Hello, HVAC.
How to find HVAC leads
1983
Median year built of owner-occupied homes nationwide, 2025 American Community Survey estimate
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Read November 12, 2026
The list adds new homeowners each Monday from recorded deeds. A home purchase with buyers moving in becomes one row. Several buyers can share a row. You get a mailing name, address, sale price and deed date.
Where HVAC leads come from
On Google Local Services Ads, HVAC is an urgent category, and the category adds service professional background checks.
| Source | Pays for | Published price | Shared or exclusive |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS Every Door Direct Mail | Postage per piece | $0.26 per piece | Does not apply |
| Service Direct | Each call or form lead | $65 to $325 | Exclusive (no published terms) |
| Thumbtack | Each lead, price set by the pro | Not published | Shared with up to 5 pros |
| Angi (HomeAdvisor) | Leads by subscription, per lead or bundle | Not published | Shared with multiple pros |
| Networx | Each lead | Not published | Exclusive (no published terms) |
| Porch | Each project request or subscription | Not published | Shared with up to 4 pros |
| Modernize | Each lead, call or live transfer | Not published | Shared with up to 4 pros |
| Google Local Services Ads | Each valid lead, auction priced | Not published | You are chosen directly; customer may contact others |
| Yelp Ads | Monthly ad budget | From $150 a month | Does not apply |
| Nextdoor | Ads or monthly alerts subscription | Not published | Does not apply |
USPS Every Door Direct Mail reaches every address on a carrier route, at postage cost per piece.
Service Direct lists heating and air conditioning as separate categories, each at $65 to $325 per lead. Missed calls and voicemail count as billable leads. On the Marketplace program, a business gets 7 days from receiving a lead to request review.
On Thumbtack, a customer can contact at most five pros in the first 4 hours. Thumbtack refunds any lead automatically when no customer reply arrives within 72 hours.
Yelp Ads spends a monthly budget on clicks within Yelp search results. Yelp's Request a Quote, which runs separately from Yelp Ads, sends a homeowner's project to more than one business. Nextdoor's Opportunity Alerts notify you by text or email when a neighbor posts about needing work done.
New homeowner spending on home improvements
Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies found that recent buyers spend about 35% more on home improvements than owners of more than three years, after controlling for age and income. That figure covers all home improvements.
Home inspections and HVAC equipment
The inspector runs the heating and cooling systems using their normal operating controls and reports any that did not operate.
Under InterNACHI's Standards of Practice, the inspector is not required to
- look inside the heat exchanger,
- judge the system's size or adequacy,
- or light pilot flames.
Below 65 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the standard does not require running the air conditioning. In a cold month, the cooling system may go untested.
InterNACHI's life expectancy chart puts a central air conditioner at an estimated 7 to 15 years, based on regular maintenance and normal wear.
ENERGY STAR advises a professional evaluation for any HVAC system more than 10 years old, and says to consider a certified replacement if the system is not running efficiently or needs upgrading.
Frequent repairs alongside rising energy bills, or rooms that stay too hot or too cold, are among the signs it names.
HVAC permit history
Some areas add HVAC permit data to each row: the latest permit filed for heating and cooling work, or none. The Coverage page lists which areas.
No HVAC permit on file does not mean the equipment is old.
Year built shows the home's age. The heating and cooling equipment may be newer.
Sample row
This row is made up. It carries no real person, address or sale. Year built, square feet and permit history are filled only where a county or city publishes them.
Example
- Recorded
recorded_date - 2026-11-10
- Deed date
deed_date - 2026-11-02
- Mailing name
mailing_name - Pat and Casey Sample
- Address
address - 500 Example Ln
- City
city - Sampletown
- State
state - XX
- ZIP
zip - 00000
- Unit number
has_unit_number - no
- Condo unit
condo_unit - no (guessed from address)
- Sale price
price - 350000
- Year built
year_built - 1975
- Square feet
square_feet - 1600
- Last roof permit
last_roof_permit - not covered
- Last HVAC permit
last_hvac_permit - not covered
- County
county - Example County
- Source
data_source - Public property records, version 2026-11-12
HVAC direct mail: a sample plan
Pull the list Monday at 8am in each market's own time zone.
-
Send a cooling checkup card in spring.
ENERGY STAR recommends the pre-season cooling checkup in spring and suggests the time change as a reminder.
-
Send a heating checkup card in fall.
The card can also carry a filter reminder: ENERGY STAR says to check the filter monthly, especially during heavy-use months, and change it at least every 3 months.
-
Mail both cards as First-Class postcards.
USPS delivers in 1 to 5 days.
Lob, a direct mail service, estimates 5 to 7 business days for First-Class delivery.
What it costs to mail new homeowners
Each new homeowner costs the Local plan's monthly price split across your count of new owners, plus the postcard.
Example Enter how many new owners a month you expect in the ZIP codes you would buy. An estimate is fine. The Coverage page links each covered county, and county and city pages show counts for the last 90 days and the last 12 months. Divide the first by three or the second by twelve for a monthly figure. A county's or city's count covers every ZIP in it, so take your ZIP codes' share.
Starts at $0.905, Lob's four-by-six-inch First-Class card on the free plan. Type your own cost to change it.
Replace with your own numbers to see your costs.
- Local plan, per month
- $49
- List cost per new owner
- = $49 ÷ new owners
- List plus postcard, per new owner
- = $49 ÷ new owners + $0.905
- Monthly total, list and postcards
- = $49 + $0.905 × new owners
Common questions about HVAC marketing
- Does a home inspection test the air conditioning in winter?
Not always. InterNACHI's Standards of Practice do not require the inspector to run the cooling system when the outside temperature is below 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Does the list show how old the furnace is?
No. Some rows carry year built. That tells you how old the home is, not how old the furnace or the air conditioner is. A permit on file shows someone filed for heating or cooling work.
- How do you get HVAC leads and customers without paying per lead?
Business profiles on Google, Yelp and Nextdoor cost nothing to set up. On Google, you can ask customers to leave a review as long as you don't offer a reward. Yelp prohibits review requests. Nextdoor lets you ask your best customers to Fave your business.
ENERGY STAR's contractor hiring guide tells homeowners to ask friends and neighbors for referrals.
- What are some HVAC marketing ideas for new homeowners?
An inspection done in cold weather may leave the cooling system untested. A card sent in spring can offer a cooling checkup.
- What does an HVAC postcard cost to mail?
A standard-size postcard qualifies for the $0.65 First-Class stamp. Lob's free-plan postcard covers print and postage at $0.905 per piece.
- How fresh is the list?
Each row carries a deed date and a recording date. Each Monday, the list draws new homeowners from recorded deeds.
New single-family houses sold nationwide, 2025
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development via FRED, series HSN1FNSA Read November 12, 2026
A house counts in the month its contract is signed or its deposit accepted, not at closing. Not seasonally adjusted; existing homes (resales) not included.
Show table
| Month | New single-family houses sold nationwide, 2025 |
|---|---|
| January | 56,000 |
| February | 56,000 |
| March | 63,000 |
| April | 65,000 |
| May | 56,000 |
| June | 57,000 |
| July | 53,000 |
| August | 57,000 |
| September | 58,000 |
| October | 48,000 |
| November | 52,000 |
| December | 56,000 |
Coverage areas
The Coverage page lists every covered area, what a row carries there, and this trade's page for each state.
Other trades
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