We noticed something new on Facebook's advertising platform this month that gives us a lot of insight into the importance of online marketing for homebuilders: first time homebuyers is now listed as a target demographic.     Industry giants like Zillow and Trulia have been proclaiming the importance of the millennial homebuyer for months, and it seems Facebook has finally taken note. Previously, if you wanted to target someone who might possibly be a first time homebuyer, the most you could do would have been to target people ages 25 to 34 who are currently renters. You might even add income to that mix, but even then it was kind of a shot in the dark as to how many home hunters you were actually targeting. Perhaps all Facebook did was combine these targeting pieces into a prepackaged deal for advertisers, but we expect it's more than that. Facebook has access to tons of personal and financial data from third-party sources; it wouldn't be surprising if a user's cache of website visits to sites like Zillow and Trulia are being taken into consideration. We're hopeful that this new target audience will allow us to more accurately deliver ads to people who are actively looking to buy their first home. But even if all Facebook has done is create a combination of existing targeting data, this new demographic still gives us important insights into what's ahead for online marketing in the homebuilding industry. Previously, the home ownership targeting opportunities consisted only of homeowners and renters, and neither of these demographics is homebuilder-specific. We can think of several types of companies other than home builders who would target homeowners: retailers of patio furniture and home décor, lawn maintenance companies, lifestyle bloggers, and anyone else who might use homeownership as a way to capture an audience of a certain financial standing. Additionally, renters could be targeted by apartment complexes, universities, or DIY bloggers. It seems first-time homebuyers is a demographic created specifically for home sales, so this tells us two things: a large portion of millennial homebuyers is using Facebook and companies that sell homes are using Facebook as an advertising platform. With these two things in mind, we can go ahead and assume that Facebook marketing is an arena that homebuilders are going to want to compete in. You may find yourself needing to increase your marketing budget in order to compete, but the ultimate payoff will be creating awareness and generating leads that are 100% trackable.