How is a Real Estate Mobile App imperative for Business Growth?

real estate idx mobile app development

September 4, 2019

Reading time about 10 minutes

Mobile apps are imperative! Unlike the times when websites were the first option to look for a brand, today, mobile apps have taken the front row attracting a better user base and building customer trust. Currently, mobile app accounts for over 80% of mobile times wherein 58% of millennials and 46% of homebuyers have found their home on a mobile device!

Real Estate market is competitive and not everyone is working the right way, most business owners are working on offline models which isn’t a productive move in getting more business. While only a few are opting to have a real estate idx mobile app in action.

How can a Real Estate Mobile App benefit business?

Customers prefer having a convenient view of the property listings and mobile app for real estate does exactly the same! While offering a vast variety of properties it’s a plus for the businesses to list the most suited properties on the top, enabling an option to add filter the properties as the customer requires to. Additionally, you could have control over the content, messages, and anything to be flashed on the app.

Here you have an opportunity to brand your business without moving to the traditional way or printing expensive flyers and brochures to let your customer know you. The costing involved in real estate mobile app development is comparatively lesser than going for the traditional methods for brand promotion.

Major perks of having a Real Estate Mobile App

Real estate mobile apps can be the best possible option you can have for getting your brand image in place! The following can be the perks of having an app for your real estate business.

  • High customer engagement and conversions
  • Better co-ordination between the seller/broker and the customer willing to purchase
  • Geolocation services for the customer for a smooth site visit
  • Uninterrupted communication with the customers 24/7
  • The better property viewing experience
  • Clear insights into the listed property

What are the basic features to be added in Real Estate Mobile App?

Most business owners would search for the cost to develop a featured real estate app before getting in talks or requesting a quote for the same. While the costing is completely dependent on the features you wish to add in your mobile app.

  • 3D Property View– Offering 3D property view to the customers brings an all-new opportunity for the business owners to let the potential buyers interact and get a wide idea to explore various properties without separate site visits.
  • Favorite List– This can be the most useful option for the buyers exploring multiple property options at a time. There can be a Favicon on each property listing which can help the buyer save their choices and compare the shortlisted ones.
  • Calendar– Your customers could lose sight of the properties they checked, calendar feature can filter their searches date wise and let them have an idea of what they visited with the following dates.
  • Map– Customers often get confused with locations or the incomplete address mentioned in the listings. With a map attached along with the properties, provide an idea of the exact location making the customers have the accurate idea of each shortlisted property.
  • Inquiry Message Functionality- Many buyers like to contact the sellers and the brokers post searching out and selecting the properties. Keep an inquiry form available for them, followed by a prompt response from the concerned person.
  • Discussion Forum– Not everyone would be convinced with the properties, Afterall the decisions involve a large sum of money and people need a lot of research work for the same. Discussion forums can be helpful for the ones looking out for a chance to discuss and read the experiences of others with a particular broker or the seller. This may also provide an opportunity for the buyers to choose the most reliable options amongst the long list of properties.

Essential features for real estate mobile app development from the seller perspective

The app isn’t just an easy-to-go option for the buyers, its equally imperative for the sellers. Here are the essential features to be included in the real estate idx mobile app

  • Register/Login– Let your customers log in through either their contact number, username or by entering their social media credentials.
  • Profile Verification– To avoid fake profiles, a profile verification is essential, preferably by the admin to maintain the authenticity of the mobile app.
  • Filter and Sort– Customers should have the convenience of searching out the properties they require to check. Let them filter the properties from the listings as they require. Sort functionality is basically to segregate the properties on the prices ranges and other factors impacting the search.
  • Property Tags– Not every listed property is for similar work. You must tag the property availability either for rent or for selling. It’s not just a useful feature for the customers but for the sellers too!

What are the advanced features for real estate mobile app development?

Developing a real estate idx mobile app requires research and the choice of the features which perfectly complements your budget and requirement, here are a few advanced features potential to be included in your mobile app-

  • Geo-location tagging– Geo Location feature is quite a useful one! Buyers searching for properties would probably checkout for multiple options and try to cover as many options possible during site visit. Geolocation feature helps them to locate other properties around a particular location. The features make use of user’s smartphone’s GPS and provide them the property details of the nearby locations real-time on their map.
  • Mortgage Calculator– While purchasing a new property, you require to have the calculations handy especially in terms of taking the property on rent. Providing an easy-to-use mortgage calculator can bring you an exact calculation of what you require to pay monthly/annually so that you have a plan ready to manage finances and plan further accordingly. This can attract buyers to choose your app over other competitors bringing better sales.
  • Heat Map– An interactive app is all it takes to be a popular name in the industry. A heat map is the latest interactive feature which marks the properties in a particular location with different colors based on various aspects. The way of presenting the property search makes it easier for the buyers to check and select the option they would like to shortlist. The maps are designed to offer a comprehensive real estate information in half the time, hence bringing more scope for actual site visits & discussions. Its major features include searching as per the budget, possession date, property type, nearby locations, etc. they reduce the time taken to choose properties and filter them as per the requirements.
  • Interest Rate Calculator– Most buyers go for home loans while purchasing a property and what comes as a surprise later is the EMI amount along with the interest rates liable on the same. Let’s break the horror with a smart interest rate calculary on the number of home loans, depending upon the participating banks. The calculator provides an accurate amount to be spent monthly/annually along with additional taxes and interest.
  • Lead Management– Lead management software in a real estate mobile application can be imperative in converting more leads into deals faster than usual. Usage of the software improves the conversions and help you keep a track on the potential leads to reaping more benefits sooner. This impactful feature can help things run smoothly further allowing the business owners to analyze client activities to gauge customer loyalty as well!
  • Custom Reminder System– Reminding your customers or the potential buyers of the properties with the new or top-selling options can be a great pick to boost sales. Customers could have a better space to look for long with all the required details they wish to search for. A reminder mail is certainly the icing on the cake when you’re providing your customers with the properties as per their choice and requirements. The automated custom emails are not just a perk for the customers but also the business owners who’re busy with their work and might not be available to send choice specific emailers to the customers.
  • Push Notifications– User engagement is the key! The brand which is successful in attracting customers with their lucrative moves is always amongst the most popular ones. Sending push notifications is a great deal for engaging the users. It lets you build a contact with your customers and ensure that they keep your app in their smartphone for longer.

What’s the process to develop a real estate mobile app?

The real estate mobile app development process is smooth once you’ve finalized the appropriate real estate app development company! Though the tenure involved may vary as per the company commitments, the general process goes through the following loop-

  • Planning– This includes discovering and designing the complete blueprint of the requirement and deliverables.
  • Designing– It involves the designing by creating visuals in the initial stage and getting the client in the loop for approvals
  • Building– Developing and constructing the approved designs, moving forward with the client’s approval
  • Testing– Once the entire app is approved, it needs testing to check the working of the functionalities
  • Launch – Your app will be optimized & launched post complete testing and approvals
  • Support– Get in touch with a customer executive in case of any query

Is security a concern?

As buying and selling properties isn’t a mere thing to do, you must have the app fully secured for the customers as well as the merchants/brokers willing to list their property options (if any). Following are the essential feature which must be a part of your app for complete security-

  • The sensitive information on the app including your financials, the properties you own, the amount you’ve provided to the broker/seller and the loan and mortgage EMI should be kept secured with a finger, eye or face ID scanner. Nobody should access personal information without the user’s consent.
  • The user who created a profile on the mobile app must be authentic! For this, a picture should be uploaded post the verification is done. This can authenticate the profile and user information further controlling any fake profiles in the network.
  • Authentication process should be simple but impactful, the user must have a valid email ID, a contact number and a recovery email/ password in case any fraudulent activity takes place. This adds an extra layer of security completely avoiding any suspicious activities in the network.

How real estate mobile apps can increase business profit, do they let you make money?

Of course! As a business owner, you can create a general app where sellers can list their properties and you have multiple ways to earn!

  • Monthly fee from realtors

You can charge a monthly or yearly fee from the realtors willing to list their properties on your website. They can opt for packages in case a long-term association is required. You can even charge on subscription update and increase the fee once your app is popular enough! For a start have a free trial version (limited tenure) for the users and charge a fee on over and above costings.

  • Sell ads to mortgage lenders & third-party businesses

Once you’re up to with property listings, you can sell advertising space to different business including mortgage lenders, interior designers, contractors, retailers, insurance agents, etc.

  • Hire Virtual Agents

More business, more profit! and the rules perfectly applies in terms of marketing and promoting your business. Hire virtual agents to promote your grand and submit names & phones numbers of the property owners who can be contacted by the consultants. This can be an interesting way to promote your app and attract more sellers to list their properties on your website.

Select the appropriate company to let your business have an all-new approach with a featured real estate mobile app customized as per your requirements!