Real Estate App: Importance, Features, Monetization, and More

The market size of the Global Commercial Real Estate industry is $3.2 tn in 2021 in terms of revenue. 52% of buyers found the home they purchased on the internet. If you are a real-estate agent, it is time you turned it digital with a website. And complement it with a real-estate app. There are a number of ways a real-estate app can take your business up a notch and help you grow it fast.

There are various pain-points of customers that you can address with a real-estate app. A feature-rich real-estate app can give correct information in an organized manner to customers. This can help them analyze the properties available better and take the right decision.

If you feel you need a real-estate app for your business but can’t figure out how to start, this post is just for you. By the end of this post, you’ll be clear about the importance of a real-estate app, features to include in it, and ways to monetize it.

Why You Need A Real-Estate App

If you are wondering how iOS or Android app development for your real-estate business can make a difference, here are the benefits of a real-estate app.

Enhanced Customer Engagement and Speedier Sales Process

Real-estate agents can make the sales process faster with the use of a custom real-estate app. You can use the real-estate app to send notifications about special offers available at a given time. For example, you can charge a little less commission on the sale of a property for app users. This may interest and compel them to take a quick decision instead of procrastinating the purchase.

24/7 Communication and Enhanced Decision-Making

People often find themselves running short of time. In this fast-paced digital world, the number of people who want to visit a real-estate agent and visit sites is hardly any. They rather look for a continuous channel of communication to assist them with their decision-making process.

If you provide them with a real-estate app, they can search properties on the go. They can also analyze properties’ details, compare their prices, amenities, and more. Instead of having to call you during odd hours to confirm the purchase, they can simply book the property right within the app.

Rewarding Customer Experience

An app provides your customers with highly personalized experience to fit their needs. For instance, you can utilize 3-D property visualization or any other futuristic technology to impress users and make them feel valued.

Helps Organize Your Team of Realtors

If you have a team of realtors, a real-estate app can help manage it better. Effective communication between team members and customers can strengthen customer relationships. An app can help track potential customers and leads throughout the sales cycles. You can view the properties customers have viewed, analyze their preferences, set reminders for your team members to follow up on them.

Want a next-gen real-estate app for your business too? Our team can help you build one for your business.

Features to Include in a Real-Estate App

Registration and Log-In

The users should be able to register themselves via a personal account. For customers, you should let them log in to the app via social media (Google, Facebook, etc.), email address + password, or phone number authorization and verification. It is highly recommendable to combine all the three methods to enrich the customers’ experience.

Once they register themselves and log in to the app, allow them to manage their profile details. They should get to update their user details like phone number or contact address, preferences, etc. to help you personalize suggestions and service.

Besides customers, the property sellers must also have a separate log-in system. They should be able to maintain and keep their details updated and verified. Your app should also let them upload the necessary legal documents for the property they have put up on your app.

Property Listings

Property listings is a feature that you can’t do without in a real-estate app. The property listing should cover a list of available properties with comprehensive details. The primary details (price, locality’s name, etc.) should be visible to the user even without clicking on a property. The other secondary details (property type, area, neighborhood, proximity to a market) should show up once the user clicks on the property.

Search and Filters:

The Search feature allows the user to search a property by inserting some search terms. They can enter location, property type, etc. to browse your app to find what they need. Your app should fetch and display all the desired properties’ details as per their search terms.

Also enable them to apply filters in search results to narrow down the property listings. There can be various property filters like location, area, price, type of property (tenement, office, apartment, or bungalow, etc.), rent/buy, terrace, number of rooms, parking facilities, etc. The right and exhaustive list of filters can help engage users more easily and effectively.

High-Quality Images and Videos

Support for high-quality images is a good practice when planning an iOS or Android app development for your real-estate business. Bad quality property photos can prove to be a deal-breaker at times.

Users sometimes like a property only because its images are really good! Further, the good-quality images clicked from different angles convince them to know more about the property. Some real-estate apps also offer videos of the properties on their app that make it even more immersive an experience.

Interactive Maps

This is a feature that you can’t afford to skip during the real-estate iOS or Android app development process. You can integrate Google Maps or Bing Maps with the help of third-party integrations.

Integrating a map helps customers find the way to your property easily. It also helps them get an idea of what is around the property they are looking into, like markets, transport facilities, etc. It is especially more valuable for those who are new to a city and are not familiar with the routes.

Favorites List

Out of the sight, out of the mind! – Yes, it happens. Sometimes, a customer likes a property but doesn’t proceed to buy it instantly. In case they return to the app, they have to search the same property all over again to take any further action. Instead, if they can mark it as Favorite to save it in the Favorites list, it can save them a lot of time. It also personalizes the user’s experience because they can view a sorted list of their favorite properties within the app. So, always remember to include the feature of Favorites list in your app.

Detailed Property Information

The property details should be clear and exhaustive. They should include all the essential information like the property’s name, location, number of rooms, bathrooms, halls, etc., the size of the property, additional amenities like gym, parking, club house, etc. Also, don’t forget to show the ratings and reviews for each property. The reviews act as a great catalyst in decision-making for customers at times.

Virtual Tour

The integration of VR technology can give you an edge. 360-degree view of the property along with a virtual tour helps the customer not only save time but also make an informed decision.

Besides, you can consider in-app chat, cost calculator, online verification, push notifications, etc. for the real estate Android app development.

How to Monetize Your Real Estate App

To monetize your real-estate app, you can:

Charge fees to the Property Sellers

Set a certain commission fee for the property seller to pay to you to post their property on your app. You can decide the fee depending on the type of property, value, and other criteria.

Use the Freemium Model

You can go for a freemium model to increase your app subscribers’ base. In this model, you can let users use certain features like searching and viewing properties free of cost. However, if they want to access certain features like getting the phone number or calling the property’s owner, they have to upgrade to the premium version.

Allow Ads

Running ads is one of the most affordable and easy ways to earn revenue in a short span of time. The ads, however, should be relevant and worth checking out. In the case of real estate business, you can display mortgage ads, furniture ads, interior decoration services’ ads, property insurance ads, or home loan ads, etc.

Let Us Help You Build Your Real-Estate Empire

Now that you know how valuable a business app in a real-estate business, it is time you got one. If you are looking to build a real-estate app, we can build it for you. We can discuss your idea, analyze your requirements, and develop the app. Our QA team tests the app and ensures it is ready and glitch-free to enter the market. Our marketing experts can also help you promote and monetize your app fast with their industry expertise.

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