Short answer: a real estate marketing agency in the US usually charges a monthly retainer, from about $2,500 for a generalist to $25,000 or more for a full launch program, plus one-time fees for brand, website and film, plus the ad spend you pay the platforms directly. Condo sales and marketing firms work differently: they are usually paid a commission on sales, and they do not publish it. This guide lays out what each model costs, what a retainer should include, and the extra fees to ask about, using public benchmarks checked on 27 September 2026 and our own published prices.

We wrote it because Google's AI answers keep showing TERAMOK for questions like these, and most agencies still will not put a number on a page. Use it with any agency, including us.

Illustrative image.

The four ways agencies charge

One multifamily media agency, Jamesday Digital, publishes its fee as 18% of ad spend (16% for enterprise). Anchour, which markets architecture firms, publishes retainers from $5,000 a month. Most premium agencies publish nothing.

What each piece costs

Clutch figures are self-reported by agencies and represent averages across all industries, so treat them as a range, not a quote.

How much should a developer budget in total?

Industry benchmarks put condo marketing at 1% to 1.5% of projected sellout, and lease-ups at around 0.5% of project value. Slow or luxury sellouts can justify up to 3%. On a $50 million condominium, that is $500,000 to $750,000 for everything: agency fees, production, media, the sales gallery and broker materials.

The useful way to judge it is cost per sale, not the monthly fee. A slow sellout usually costs more in interest, taxes and insurance on unsold units than the marketing did. Our presale budget calculator models both from your own numbers.

What a monthly retainer should include

If a retainer does not say what arrives each month, you cannot judge it. A good one lists:

• Campaign planning: which inventory, which audiences, which channels this month

• New creative: a stated number of new or adapted ad assets and email sends

• Media management, retargeting and landing-page updates

• Lead screening and routing to your sales team

• A weekly pipeline review and a monthly report in leads, tours and contracts

• Decision points at 30, 60 and 90 days where channels are kept, grown or cut

Extra fees to ask about before you sign

• Extra shoot days, drone work and travel for the crew

• Rush delivery

• Music, stock and footage licensing

• Listing syndication and portal fees

• Translations for international buyers

• Ad account setup and any markup on media

• Who owns the ad accounts, the pixels and the source files if you leave

What TERAMOK charges

Disclosure: we are one of the agencies in this market, so here are our own prices, as published on our pricing page.

• Full launch programs: $8,000 to $25,000 a month

• Projects already selling: a $9,000 launch and $6,000 a month, with a recommended media budget from $7,000 a month

• Launch websites: $25,000 to $50,000

• Films: $15,000 to $50,000 each

• Brand identity: $25,000 to $60,000

• Standalone SEO from $3,000 a month, paid media from $5,000, social from $4,000

• 0% markup on ad spend, paid by you directly to the platforms

For context, a full year with us starts around $160,000, which is roughly 0.3% of sellout on a $50 million project.

Red flags

• The price appears only after the third meeting

• A percentage taken on your media that is not written in the contract

• The agency owns the ad accounts

• A 12-month lock-in with no checkpoints

• Promises of a return-on-ad-spend multiple instead of leads, tours and contracts

Questions

How do real estate PR firms charge for a new development launch?

Usually a monthly retainer for the launch period or a project fee for a single announcement. Ask what the fee covers: the press list, releases, media training, award entries and reporting, and whether visuals for editors are included.

What does a commercial real estate marketing retainer include?

Strategy, creative, media management and reporting each month. Photo and video shoots, drone work and listing syndication are often billed on top, so ask for them in writing.

Retainer, per property or performance-based: which is best for a lease-up?

A retainer fits a single building with a stabilization date. Per-property pricing fits portfolios. Performance-based deals only work when both sides agree on what a qualified lead or a signed lease is before launch.

Is ad spend included in the retainer?

It should not be. Media is best paid by you directly to Google and Meta, so you can see every dollar.

How much should I spend to market a $50 million condominium?

Benchmarks point to $500,000 to $750,000 in total over the sales period, weighted toward the launch window.

Sources

Checked 27 September 2026: Clutch branding pricing, Clutch web design pricing, Clutch video production pricing, Clutch digital marketing pricing, Anchour, Jamesday Digital, Milesbrand (2024), Transforming Cities (2024).

Written by Kirill Samarits, founder and CEO, and Yiannis (John) Deves, partner and COO, TERAMOK.