Speed to lead for real estate agents: an auto-reply that texts only leads who said yes

A buyer fills in "Request info" on one of your listings at 2:10 pm. You're at a showing, then a closing, and you see it at 6. By then they may have asked two other agents. Most "speed to lead" tools fix that by texting every new lead right away. The catch is that an automated marketing text to a cell phone needs the person's written consent, and many lead sources don't give you that.

This article covers what the data says about response times, what the texting rules require, and a setup that answers every lead fast while texting only the ones who agreed to texts.

Not legal advice. We build and test automations; we're not lawyers. This is a plain-English summary of primary sources, checked on October 28, 2026. State telemarketing laws and your broker's policies add rules. Have your broker or a lawyer review your consent wording before you switch anything on.

How slow are agents, really?

The best public number comes from a small secret-shopper test. Analyst Mike DelPrete's team sent 100 inquiries about median-priced homes through brokerage websites (not Zillow) during weekday business hours, at more than 25 brokerages. HousingWire reported the results in August 2024:

• 47% of inquiries got no response at all.
• When replies did come, the median wait was 39 minutes (the average was 8 hours 17 minutes, pulled up by very slow replies).
• At open houses, 62% of shoppers got no follow-up after the tour.

It's 100 tests, so treat it as a sign, not a census. But it matches what agents say themselves. Sifta, a vendor that sells an assistant for agents, counted 7,439 agent comments on r/realtors and r/RealEstate in July 2026. The first reply came up only once. What came up far more was follow-up that fades in the weeks after it. So a good setup does two things: it replies fast, and it makes sure a human picks up the thread.

What the texting rules say

The federal rule is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, in 47 CFR 64.1200. Four parts matter for lead replies:

1. Written consent for marketing texts. Autodialed telemarketing calls and texts to cell phones need "prior express written consent". Section (f)(9) defines it as a written agreement, signed (an electronic signature counts), that clearly authorizes the messages and says the person isn't required to agree as a condition of buying anything. An unticked checkbox on your form, with that wording, is the usual way to collect it.
2. The "one-to-one" rule is gone. In 2023 the FCC adopted a rule requiring consent to one seller at a time. The Eleventh Circuit struck it down in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, and the FCC removed it and restored the earlier wording (Federal Register, August 29, 2025). Some industry pages still say it took effect in January 2025; that's out of date. Written consent is still required.
3. Quiet hours. No telephone solicitation before 8 am or after 9 pm in the recipient's local time (section (c)(1)). That's their time zone, not yours.
4. Opt-outs. Consent can be revoked "by using any reasonable method". Replies such as "stop", "quit", "end", "revoke", "opt out", "cancel" and "unsubscribe" count "per se", any other reply that a reasonable person would read as asking to stop counts too, and you can't insist on one exclusive way to opt out (section (a)(10)).

Two more points come up with leads:

• Bought and shared leads. A portal or lead vendor's consent may not cover you. Don't assume a purchased lead is OK to text automatically; email it instead unless your counsel says otherwise.
• Do Not Call. The national registry rule (section (c)(2)) has an exception for an "established business relationship", which includes an inquiry within the last three months. That's about calls to numbers on the registry. It doesn't replace written consent for autodialed marketing texts.

Your messages are also advertising. Texas, for example, requires the broker's name in ads, and says ads include email and texts (22 TAC 535.155). The NAR Code of Ethics (Article 12) requires that people know they're hearing from a real estate professional and which firm. Put your name, license number and brokerage in every automatic message.

A setup that's fast and stays inside those lines

Our lead auto-reply recipe is an n8n workflow for Follow Up Boss. When a new lead arrives:

1. Everyone gets an email right away, from you, naming your brokerage and license number.
2. A text goes only if your form recorded written consent, saved on the lead with the form version and date, and only between 8 am and 9 pm in the lead's time zone. Where a state spans two time zones, it waits until it's within those hours in both.
3. You get a text alert and a note on the lead, so the human part starts right away.
4. If you haven't reached them in 24 hours and they haven't replied, they get one follow-up and you get a call task. Two automatic touches is the most it ever sends.
5. STOP works everywhere. STOP-type words and plain-English requests such as "remove me" go on one shared opt-out list that every real-estate recipe checks, and the lead is tagged Do Not Text in Follow Up Boss. Any other reply is passed to you.

There's no AI deciding what to say: the wording is a template you and your broker approve. Open-house sign-ins are skipped, because our open house follow-up recipe handles those, and nobody should get two "thanks for your interest" messages.

We tested it with mocks of Follow Up Boss, Twilio and Resend and made-up leads (signature checks, duplicate webhooks, rate limits, quiet hours, opt-outs). The recipe page lists exactly what's tested and what's only documented, plus the monthly cost from each vendor's price page.

If you already use Follow Up Boss Automations or Action Plans for a first email, don't run both on the same leads. Pick one.

Checklist before you switch on

• Your forms have an unticked text-consent box with wording your broker approved, and the consent is saved on the lead.
• Purchased and shared leads go to email only unless counsel says otherwise.
• Every message names you, your license number and your brokerage; check your state's ad rules.
• Texts wait for 8 am-9 pm in the lead's time zone.
• STOP, and plain-English requests to stop, end texts from every automation, not just one.
• Your Twilio number has an approved A2P 10DLC campaign; US carriers block unregistered business texts.
• You have a habit, or a task, for calling the lead yourself. The auto-reply buys you time; it doesn't do the job.

For texts to people who called you first, see Is missed-call text-back legal?. For the full list of rules we design around, see the real estate hub.