What the Property Industry Is Still Ignoring and Why It’s Costing You Conversions

While industries from retail to finance have raced to embrace new models of influence, performance marketing, and peer-led referral ecosystems, the property sector has largely stayed the same – relying on mass media campaigns, paid portal placements, and traditional influencer partnerships in the hope that these legacy tools will keep pace with today’s more discerning, digital-first buyers.

The problem is: they won’t.

There’s a growing disconnect between how the industry talks about growth, and how consumers are actually making decisions. According to the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer, 68% of people say trust is the number one factor influencing their purchasing decisions, outweighing cost, convenience, or brand reputation. In property (where the stakes are infinitely higher) that number is likely even greater.

So why are we still funnelling budget into short-term campaigns that yield shallow engagement but little downstream impact?

Influence isn’t dead, but it’s being rewritten

The golden age of influencers is fading. Not because people dislike creators, but because audiences have grown sceptical. Today’s buyer doesn’t want to be sold to, they want to be reassured.

They want to hear from people who’ve actually walked through the home, signed the contract, or sipped coffee in the future neighbourhood.

A 2023 Stackla study revealed that 88% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know over any other form of advertising, and 79% say user-generated content highly impacts their purchase decisions. Compare that with just 13% who say influencer content feels “authentic”.

In the property context, this creates a major opportunity, and an even bigger blind spot. While many developers are still chasing polished, high-follower influencer posts, they’re overlooking the more credible voices already within reach: recent buyers, staff, tradies, local business owners, even residents from neighbouring stages.

These are not just passive audiences; they’re active participants in the sales journey, and when properly supported, they can become high-trust advocates who outperform any influencer with a promo code.

Affiliate marketing Is surging but property is late to the party

Globally, affiliate marketing is a $17.4 billion industry, expected to reach $27 billion by 2027. Brands across tech, fashion, finance and travel have already embedded it into their core marketing ecosystems – not as an experiment, but as a proven, scalable, performance-based model.

Why? Because it works. Unlike paid media, affiliate marketing offers clear attribution. Unlike influencers, it thrives on trust. And unlike brand ambassadors, it rewards results – not reach.

In property, the potential is even greater. While the average eCommerce affiliate might earn $1–$10 per sale, a property affiliate can be incentivised for actions that actually move the sales needle – qualified appointments, display village visits, or signed contracts. It shifts marketing spend from “clicks” to “conversions”.

Yet most Australian developers haven’t even scratched the surface.

They’re still spending five or six figures on top-of-funnel awareness, while leaving thousands of warm leads on the table – people who already know and love the brand but have no reason, system, or support to share it.

B2B2C is the growth engine no one’s using

While developers are well-versed in B2C (direct to buyer) and somewhat familiar with B2B (engaging brokers, referral partners, agents), very few are leveraging B2B2C – empowering people inside their ecosystem to become customer-facing advocates with meaningful tools and incentives.

This isn’t about turning your tradies into TikTok stars (although it happens).

It’s about recognising that your team, your buyers, and your suppliers all have networks; and often, those networks include your future buyers.

Imagine if:

• Every customer who settled became a micro-advocate with their own dashboard, tools, and content to share their story.

• Every trusted tradesperson on-site could earn rewards for referring people who genuinely love what they build.

• Every sales agent in your display village could extend their reach beyond cold enquiries by working with known contacts of existing purchasers.

This is how industries outside of property grow. They equip insiders with the tools to connect authentically, measure performance, and iterate. Property can do the same – and arguably should – because our product is more considered, more emotional, and more expensive than most.

The cost of inaction

The risk here isn’t trying something new – it’s standing still.

The property sector is already seeing a squeeze: tighter margins, rising buyer scepticism, and an increasingly saturated media landscape. What used to work (email blasts, flashy brochures, SEO-heavy blogs) is losing power because buyers expect more. They expect clarity, not clutter. Connection, not campaigns.

By ignoring affiliate frameworks, peer advocacy, and scalable word-of-mouth systems, developers are choosing:

• Higher cost-per-lead

• Lower trust at the point of decision

• Slower conversion speeds

In contrast, a performance-based model flips this.

You don’t pay for attention. You reward outcomes.

You don’t gamble on brand awareness. You invest in measurable trust.

What’s next?

The shift is already underway… just not in the property space.

Tech brands, wellness brands, even B2B services are using affiliate ecosystems to scale, because they recognise that trust can be designed, tracked, and rewarded.

For developers and builders, the opportunity is wide open. But only for those willing to look beyond the brochure, step away from the influencer vanity metrics, and ask: what would it look like if every part of our business became part of the marketing team?

The answer is affiliate marketing. Not as a buzzword, but as a new marketing infrastructure. One that prioritises relationships, rewards real impact, and unlocks the kind of trust no ad budget can buy.