents

Send two rounds for maximum impact:

• Thursday evening (5–7 pm) - gives buyers time to plan their weekend itinerary around your property.
• Saturday or Sunday morning (8–9 am) - a day-of nudge for people who get busy and forget.

Avoid sending after 8 pm or before 8 am - beyond being best practice under ACMA guidance, it's just good manners.

• Add one compelling feature in the morning-of message: "north-facing alfresco, pool - today's the day to see it in person". Specifics drive action; vague reminders don't.
• Include a registration link if your agency uses pre-registration - it lets you capture confirmed attendees and follow up with anyone who registered but didn't show.
• Keep it personal. A message from "[Agent Name] - [Agency]" feels like a message from a person, not a blast. That distinction matters at this price point.
• If your property has multiple open home dates, send a reminder for each one to the full relevant segment of your buyer database.

Within minutes of the listing going live - ideally automated to trigger the moment a listing is published. Speed is the entire point of this message. A buyer who hears from you first is far more likely to attend your open home and credit you for the find.

Segment your database by suburb, price range, and property type so alerts only go to buyers with matching criteria. A spray-and-pray blast annoys recipients and drives unsubscribes.

• "Matching your search" is a powerful phrase - it signals this message is relevant, not generic, and reduces the chance of an opt-out.
• Include one or two key features that distinguish this property. Buyers scan quickly; give them a reason to click the link.
• Always link to the full listing so buyers can view photos, floorplans, and full details without needing to search for the address.
• Follow up with a second SMS when the open home time is confirmed, if it wasn't available at listing time.
• For highly sought-after properties, consider an off-market preview message to your top buyers before the listing goes public - builds loyalty and often generates offers before the official campaign opens.

Within an hour of the vendor approving the price change. You want to reach buyers before they see the reduction on the portals - ideally so they feel they're getting insider information, not just reading a data update on realestate.com.au.

Send to two segments:

• Buyers who physically inspected the property and didn't proceed.
• Buyers in your database who match the property's criteria but haven't yet inspected (and may have been deterred by the original price).

• Reference their prior inspection - "You came through in March" signals you remember them as an individual, not just a number in a database. This alone significantly improves response rates.
• Show both the old and new price. The contrast makes the reduction feel meaningful. "$950K reduced to $890K" is more compelling than just "$890K."
• Offer a private viewing rather than pushing them back to an open home - buyers who passed once often prefer the lower-pressure environment of a private inspection for a second look.
• Don't send this message to every buyer in your database. Reserve it for genuinely relevant contacts - otherwise you erode trust and train your list to ignore your messages.

Within 2–3 hours of the open home closing. You want to reach buyers while the property is still vivid in their memory - before they've walked through another three properties on Saturday afternoon and lost track of which one was which.

Don't wait until Monday. By then, the emotional momentum has dissipated and you're making a cold call instead of capitalising on a warm lead.

• Keep it low pressure. The word "happy to" rather than "I'll call you this afternoon" puts the ball in their court. Buyers appreciate the breathing room - especially at this price point.
• Offer a private inspection. For buyers who showed strong interest (lingered, asked detailed questions, took photos), a private follow-up inspection is the natural next step. Make it easy to arrange.
• If a buyer replies with a question you're out of the office to answer, set up an AI auto-reply to handle common queries (pricing guides, vendor motivation, strata levies, council rates) while you're still running opens.
• For buyers who don't respond, a follow-up call the next business day is appropriate. But give the SMS at least 24 hours first - some buyers simply take time to process.
• Track which buyers responded and how - this data shapes your pricing strategy and your vendor update conversations.

Auction reminder: Send two messages - one 48 hours before the auction (reminder + bidder registration info), and one on auction morning (time, address, ID requirements). The morning message should arrive before 8:30 am so bidders can plan their day.

Settlement reminder: Send two to three days before the settlement date, and optionally on the morning of settlement. For vendors and purchasers managing moving logistics, the extra lead time is practical and considerate.

• Include ID requirements in the auction reminder - many first-time auction bidders don't know they need photo ID to register. Saving them an embarrassing moment at the door builds goodwill.
• Personalise the settlement message - it's a major life moment for both the vendor and the purchaser. A warm, human sign-off from the agent who managed their campaign is remembered and turns into referrals.
• After a successful auction, send a brief SMS to unsuccessful bidders - acknowledge the result, let them know you have other properties coming up, and invite them to stay connected. These are your hottest near-future buyers.
• Be accurate on times. Double-check auction and settlement times against the contract before sending. An incorrect time in an SMS is both embarrassing and potentially costly.
• After settlement, follow up 30–60 days later with a check-in message to the purchaser. It's a natural referral conversation starter.