Measuring Pre-Sale Demand and Ad Impact, Face to Face

The Challenge

Before going to market, the client had two questions to answer.

First, how much demand was there for homes at the pre-sale stage? Second, did its advertising get noticed and understood, and did it make people more interested in buying?

Both answers depend on hearing from real prospective buyers, and on those people paying proper attention to the ads they are shown.

The client's own team would run the analysis. What it needed was a fieldwork partner that could deliver a large, reliable sample, in person, on a tight timeline.

How We Responded

Ethos Market Research ran the study as face-to-face fieldwork, covering both objectives in a single program.

In-person interviewing: Trained interviewers spoke with respondents directly. A home purchase is a big decision, and a conversation holds attention through questions about intent, timing and budget better than a self-completed form.

Advertising shown in person: Each piece of advertising was presented by an interviewer, so reactions came from people who actually looked at it, not from a quick scroll past a screen.

Qualified at the start: Eligibility was checked in person at the start of each interview, so the people counted were the people the client wanted to hear from.

Two objectives, one study: Pre-sale demand and advertising reactions were collected in the same fieldwork, so the client could read interest in buying and response to the ads side by side.

Data ready for analysis: The completed data went to the client's team, who kept full control of the analysis and reporting.

Research Methods Used

Face-to-Face Interviewing: Interviewer-led conversations with prospective buyers.

In-Person Ad Testing: Advertising presented by the interviewer, with reactions captured on the spot.

Pre-Sale Demand Measurement: Questions on interest in buying at the pre-sale stage.

Respondent Screening: Eligibility confirmed in person before each interview.

Client-Side Analysis: Ethos delivered the data, and the client's team ran the analysis.

Results & Strategic Impact

✅ 800 completed face-to-face interviews, each about 15 minutes long

✅ 30% incidence after targeting, so roughly one in three people screened qualified

✅ Fieldwork completed across February and March 2026

✅ Pre-sale demand and advertising reactions captured in one study

✅ Ad reactions from people who saw the creative in person

✅ A sample large enough to break results down by buyer group

✅ A full dataset handed to the client's team for its own analysis

The value was not only the size of the sample.

It was hearing from prospective buyers in person, with the advertising in front of them.

Project Timeline

Client brief.

Fieldwork begins: February 2026.

Fieldwork closes: March 2026.

800 completes delivered.

Fieldwork ran over two months, with the full data delivered to the client's team at close.

Key Takeaway

For real estate, online surveys are not always enough.

When the questions are about a major purchase and the advertising has to be seen properly, face-to-face interviewing gives the client confidence in who answered and in what they saw.

Ethos Market Research delivers that fieldwork at scale, so the client's team can focus on the decisions.

Methodology Tags: Real Estate Research | Pre-Sale Demand | Ad Testing | Face-to-Face Research | Data Collection

Research Methods Used: Face-to-Face Interviewing | In-Person Ad Testing | Pre-Sale Demand Measurement | Respondent Screening

Project Snapshot: Residential real estate | Ontario brokerage network | n=800 | Face-to-face | LOI 15 minutes | IR 30% after targeting

Timeline: February to March 2026 | Two months of fieldwork

Client name withheld for confidentiality.

Work With Ethos Market Research