Enhanced Home Listing Local Services Ads are a Google ad format that displays for-sale property listings directly in mobile Google Search results — price, images, listing agent, and neighborhood data — alongside promoted buyer’s agents. Listing data comes from HouseCanary’s ComeHome platform. Like all Local Services Ads, you pay per lead, not per click or impression.
Google rolled the format out to all 50 US states on 11 June 2026 after a pilot in eight markets. Access is automatic for existing LSA advertisers who opt into the right job types.
Last updated: July 2026
What it’s officially called
The naming is inconsistent across sources, which is why this format is hard to research:
| Source | Name used |
|---|---|
| Google Ads blog | Enhanced Local Services Ads for Home Listings |
| Google Local Services Help | Local Services Home Listings Ads |
| Industry press | Google home listing ads, Google real estate listing ads |
They are all the same product. There is no separate campaign type — it is a display format within Local Services Ads.
What the ad actually shows
Per Google’s documentation, the unit surfaces:
- Listing price
- Property images
- Core home features
- The listing agent
- Neighborhood data — maps, school information, walkability scores
- Promoted buyer’s agents shown alongside the listing
Buyers can call or message a local buyer’s agent directly from the ad. Triggering queries are things like “homes for sale near me.”
The mechanic almost nobody explains correctly
This is the part that determines whether the format is worth your time, and it is buried in the details.
The listing agent and the paying advertiser are not the same person.
The listing itself is supplied free through the MLS data partnership. The listing agent receives brand attribution — their name appears, and consumers clicking through can reach their email. But the action buttons behave differently. Calls to action such as “Ask a question” and “Request a tour” route consumers to Local Services Ads advertisers — the buyer’s agents who are paying per lead.
So the structure is:
| Party | Gives | Gets | Pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listing brokerage | Listing inventory via MLS | Brand attribution, email contact | Nothing |
| Buyer’s agent (LSA advertiser) | Ad spend | The high-intent lead | Per lead |
| The surface | Revenue | — |
Free listing display is not generosity. It is inventory acquisition. Google needs listing density to make the unit worth serving, and the listings are what generate leads that get sold to buyer’s agents. If you are a listing agent celebrating free exposure, understand that the tour request from your listing may be routed to a competitor who bid for it.
That asymmetry is the single strongest argument for being on the paying side of this format.
Eligibility: what Google actually requires
Three requirements, per Google’s Local Services Help:
- A verified Google Business Profile
- A Local Services Ads campaign with that verified profile linked
- Opt into the Buyer’s agent or Seller’s agent job types in the Real estate category
Plus:
- Active Local Services Ads account
- Pass the standard LSA verification process
- A physical location asset linked to the campaign
- US markets, mobile only
There is no separate application, no listing feed to submit, and no additional cost to access the format. You automatically get access when you opt into the buyer’s agent or seller’s agent job types.
Buyer’s agent vs seller’s agent: the setting that decides everything
This is the highest-leverage configuration choice in the whole setup, and it is one dropdown.
- Opt into sell service types only → you surface only on real estate agent queries
- Opt into both service types → you surface on both agent queries and home listing queries
If you only run seller-side, you are invisible on “homes for sale near me.” Given that buyer queries are the volume driver for this format, seller-only opt-in means you have the account but not the placement.
Check this setting first. Many agents who “aren’t seeing the format” simply have not opted into buyer’s agent job types.
You cannot choose which ad format serves
Google states this directly: Local Services Ads automatically surfaces the appropriate ad for “homes near me” versus “real estate agent near me” queries. There is no toggle, no bid modifier, and no way to opt into one format and out of the other.
Practically, this means you are buying into both auctions when you opt into both job types. Manage economics at the lead level, not the format level, because format-level control does not exist.
The MLS gate
Nationwide eligibility is not nationwide coverage.
The enhanced property card only displays listings from MLSs that have signed data agreements with HouseCanary. Participating MLSs to date include CRMLS, San Diego MLS, My State MLS, and Bright MLS, with more being added.
The reason coverage is limited traces back to how the pilot started. The original December 2025 test was pulled after industry backlash over HouseCanary using its brokerage status to access MLS listing data without prior consent. The relaunch required explicit MLS and brokerage buy-in, which is why expansion now happens one MLS agreement at a time.
What this means for you: if your MLS has not joined, your listings will not appear in the enhanced card — but your Local Services Ads still run, and you still appear on agent queries. Do not promise a seller exposure the program cannot deliver in your market.
Pricing and billing
- Pay per lead only. No charge for clicks or impressions.
- Pricing varies dynamically by market. Google publishes no fixed rate.
- No stated cost difference between Home Listings leads and standard LSA leads, per Google’s documentation.
- Industry reporting commonly cites real estate LSA leads in the $60–$75 range, though this varies substantially by market and competition. Treat published figures as practitioner estimates, not Google rates.
- Invalid leads can be disputed.
Reporting: the gap and the workaround
Google is explicit about the limitation. Local Services Ads report on impressions, lead volume, top impression share, absolute top impression share, and spend — but there is no report breakdown by ad format, and the dashboard does not specify which format drove a lead.
That means you cannot natively answer “how are Home Listings Ads performing versus standard LSAs?”
The workaround Google buries in its own FAQ: leads generated from a specific property listing include a property ID in your leads inbox. Standard LSA leads do not.
So the segmentation is available, just not in the dashboard:
- Export your leads inbox regularly
- Flag every lead carrying a property ID as a Home Listings lead
- Compare close rate and lead quality against non-property-ID leads
- Use that to decide whether buyer-side spend is justified
Almost no agent is doing this. It is the difference between running the format and actually knowing whether it works.
Fair Housing compliance
Google states that it does not, and does not allow advertisers to, target ads based on sensitive criteria including race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin, consistent with Fair Housing Act prohibitions on advertisements indicating such preference, limitation, or discrimination.
For agencies managing real estate accounts, this constrains audience strategy in ways that do not apply to other LSA verticals. Do not attempt to work around it with proxy targeting.
Does it appear on Google Maps?
No. Google’s documentation confirms directly that the Local Services Home Listings Ads format does not serve on Google Maps inventory.
This matters because the “Google Maps property listings” framing circulates widely and is simply incorrect. The format is Search-only, mobile-only, US-only.
The portal angle
Google’s announcement included a detail that shapes where this goes: portal partners can enroll their agents through the LSA managed partner program.
That is the hotel metasearch model. Google does not need to displace Zillow or Homes.com if it can get portals bidding to place their agents inside Google’s unit. The market reaction on announcement day — Zillow down roughly 4.9% and CoStar down roughly 3.6% intraday — reflected exactly that possibility.
For an individual agent, the implication is timing. Agent-level pricing is most favourable before portals with large budgets enroll at scale.
Setup checklist
- Verify your Google Business Profile
- Create a Local Services Ads account (separate from Google Ads)
- Link the verified Business Profile to the LSA campaign
- Attach a physical location asset
- Complete licence and background verification
- Opt into both buyer’s agent and seller’s agent job types
- Set service areas tightly to reduce disputable leads
- Set weekly budget; avoid a max CPL cap until you have lead data
- Build review volume — it drives ranking within the unit
- Check whether your MLS participates
- Set up a weekly leads-inbox export to segment by property ID
- Build a lead dispute routine
Common mistakes
- Seller-only job type opt-in. You will never surface on home listing queries.
- Expecting a listings upload. There isn’t one. Eligibility runs through your MLS.
- Trying to isolate the format. Google serves it automatically; there is no format-level control.
- Judging performance on the dashboard. It cannot segment by format. Use property IDs.
- Capping max CPL early. In a pay-per-lead auction, capping bids caps delivery.
- Assuming 50-state availability means your listings show. MLS participation gates the card.
- Confusing it with Google Maps. Officially confirmed not to serve on Maps.
FAQ
What are enhanced Home Listing Local Services Ads? A Google ad format showing for-sale listings — price, images, listing agent, neighborhood data — inside mobile Google Search, alongside promoted buyer’s agents. Billing is per lead.
How do I get access? Access is automatic once you have a verified Google Business Profile linked to an active Local Services Ads campaign and you opt into the buyer’s agent or seller’s agent job types in the Real estate category.
Do I need to upload my listings? No. Listings are supplied by ComeHome, powered by HouseCanary, through agreements with participating MLSs.
Is it free to have my listing displayed? Yes, for brokerages in participating MLSs. But note that action buttons like “Request a tour” route to paying Local Services Ads advertisers, who may not be you.
What does it cost? Pricing varies dynamically by market and you pay only for leads received. Google publishes no fixed rate. Industry estimates for real estate LSA leads commonly fall around $60–$75.
Can I choose between Home Listings Ads and standard LSAs? No. Google automatically serves the appropriate format based on the query.
How do I tell which leads came from the Home Listings format? Leads from a specific property listing carry a property ID in your leads inbox. Standard LSA leads do not. The dashboard offers no format-level reporting.
Do these ads run on Google Maps? No. Google confirms the format does not serve on Google Maps inventory.
Is it available outside the US? No. Currently US markets only, on mobile.
Which MLSs participate? CRMLS, San Diego MLS, My State MLS, and Bright MLS are confirmed, with additional MLSs being added.
What if my MLS doesn’t participate? Your Local Services Ads still run and you still appear on real estate agent queries. Getting verified now positions you for when your MLS joins, since verification takes weeks.
Are there Fair Housing restrictions? Yes. Google prohibits targeting on protected characteristics including race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, and national origin.
Sources
- Google Local Services Help — “About Local Services Home Listings Ads”
- Google Ads & Commerce Blog — “Enhanced Local Services Ads for Home Listings” (11 June 2026)
- Inman — Google home-listing ads national expansion, including CTA routing detail (11 June 2026)
- HousingWire — Google listing ads nationwide; Bright MLS participation (June 2026)
- Search Engine Land, Search Engine Roundtable — rollout coverage (11–12 June 2026)
- The Paperless Agent — MLS gate and pilot rollback background
