Open rates have long been treated as the primary success metric in email campaigns. But since Apple launched Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) in 2021, email open rates have become much less reliable. That’s because MPP automatically pre-loads images and tracking pixels, inflating open rates, often dramatically. One study found open rates jumped 3.5% year over year after MPP launched, while click-to-open rates actually fell by 3.6%.
For real estate pros, who are used to seeing open rates in the 35–40% range, it’s harder than ever to know what’s real. The good news? There are better ways to measure success.
Smart marketers are moving beyond opens and focusing on metrics that actually reflect engagement — metrics that can’t be fooled by privacy tools.
Here are four that really matter.
1. Click-through rate (CTR)
CTR measures the share of delivered emails that receive at least one click. It reflects genuine interest and content engagement, unaffected by open-rate inflation. Across industries, average CTR hovers around 2%, with real estate slightly above at 2-5%.
To improve CTR, use compelling and clear calls-to-action (CTAs), highlight buttons over plain links, and use short, focused copy. A CTA prompting readers to “View this weekend’s open houses” can perform significantly better than generic “Learn more” links.
2. Conversion rate
Conversion rate tracks how many email recipients complete a desired action, such as booking a showing, submitting a form, subscribing to market updates, or attending a webinar. Whereas CTR shows intent, conversion rates reveal actual follow-through.
Research shows that real estate campaigns average a 1.4% conversion rate, compared to an industry average of 4.7% across channels. To help boost conversions, make sure you’re following these best practices:
● Minimize steps between click and action
● Use mobile-friendly, easy-to-complete forms
● Automate follow-ups based on clicks
By tracking conversion rates instead of just clicks, you can see how many cold leads end up becoming engaged prospects.
3. List growth and list health
A dynamic, healthy subscriber list fuels long-term growth. You should be tracking:
● List growth rate: Net new subscribers minus any unsubscribes, on a monthly or quarterly basis. ● Bounce rate: The percentage of undeliverable emails. A healthy benchmark is less than 2%. ● Unsubscribe rate: Ideally this is less than 0.5%.
Maintaining a clean list leads to strong performance because unengaged subscribers dilute meaningful engagement. A monthly or quarterly health check ensures that your emails are reaching the right people, instead of landing in abandoned inboxes.
4. Engagement over time
Beyond single campaigns, tracking cumulative engagement — such as clicks per subscriber over time — can provide insights into whether or not your content is resonating, or list fatigue. Look for insights into things like whether or not opens are growing, and the right people are opening your emails.
Some key stepping stones:
● Engagement cohorts: For example, subscribers with clicks in the last 6 months vs. those with none.
● Resend or re-engage campaigns targeting unclicked recipients.
● Content performance split by email type: Consider breaking things down into categories like listings, market insights, or educational guides.
These strategies can help you segment, clean, and optimize your list, to ensure that it remains healthy and responsive.
Your action plan: Focus on what matters
To make the most of your email marketing, it’s important to track the right things. Here’s how to get started:
Don’t rely too much on open rates.
Open rates are no longer very accurate, especially since Apple changed how email privacy works. You can still use them to test different subject lines, but they shouldn’t be the main way you judge if your email was successful.
Pay attention to click-through rates and conversions.
Instead of looking at how many people opened your email, focus on how many people clicked on a link or took action — like booking a showing or signing up for a newsletter. These numbers show who’s actually interested and engaged.
Keep your email list clean and healthy.
It’s important to regularly remove email addresses that bounce (don’t get delivered) and those who have unsubscribed. This helps you make sure your emails are going to real people who want to hear from you.
Look at how people engage with your emails over time.
Check which types of emails your audience likes most, and notice if people are interacting less over time. This can help you improve your content, send emails at the right time, and reach the right people with the right message.
With Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection, open rates don’t tell the full story anymore. Clicks and conversions give you a clearer picture. Clicks show who’s really interested. Conversions show who’s taking action. Keeping your email list clean and healthy helps make sure your numbers are accurate. And watching how people engage over time shows what they care about most.
If you work in real estate, it’s time to stop focusing on flashy numbers and start tracking what actually helps your business grow, like appointments, showings, and deals that close.
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