How well are your apartment’s Google Ads performing in 2026?
WordStream published its Google Ads benchmarks for 2026, looking at average click-through rate, cost per click, conversion rate, and cost per lead.
Here are our takeaways from the data, plus a look at how our clients using Predictive Advertising are faring compared to these new Google Ads benchmarks.
Paid Search Benchmarks for 2026 (All Industries)
Average click-through (6.64%) has remained steady since 2025, while conversion rates (8.18%) slightly improved. Average cost per click rose about a few cents to $5.42, but cost per lead decreased to $66.69 from $70.11 in 2025.
These are just general benchmarks. What impacts these benchmarks most is what industry advertisers focus on—and for real estate advertisers, there were some pretty significant changes in performance over the past year.
Paid Search Benchmarks for the Real Estate Industry in 2026
In 2026, the average cost per click for Google Ads in the real estate category is $3.22—more than $1 higher than 2024. Click through rate fell from 8.43% in 2025 to 7.61%. The conversion rate increased slightly to 3.70%, but real estate ads continue to rank among the lowest in any industry. Meanwhile, real estate's significant high cost per lead went up to $102.51 in 2026.
These benchmarks represent a wide range of advertisers in the real estate space, including residential, commercial, and multifamily companies, their properties, and even individual agents. They are not a definitive measurement of how Google Ads perform exclusively for apartments.
Still, the data makes one thing clear: in the real estate industry, it’s relatively easy and cost-effective to get clicks from Google Ads, but it’s much more difficult and competitive to convert those clicks into leads.
That makes sense. Real estate transactions carry high stakes, so it’s natural for searchers to take their time and explore multiple websites before finding the right fit at the right price.
But one issue most advertisers overlook is what happens after someone clicks. A low conversion rate and high cost per lead often point to a deeper problem—the landing pages or websites aren’t helpful, relevant, or working. If you want your ads to perform more efficiently, you need to make sure they’re sending traffic to a destination that truly engages users.
RentVision's 2026 Google Ad Benchmarks for Multifamily
To provide a more accurate view of how Google Ads perform for apartment communities, here are RentVision’s 2026 performance benchmarks for clients using Predictive Advertising:
Average Cost Per Click: $2.23
Average Click-Through Rate: 7.81%
Our clients' digital advertising campaigns have an average cost per click of $2.23, which is 30.7% lower than the real estate industry average of $3.22 and nearly 60% then the general benchmark for all industries. The click-through rate for their campaigns and the real estate benchmark are almost identical. That's a positive sign. Predictive Advertising is helping apartment marketers attract qualified clicks at lower costs—and before vacancy hits.