If you’ve been wondering, “What should I be doing right now to build momentum?” It may be easier than you think. I recently sat down with Jimmy Mackin, co-founder of Listing Leads and one of the industry’s most respected voices on email strategy.
His core finding is simple: The fastest listing opportunities aren’t on portals; they’re in your own CRM or just around the corner from where you’re already doing business.
What follows are five proven real estate email templates for lead generation, complete with subject lines, copy and execution notes, being used by agents nationwide to surface near-term sellers, build visible demand around active listings and turn one listing into two or three more. Simply use them as written, then call the responders. The result: more conversations, more appointments and more listings.
5 real estate email templates for lead generation
Email No. 1: The modern CMA request (aka ‘equity check’)
Goal of this email: Identify homeowners likely to sell in the next three to 12 months and build a high-intent call list for the week.
Why it works: Mackin shared, “You qualify through copy. Anyone who opens this email is at least curious about selling. You also value-frame the offer so it feels salesy and more value-driven.” All of these factors lead to recipients of this email responding and identifying themselves as potential near-term sellers.
Subject line of email: How much equity did you gain this year?
Body of email (paste this):
I don’t send emails like this often, but a lot of my clients have asked for a clear picture of how much equity they’ve gained this year.
Even when you’re nowhere near selling, having a real valuation (not an algorithm’s guess) helps. It takes me time to dig into comps, analyze recent sales and factor in details the online estimates miss, but everyone appreciates the accuracy.
Would it be helpful if I prepared one for your home?
Reply “yes,” and I’ll get started.
What to expect: Mackin shared that 20 percent to 25 percent of equity-check email responders transact within 12 months. This shows the value of this email in identifying the hottest potential listing prospects in your database. He shared that one of his Listing Leads members sent a version of this and received 17 CMA requests; that’s three to five likely deals from a single send.
Who gets it: Everyone. As Mackin said, “Segmentation has caused more harm than good. Don’t say no for the prospect before they have a chance to say yes. Use the content to filter for intent.”
Email No. 2: The rate-drop ‘reason to sell’ nudge
Goal of this email: Turn market movement into seller urgency (without sounding pushy).
Why it works: When it comes to the effectiveness of this email, Mackin noted, “Sellers don’t want macro charts; they want to know if what is happening right now should change their timeline to sell. This message uses current context, plus a question, to reopen dormant timelines they may have set, waiting on interest rates to come down or the market to heat up.”
Subject line of email: Will this change your plans to sell?
Body of email (paste this):
Mortgage rates just dipped to their lowest level in months. The last time we saw a drop like this, it didn’t last; within a few weeks, rates were rising again.
I’m already hearing from buyers who pressed pause earlier this year and are now jumping back in.
Has this shift impacted your timeline? Even if selling is months away, I’m happy to talk through your options and whether it makes sense to accelerate, wait, or prep now.
Why this matters: Buyer demand is the lever that motivates sellers. “Talk about demand. Every seller ultimately wants a buyer,” Mackin said. Use timely movement like rate dips, inventory changes, and local absorption rates to ask a simple, low-friction question.
Protip: This also performs really well as a text. Keep the same structure, and you can expect conversations.
The ‘listing lifecycle’ trio
The conversation then shifted to how to turn one listing into two or three while building a waitlist of buyers. Mackin then said, “P.T. Barnum said, ‘Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd.’ And nothing draws new listings like visible demand on your current one.”
He then shared that the next three emails should be standard operating procedure: pre-appointment, post-appointment, and pre-launch of your new listing for referrals.
Email No. 3: Pre-appointment buzz builder
Goal of this email: Tease upcoming inventory and get people to ask for updates, without spilling all the details or violating rules.
Why it works: “The absence of a call to action is actually the call to action. Without asking them, people respond,” Mackin said.
Subject line of email: I might get fined for sending you this …
Body of email (paste this):
We’re not allowed to publicly promote a listing until it’s within the allowable window.
But this isn’t a listing; it’s an appointment. I’m meeting a potential seller today at 3 p.m. If they decide to list, I expect this one to get a ton of attention.
I’ll circle back after the meeting. Wish me luck.
What happens next: Your inbox fills with “Keep me posted.” Tag them for the follow-up with email No. 4. As Mackin said, “You’ve now created ethical anticipation.”
Email No. 4: Post-appointment momentum (and opt-in to text)
Goal of this email: Lock in permission to text and establish a launch date people can anticipate.
Subject line of email: I was wrong.
Body of email (paste this):
I just left the appointment, and the home looks even better in person. Forget “popular on Zillow.” This one might break the internet.
We’re targeting [go-live date]. I can share full details the day before.
Want me to text you so you don’t miss it?
Why it works: This email is conversational, human and specific. You are offering a concrete date and a channel shift to text communication. This lifts the response rates, allows prospects from your database to self-identify as interested potential buyers and shortens your path to showings.
Email No. 5: ‘Forward to a friend’ (the silent referral engine)
Goal of this email: Turn your database into a distribution force and surface new contacts you don’t already know.
Why it works: Mackin shared, “You prime the reader to forward this email in the subject line, and in the body of the email you give people a status boost (‘early access’) and make the ask about helping a friend, not buying a house.”
Subject line of email: Forward to a friend.
Body of the email (paste this):
In 24 hours, our newest listing is going to be blasted all across the internet. That means, right now, in this moment, you have something only a select few people have: Early access to an extraordinary property.
It’s the type of house that all the other houses talk about behind its back because they are jealous of how much attention it’s getting.
I know it might be the wrong time for you to make a move, but I wanted to make sure you knew about it because you likely have a friend or family member who’s been looking for this exact home.
Here’s my personal cell: [555-555-5555].
They can call me directly, and I can give them all the details before it hits the market.
P.S. If I don’t pick up, be sure to leave a voicemail.
Why this matters: Mackin shared, “You only need a few forwards for entirely new conversations to start. This email provides list-building, trust-borrowing, and demand-generation in one send.”
Momentum is available
You don’t need a bigger budget to build momentum. You need better emails, and more of them, sent to the people who already know your name.
As Mackin puts it, “The agent with the most conversations wins.” These five real estate email templates for lead generation start the right conversations with the right people, and they are cued up and ready to go to work for you right now.
Now copy, paste, send, and call everyone who raises their hand by responding to the easy-to-implement email templates.
Jimmy Mackin is the co-founder of Listing Leads, and he can be found on Instagram.
