The latest Google Real Estate Lead Value Index (LVI) is here, and the numbers show why Google Buyer leads remain one of the most powerful tools for real estate growth. In Q3, the overall LVI dipped slightly compared to Q2, driven by a modest increase in Google Buyer CPL and a small decrease in median home prices. Even so, the value is impressive: every $1 spent on Google Buyer leads translates to more than $14.50 in potential commissions.
Using the Google buyer Cost Per Lead, the Median Home Price (NAR), the average commission, and the percent of leads that close, CINC created the CINC Lead Value Index. The Lead Value Index approximates the commissions that can be expected from a dollar in advertising. A higher LVI indicates that real estate leads are a better value. The formula is:
LVI = (the median home sales price ✖️ the average commission percentage ✖️ the average percent of leads that close) ➗ the total Google buyer CPL.]
The median home price in the third quarter was $426,800 and the buyer CPL was $7.38.
Kingston, NY reclaimed the top spot among all markets with an LVI of 58.1, followed by Urban Honolulu and Pittsfield, MA—thanks to a combination of low CPLs and strong home prices. Among big metros, San Francisco leads with an LVI of 30.0, while New York surged to second place at 25.6. California continues to dominate the top tier with three of the five highest LVIs, including San Diego and Los Angeles.
While the index softened slightly this quarter, the takeaway is clear: Google Buyer leads still deliver exceptional ROI. Dive into the full report to see where your market ranks and how you can maximize every advertising dollar.
California again ruled the big markets. Three of the top 10 cities were from California. San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles were in the top 10, and San Francisco was, once again, in the peak position.
For the Lead Value Index for the top 100 US markets by population, download the Q3 2025 report.
If you would like to know more about the Lead Value Index, or find out the LVI of your market, please register on cincpro.com to speak with a CINC product expert.
Despite market conditions, the ROI of online real estate advertising for real estate teams and agents continued to be exceptionally strong (for more details on related trends, see our recent Google buyer lead cost report and the seller lead cost report).
CINC is the leader in online real estate lead generation with more than 50,000 clients. This behind-the-scenes lead cost data is what we were seeing for our portfolio of real estate team and agent clients during Q3 2025. The CINC client marketing team manages almost $30 million in search and social advertising spend annually for real estate teams and agents across the United States and Canada. If you want to see how CINC can help you find more higher quality hyperlocal real estate leads on Google, request a demo here.
Additional Google Real Estate Lead Gen Resources from CINC:
With buyer cost per lead up recently, it is more important than ever to be more efficient paying for leads on Google. Try our free local Google real estate targeting tool here to find hidden pockets of more cost effective hyper-local leads near you.
Here are links to past historic Google Real Estate Lead Value Index Reports for Q2 2025, Q1 2025, Q4 2024, Q3 2024, Q2 2024, Q1 2024, Q4 2023, Q3 2024, Q2 2023, Q1 2023, Q4 2022, Q3 2022, Q2 2022, Q1 2022, Q4 2021.