How to Develop a Real Estate App? Cost Estimation and Key Features

Updated 01 Apr 2024
Published 09 Aug 2021
Satyam Chaturvedi 6179 Views
real estate app development cost

Nowadays, smartphones and mobile applications are the most essential needs of the common man. Today, mobile applications are being considered the best marketing tool for businesses.

Real estate mobile app development will help in creating an app that will not only help the prominent advantage of the mobile application is brand recognition and traffic from which leads can be generated.

The Internet is not limited to online shopping or browsing information; it has provided a platform for various industries and business sectors to grow and reach untouched markets.

One such industry is real estate. Buying a home is the biggest purchase a person makes in a lifetime. Perhaps it takes a lot of research to find the right property for a decent price.

People spend their time researching various properties by contacting numerous real estate agents, comparing prices, visiting various contractors or builders, calculating the rate of interest, etc., and analyzing the future value of the investment.

real estate app development

A real estate application is available that is very useful, well designed and has feature-rich functionality that can prove to be the best tool to tap into this ever-growing and highly profitable market. Now, the time has completely changed for the real estate industry.

With the real estate application development, the challenging task of making a potential customer purchase a property has been easy, as with the application, the customers get information related to the amenities, surroundings, dimensions, and offers (if available), and with the visit to the property site, the customers can make the final decision.

Home Buyers and Sellers Report

According to the National Association of Realtors report, 73% of home buyers use a tablet, app, or website for searching for homes.

Moreover, 76% of all buyers find a home on mobile devices. One more interesting fact is that 17% of all buyers find an agent through mobile devices.  Also, businesses searching for mobile apps have increased by 123%.

real estate websites in the United States
Image Credit: statista.com

Key Statistics on U.S. Real Estate Market

  • The revenue of real estate in the U.S. is expected to hit the mark of 70 trillion U.S. dollars by 2020.
  • Real Estate Sales & Brokerage in the US Market Size in 2020 is $166.9bn
  • Commercial Real Estate in the US Market Size in 2020 is $1.2 Trillion

Trulia acquisition by Zillow

In 2015, Zillow acquired Trulia, and this combined entity has become the biggest player in the online real estate industry. Zillow had 36 million visits in monthly traffic, and Trulia had around 23 million visits in May 2018.

As a result of the acquisition, the company’s web and app had a combined total of around 186 million monthly visitors during the third quarter of 2018, roughly triple that of Realtor.com, which averaged about 60 million monthly visitors during the same period.

zillow statistics and facts Reports

Top Real Estate Applications of 2024

Top Real Estate Applications

Types of Real Estate Apps 

Property But Sell Rent Mobile App (Aggregator):

A platform where various state agents or builders are registered and post the property’s advertisements is called an aggregator platform.

In this platform, users get a variety of listings as per the location they entered. The online platform charges a certain commission on every transaction.

In such an environment, leads are directly transferred to the dedicated agent or the real estate mobile app development company that is listed on the platform.

Real Estate Company Application (Dedicated):

A specific application that is developed by a Real Estate Company is called a dedicated application. The application comprises complete details regarding the history, products, offers, loan schemes, if available, and upcoming projects.

real-estate app development

Indoor Navigation Apps:

Indoor navigation applications help keep away an individual from wandering around in large indoor spaces and are becoming more popular.

Mobile phones today are not limited only to messages and call services but also comprise various sensors such as electronic compasses, barometers, etc that are used by the developers for creating indoor navigation applications.

Smart Home Applications:

Smart home applications are also referred to as home automation app that is used to remotely control and manage connected home appliances such as light, television, air conditioner, entertainment systems, doors, security systems, etc. from a smartphone or tablet.

real estate app development cost

How do Real Estate Apps Make Money?

Featured Listings:

A featured listing is an advertisement for a property that gets a preferred placement on the application. These listings are done keeping in mind one important point it gives maximum exposure to potential buyers.

It also ensures that the property is one of the first to be seen in any search matching its criteria.

Advertise Management:

Advertisements are one of the best and most popular ways of making money from the application. Relevant advertisements such as house loan ads, mortgage ads, home decor ads, Loan insurance ads, etc.

Premium Subscription:

Every application provides free and premium subscription plans. The free trial plan has limited access to the application where the users get details related to the properties.

Moreover to verify the seller’s details they require some amount to be paid as fees. With the premium subscription of the application, a user gets complete access to property details.

Commissions:

Commission or also known as the brokerage fee is charged when an advertisement regarding selling a property is posted on the real estate application or website.

General Features of Real Estate Application

CUSTOMER PANEL/ BROKERS APPLICATION ADMIN PANEL
  • Register/Login
  • Profile Verification by Admin
  • Search Property
  • Filter & Sort Feature
  • Check Map of Listed Properties
  • Property Details
  • User Profile
  • Adding Property for Rent or Selling
  • A premium plan for listing the property
  • Reports
  • User Management:
  • Property Manager
  • Add/Remove Property
  • Currency Converter
  • Customer support manager
  • Add/Edit/Remove Subscription Packages
  • Earning Management

 

Advanced Features of Real Estate App

Social Login & Sign Up:

The user can sign up to their individual accounts by completing the registration process or by assigning the authorization of login through social media accounts such as Facebook, and Gmail.

The real estate application also requires essential details such as name, email address, and mobile numbers so that the customers and the agents can have direct communication.

Push Notifications:

Push notification is a great technology that is widely used today for engaging customers with the application. With this, the app users get all information related to special offers, events, news, and properties.

3D Property View:

With the usage of Virtual Reality technology, 3D designs are presented to clients that exhibit a genuine picture of how a property would resemble.

real estate app development cost

Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Integration:

Multiple listing service is a private database that is created and maintained by real estate professionals. It is a database tool that is used by real estate professionals for assisting their clients when buying and selling a property.

With the MLS integration complete leads that are generated by an individual or other real estate agents can be combined in one portal so that the end customer can be benefited from the information.

For eg. If a customer is searching for a property in Dallas, he/she can get details related to all the properties available in that area and can filter the search results as per their convenience.

real estate mobile app development

IDX Integration (Internet Data Exchange):

IDX is a broader term that is used for covering policies, standards, and software about the display of listing information.

It is basically for the agents and brokers, IDX enables members of multiple listing services to integrate real estate listings from the MLS database into their own websites and applications.

IDX can be an effective technology for both consumers and real estate professionals.

Various appealing listings are incorporated in the applications by the agents to attract prospective buyers. Also, the buyers hit on the recent listings and validate the details to authenticate whether the displayed information is correct or not.

According to the National Association of Realtors, 44% of all buyers search online for property listings as the first stage of their journey. So, if the listings are not incorporated in the application by using IDX then it results in the loss of prospective buyers.

RETS (Real Estate Transaction Standard):

It is a framework designed to streamline data transfers across the real estate industry. It is used for receiving information from many different real estate systems or MLS.

RETS, like many computer standards, is a language that was built for a specific purpose, but the goal is the same: to have all computers that deal with real estate information “speak” the same language so that you can use the same desktop computer program with any MLS that has adopted RETS.

Geo-location Tracking:

With this feature, users can search properties. The geolocation feature within the application uses the location for making location-based search possible for the end-users. By enabling the GPS users to get complete information related to the properties for sale in the current location.

Interactive Map View:

The interactive map uses a Global Information System for displaying pinpoint data on a map. This is really helpful in real estate applications for displaying the area’s location.

Property View (VOD):

With the help of pictures or videos (If any) posted on the advertisement of the property, the users can get a view of it.

Mortgage EMI Calculator:

If an EMI calculator is included in the mobile app, the prospective buyers can get a rough estimation of the monthly EMI that would be payable. It is really convenient for users in decision-making.

real estate mobile app development company

Heat Map:

The app’s idea of a heat map is an innovative style for data analysis for depicting various features. Heat maps are designed in such a way that it displays the complete property detail so that a user gets interested in visiting the actual site.

Interest Rate Calculator:

Users can get information related to the interest rates for home loans simply by using the inbuilt calculator. Here the user enters the property price, down payment, and other necessary details, and the interest rate will be displayed accordingly.

on demand real estate application

LMS Module:

The lead Management System is the most important module in a real estate application. Every tap the customer makes on the advertisement or the listings is a lead for the business. With this feature, the smooth running of the business can be maintained.

Real-time Analytics:

It really helped in data analysis. By analyzing the trends it fetches hot interest property so that productive business decisions can be taken.

real-estate-mobile-app

Role-Based Dashboard:

There are many users associated with an application, customers, dealers, agents, and admin. All these users have a dedicated dashboard.

The admin of the application can monitor and derive complete operational statistics reports for all the users to make business and marketing strategies.

CMS Integration:

A Content Management System (CMS) manages the creation and modification of digital content.

Loyalty Programs:

Loyalty programs play a vital role in the success and retention of the users of an application. Rewards and referral programs motivate the customers to share and use the application more and more to earn more reward points which can be converted into attractive discount offers.

Tech Stack for Real Estate App Development

A real estate app should include several technologies including the following:

  • CoreLocation: To help track the geolocation of the user and pin it on the app.
  • CoreData or Realm: This allows the app to save houses and other properties as well.
  • MapKit for the maps integration.
  • Apple Push Notifications Service (APNS): Allowing various notifications to be received by the device.
  • Facebook SDK: Sign-in process can be done by sharing via Facebook.
  • Google sign in Sign-in process with Gmail account.
  • Virtual tours: Allowing customers to explore the property through the application only.

hire mobile app developer

Required Team Structure for Real Estate App Development

To develop a robust and interactive Real Estate Mobile Application, it is required to have a development team of talented professionals who can bring your thoughts or imagination to reality. The team structure that you may require is as follows:

  • Business Analyst
  • Project Manager
  • Android and iOS application Developers
  • Front-End Developers
  • Backend Developers
  • QA Professionals
  • Graphic Designers

How Much Does it Cost to Create a Real Estate App Like Zillow?

Analyzing the development cost of app depends on the complexity and size of the application. Also, factors such as the development company or app developer locality and the estimated hours invested in the development of the application play a vital factor in deciding the development cost.

  • US developers: – $130 to $230 per hr.
  • Eastern-Europe developers: – $90 to $190 per hr.
  • India-based developers: – $20 to $70 per hr.

Moreover, a feature-rich real estate mobile application can cost around $20,000 to $35,000 for a single platform.

Satyam Chaturvedi

Satyam Chaturvedi is a Digital Marketing Manager at Arka Softwares, a leading app development company dealing in modern and futuristic solutions. He loves to spend his time studying the latest market insights.

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Mayuri Desai

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Jeeto11

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Archithrones

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