How to get real estate leads in Georgia without buying them
Paid portal leads are the most expensive per closing and the easiest to start. Here is what the alternatives actually cost.
Every lead has a price, including the free ones
Paid leads cost money. Sphere costs time. Farming costs money slowly over a long period. Open houses cost weekends. There is no free channel — there are only channels where the cost is not on an invoice.
So compare them the same way: cost per closing, including your hours at whatever your hours are worth. A channel that produces two closings a year for forty weekends is not cheap.
The channels, roughly in order of cost per closing
Your existing sphere is the cheapest and the slowest to scale. It also converts at multiples of any cold channel, which is why the agents who look effortless are almost always working a database rather than a lead source.
Expired listings are the highest-intent cold list in the business: a seller who wanted to sell, failed, and is still there. The work is the calling, and the competition is every other agent who pulled the same list that morning.
Geographic farming is slow and compounding. See the guide on choosing a farm area — the method matters more than the effort.
Open houses produce buyers, not sellers, and mostly produce buyers who already have an agent. They are worth doing when the alternative is an empty Saturday, and not worth building a business on.
Paid portal leads convert lowest and cost most, but they arrive today. They make sense as a bridge while a slower channel matures, and stop making sense the moment it does.
Brokerage-provided leads and what to check
Some brokerages provide leads. The question is never whether they do, it is on what terms: how many, how they are distributed, and what share of the commission they cost.
A referral share is the normal mechanism — 35% is the figure on the standard broker-to-broker form Veribas uses for outside referrals. A brokerage's own leads may carry a different arrangement, and it should be written down.
Ask how leads are actually assigned. If the answer is that the top producers get first look, the leads in the pitch are not the leads you will get.
Common questions
What is the cheapest source of real estate leads?
Your existing sphere, measured per closing — it converts several times better than any cold channel. It is also the slowest to scale, which is why most agents underinvest in it early.
Are expired listings still worth calling in Georgia?
Yes. An expired seller has already decided to sell and has demonstrated the first attempt did not work. The competition is other agents working the same list, so speed and a specific reason the outcome would differ both matter.
Does Veribas provide leads?
Yes — Veribas distributes consumer leads from its own site to agents on the platform. Terms and distribution are set out during onboarding rather than left implicit.
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Written by Veribas Real Estate LLC (Georgia firm licence H-81905). General information for licensed agents, not legal or tax advice. Licensing requirements and fees are set by the Georgia Real Estate Commission and MLS dues by FMLS and GAMLS — check those sources for current figures.