The real estate market remains popular and saturated for a long time, which makes it, of course, highly competitive. That’s why companies are forced to invent new ways to fight for each client. And one of them is to create a real estate app.
These mobile programs are good at optimizing and automating numerous processes; thus, they efficiently contribute to business growth. In this article, we are going to discuss how to build a real estate app, its cost, trends, examples, and much more.
Real Estate Trends
As you understand, any market requires investments, including a real estate one. But it's all theoretical... what about the situation in practice?
According to Statista, In the first quarter of 2024, the Middle East, African (EMEA), and Europe are the regions with the highest value of a cross-border investment in real estate. The USA goes by 6.4 billion worth of transactions considering the investment in real estate.
The numbers look impressive, but in order to attract real estate investors, you need to offer a quality product (or high-top services). And this implies the need to keep abreast of developments and market innovations.
So, let's discuss real estate trends. What is happening (and what is popular) in the market in 2024?
#1. Innovative solutions
Real estate is getting smarter: sensors, IoT, AI, machine learning, robots, etc. have completely changed the operation of buildings. All major construction firms use smart home technology and other cool innovations.
And, in this respect, real estate mobile app development seems to be a logical continuation of the trend, doesn't it?
#2. Ecological Properties
Environmental friendliness is gaining momentum and manifesting itself in all aspects connected with real estate. Buyers are beginning to pay special attention to the "green issue", and realtors cannot ignore it either.
For example, during the exhibition, the world-famous architect Jean Nouvel presented his project for the construction of a building with an area of 45,000 square meters (in Brazilian Sao Paulo). A distinctive feature of his piece of architecture is the use of wood not only as a building material but also in the form of living trees on the facade.
#3. The Amazon Threat
The head of Accor (the largest hotel chain in the world), says that there is a chance of Amazon entering the real estate and tourism markets (say, by purchasing a hotel chain). And it will completely change aligning of forces. The fact is that Amazon has a huge amount of data on 300 million people on the planet, right up to their vacation dates and types of leisure preferred. Therefore, the company can provide the most personalized offers. But, by having commercial real estate apps, you can also collect data about your users and anticipate their needs. It means you’ll be able to offer your clients exactly what they want.
#4. Profitable Real Estate of the Future
Housing affordability is the most important social issue that will affect the real estate market in the short term. Solutions for the coming years include the use of micro-apartments, coworking systems, and nursing homes.
#5. Data Security
The development of smart technologies leads to the fact that the owners of buildings accumulate a great amount of data about users and customers: fingerprints helping to open doors, face recognition systems, tracking movements in rooms, and so on… everything becomes known, even the body temperature! And there is a need to protect such data, which explains the appearance of a trend (by the way, real estate mobile apps also require data protection).
Read our article to learn a few interesting and useful facts about security over the SSL protocol.
And now let's look at your competitors. Namely, what are the best real estate apps?
10 Reasons to Create Your Own Real Estate Apps
All described companies (startups, agencies, and so on) are happy to develop a mobile app for the real estate business because they understand: such a step brings a lot of undoubted advantages. Let's list the main of them!
1. High Customer Loyalty
Farsighted businessmen are actively using loyalty programs to attract customers, and the mobile application is a good assistant in this matter. Such a solution would allow you to achieve amazing results, and you won't regret your decision to create a real estate app.
2. An Increase in the Number of Successfully Concluded Deals
The 2nd benefit is logically related to the previous one. As we’ve said, the mobile app improves customer experience (by bettering client service through a number of helpful real estate app features (we'll discuss them below). And satisfied users are more willing to make deals.
3. An Accurate Hit on the Target Audience
In order to successfully sell (no matter what, goods or services), you need to know who exactly is interested in your offer. Therefore, by advertising your application, you can more precisely target your audience and attract those who need your very services. And these users are your future potential customers.
4. Marketing Tools
Real estate marketing apps are an excellent tool for marketing activities. By analyzing the user's behavior, you can send him relevant advertising. And this is just one of the similar examples!
5. Effective Analytics
Owning a mobile application, you get a chance to collect information on user behavior. Such data would help you provide each client with a personal approach, adjust business strategy, etc.
6. Real-Time Communication with Customers
The real estate agent app means the ability to be constantly in touch with the user and quickly respond to his feedback.
7. A Revenue Increase Due to the Project Monetization
Of course, a real estate agency is unlikely to make mobile monetization the key income source, but it can be a welcome bonus. And why not, actually?
8. Reduced Advertising Costs
By maintaining the interest of regular customers in the mobile application through interesting real estate app features, you can save on the advertising campaign and boost its effectiveness.
9. Brand Recognition
Developing a real estate app contributes to the growth of company awareness and gives a chance to build a product using a logo, corporate colors, fonts, and so on.
10. Internal Business Processes Optimization
Any business is inseparable from different managing tasks, and apps for real estate are good in simplifying all these processes. In addition to increasing the efficiency of the company, they save financial and staff resources.
4 Steps on How to Create a Real Estate App
Now it’s time to discuss the core steps of real estate mobile application development. In this article, you may read how to build a real estate app like Zillow.
Stage 1: Discovery Phase
The discovery phase represents a thorough market analysis, which can be divided into the following sub-points:
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The starting point is identifying the app’s purpose, like niche (e.g., luxury property), tools for realtors, and property listing fees for renters/buyers.
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The next sub-element is analyzing competitors, identifying their strong and weak points, and consider solutions that will benefit mobile app development for real estate.
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The third element is identifying the target audience, like sellers, renters, or buyers.
Stage 2: Development Phase
There are the following sub-elements in this phase of the real estate mobile application development.
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Detecting the Core Features of the Further App
When you aim to develop a real estate application, you should keep in mind the in-app features for users, realtors, as well as monetization aspects. The features for users include a search of property with filters, contact options. For realtors, those features are listing management, and ad promotion. The monetization aspects include subscription plans and listing fees.
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Choose Development Approach
The next sub-element of the development stage is choosing the native or cross-platform development. Native development improves efficiency as it is separate for iOS and Android. The cross-platform approach is cost-effective as it is a single codebase for both Android and iOS.
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Wrifefame and UX/UI Design
Wireframe implies sketching layouts and user flows. For the user design the real estate has to cover navigation, aesthetics, and be responsive in use.
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Back-End
The next sub-point is back-end development, implying crafting API for property listing and realtor-relevant tools like analytics.
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Front-End
If you want to create your own real estate app, you have to consider developing screens for property details and searching filters within the front-end development.
Step 3: Delivery Phase
To make a real estate app, you need to perform the following testing procedure to check the correctness of its functionality.
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Functional Testing
This testing implies analyzing whether all the features work in a proper manner.
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Performance Testing
Performance testing checks the application’s possibility of working under tense loads.
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Security Testing
Security testing aims to check, detect, and prevent real estate vulnerabilities.
Step 4: Market Launch
The deployment phase presents the launch of the product to the market and its further updates.
Best Real Estate Apps Overview
Are you ready to find out who you'll have to compete with and what exactly to expect? Then read on!
StreetEasy
StreetEasy is one of the most popular real estate apps in the USA. Its goal is to help in finding housing in New York. With a huge database of real estate information in all areas of the celebrated Big Apple, including such famous ones as Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, the service has won the love of numerous American users.
StreetEasy provides its users with the ability to send messages directly from the application - to the agents' email right away. Usually, the feature is implemented through regular HTTP requests.
Homesnap
Since 2008, Homesnap has been one of the top real estate apps in the US market. One of the reasons for its popularity is the constant updating of the program, the addition of new useful features, and the improvement of old ones.
With the help of Homesnap, users get detailed data about any object of interest. All they have to do is upload its photo or enter the address.
Naked Apartments
Among the great real estate apps, one cannot but mention Naked Apartments. Even its name is very original and immediately attracts attention: it's a small wonder that users are really enjoying this program.
We'd like to talk more about the Showings On-Demand feature. It allows users to quickly see the apartment they like - on demand. Such a possibility, among other things, explains the relevance of the application: as you understand, the chance to explore the property without delay sometimes becomes a decisive factor (especially in huge megalopolises with high competition).
Apartments.com
The list of good real estate apps wouldn't be complete without Apartments.com. This is another user-friendly program that is in particular demand in the USA.
Apartments.com offers a virtual tour feature that includes detailed information on all properties. In addition, this implies the ability to view options in 3D and communicate with agents in real time.
Realestate.com.au
If we previously described American applications, now it’s time to touch on the Australian market, namely, the Realestate.com.au program. The fact is that it offers interesting features which would help you come up with splendid real estate mobile app ideas.
Realestate.com.au efficiently uses a system of smart push notifications. Notifications are being sent daily at 6 o'clock in the evening. This allows potential customers to see changes in the status of their requests, find out news about their favorite (or similar) property options, read about the latest real estate market events, and the like.
The time for sending notifications is very true: users are more relaxed and ready to accept new information at the end of the working day.
Key Real Estate App Features
To know how to create a real estate app, you have to understand what features you need to build. We offer you to take a look at the list below and choose the items you like. And, of course, you’re free to come up with your own ideas!
1. User Account
Well, the first item on the list is clear, right? The user needs his account to simplify the process of interaction with the application, and the owner of the service will be able to take advantage of the users' personal data to make them unique offers. A perfect win-win situation! By the way, in order to reduce the time of registration, we recommend providing the integration of social networks. You might get interested in the real estate CRM features. Just read the linked article.
2. Catalog
Catalog is a very important feature of the real estate app. Such a catalog consists of property cards. Each one should contain photos, descriptions, and other similar information, which would allow the user to get a rough idea of the estate object.
3. Search and Sort Filters
Simplify the search system and allow users to filter and sort their requests according to certain criteria (meaning displaying the list alphabetically, by prices, by date added, and so on).
4. Geolocation
An online map with key objects marked on it (hospitals, schools, shops, and other social facilities) is a great addition to the functionality of a real estate mobile application. Also, it is desirable to provide an opportunity to pave the route to the point indicated on the map (say, to the property object the user wants to give a look-over).
5. Showings on Demand
We mentioned this feature when discussing a Naked Apartments app. When is it needed? Imagine that the client is near the property he likes (be it a house, apartment, cottage), and he wants to see it without extra waiting. To avoid a long chain of arranging a meeting, a user can take advantage of his real estate app in a mobile device: if the program has a Showings On Demand feature, of course. With its help, the user receives information about realtors who are located in the specified area and ready to show the selected object (here, again, a geolocation feature is required).
6. Virtual Tour
The tour feature was mentioned earlier too (when we were describing the most popular real estate apps). With the help of such tours, customers get a chance to have a look at interesting objects even before the official real-world viewing (and therefore choose the options that best fit their criteria).
7. Feedback and Rating
The ability to leave feedback and rate this or that realtor will also appeal to users. The result is increased loyalty.
8. Chat
Real estate agencies must keep a high level of communication with potential customers, and mobile chat is a good helper in such respect. Also, you can enhance the effect by using chatbots. A chatbot is a program, which sends automatically generated messages to users with answers to frequently asked questions. Thanks to chatbots, customers get an answer without any delay, and agents can take their time to prepare a detailed offer.
9. Push Notifications
Today, this feature is inherent in any type of application. And real estate apps are no exception. Implement such notifications to provide users with the opportunity to receive daily information updates about property objects they like.
10. QR Codes
A real estate company can add QR codes to its billboards or agency booklets. Then, having scanned a QR code using a smartphone, users would be able to read all the information about a particular house, apartment or building.
Offering a good feature set, you'll definitely interest a maximum of potential clients with your program. But remember: the impression of the finest functionality would be spoiled by an ill-conceived interface. Therefore, make sure your real estate app design is intuitive and clear: user-friendly, simply put.
Cost of Creating a Real Estate Mobile App
The overall price for the basic real estate platform development ranges from $25,000 to $50,000. The cost of the advanced version of the platform can shift between $100,000 to $300,000+. If you want to build your own real estate app you need to take into account the elements of feature complexity, platform selection, and design requirements.
Feature Complexity
Features can be basic and advanced, which will shape the overall cost of the real estate application.
Basic Features
Determine the standard processes of the property app functionality, and will cost less than the advanced counterpart. The basic features include:
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Map.
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Personal Profile.
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Property Profile.
Advanced features
Provide users with a seamless and personalized experience, affecting its development price considerably. The advanced features include:
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AI-Based Personalized Property Recommendations.
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Chatbots for Client Support.
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Push Notifications.
Platform Selection
Platform selection will affect the ultimate development cost of the real estate application based on the overall business expectation. If you want to focus on enhanced security and seamless functionality, then the native development will be appropriate but costly.
If the top priority is cost-effectiveness, then cross-platform development will save your financial input but will provide a basic security level.
Design Specificity
Design specificity affects the total cost of the real estate app development depending on the basic and custom features.
Basic Design
The application will use pre-design templates, which will cost less than the custom design.
Custom UX/UI Design
Custom UX/UI design will affect the price of real estate platforms considerably due to the advanced animations, smooth transitions, and brand-relevant design.
Monetization Strategies for Real Estate Mobile App
Of course, mobile app development for the real estate area doesn't make monetization the top priority, the prime task is to strengthen business positions. But why not try to kill two birds with one stone?
So, what additional monetization options do you have?
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Light & Pro. There are a few variations: freemium model, subscription, and more. However, the essence is the same: there is basic free functionality and paid extra features.
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Advertising. The second key way to monetize your app is advertising. In the end, your application is a ready-made advertising platform, and you just need to convince advertisers to use it to promote their brands.
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Promotion for Realtors. This monetization strategy matters for realtor app development as it implies that realtors have paid promotional tools like 3D walkthroughs and virtual tours to enhance the visibility of their service.
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Listing Fees. The monetization strategy of listing fees imposes a specific payment, around $10 for 30 days for the owners who want to place the announcement of their property app, including images and descriptions via the real estate software.
Do you want to know more about how to make your application bring you money? In our article, we reveal all the secrets of app monetization!
Do you want to know more about how to make your application bring you money? In our article, we reveal all the secrets of app monetization!
Summary
In the article we discussed how to build a real estate app, focusing on the trends, popular platforms, and developmental costs. You just need to find the right approach to the process of developing and promoting your program. And don't rush, this is the case when you must act thoughtfully and calculate every step. Only then your investment will pay off with interest.
Of course, you have to hire a team of specialists first: IT experts skilled enough to build the mobile application you need. And if you're wondering how to find the best real estate app development company, read our article describing tactics that really work.
