Every month REA sends you a bill. Every month Domain sends you a bill. The signboard in the front yard cost a few hundred bucks. The letterbox drop cost a few hundred more. Calls come in. You list properties. Some sell, some don't.
Now answer this: which one of those channels generated your last appraisal? Your last vendor signing? Your last sale?
If you can't answer with confidence, you're not alone. Most agencies we talk to can't. The portals don't hand you that data, the signboards don't hand you that data, and the flyers don't hand you that data. So you guess, and you keep paying everyone, just in case.
What's the simple fix?
Give every channel its own phone number. When a buyer or vendor calls, the system records which number they dialled. The call still rings your office (or your mobile, or your reception). But now you know REA generated 14 calls last week, Domain generated 9, your signboard out the front of 42 Maple St generated 6, and the letterbox drop in Hurstville generated 4.
That's real attribution. Per portal. Per listing. Per suburb if you want it.
How does it work on the portals?
On REA and Domain, you can specify a phone number per listing. Use a tracked number. The portal still routes the call to you. REA and Domain don't know or care it's tracked, because to them it's just a regular Australian phone number.
When the buyer calls, our system records:
- Which portal they came from (because each gets a different number)
- Which specific listing if you've set up per-listing tracking
- Time of day (so you can see if you're missing calls outside hours)
- Call duration (a 9-second wrong-number vs a 4-minute serious enquiry)
- Whether you missed it (so demand recovery can text the caller back within 60 seconds)
With AI Overviews appearing above portal results in Google search, buyers who do reach out by phone are increasingly high-intent. A missed call from a portal enquiry in 2026 is more costly than it was two years ago.
How does it work on signboards?
The signboard at the property gets a unique number printed on it. When someone driving past pulls over and calls, you know it came from the signboard at that specific property, not from REA, not from Domain, not from anywhere else.
For multi-property campaigns this gets useful fast. You can see signboard performance per area. Are signboards in the Eastern Suburbs generating more calls than ones in St George? Now you know.
How does it work on letterbox drops?
Each suburb in your letterbox campaign gets its own tracked number. You see exactly how many calls came from each suburb. Hurstville generated 6 vendor enquiries, Kogarah generated 2, Rockdale generated 1. Next campaign, you focus your spend on Hurstville and try a different message in Kogarah.
For more on tracked letterbox drops specifically: our guide on letterbox ROI tracking.
What does this look like in the vendor update?
The real win isn't internal. It's the conversation with vendors. Walk into the next vendor update with: “Your property received 34 calls this week. 18 from REA, 9 from your signboard, 7 from the letterbox drop in Bexley.”
That's a vendor who renews their listing. That's a vendor who refers their friend. That's a vendor who doesn't pull the listing because they think nothing's happening.
The cost vs the cost of not doing it
Tracked numbers cost a few cents per call. A typical real estate agency uses 5–20 numbers across portals, signboards, letterbox and website. Total monthly cost is usually less than the cost of one wasted REA listing where you couldn't prove ROI to the vendor.
Compare that to the cost of cutting REA and discovering it was actually generating most of your vendor calls, or doubling down on Domain and discovering it generates almost nothing in your area. Those mistakes cost real money. Tracked numbers prevent them.
How to get started
We've worked with real estate agencies across Sydney since 2006, from franchise-brand offices to dozens of independent local agencies.
If you want to set this up: book a free call audit. We'll look at your current marketing channels, recommend tracked numbers per portal/signboard/suburb, and get you reporting within a week. No pitch, no obligation.