How to Develop a Real Estate Mobile App Like Zillow and Redfin

The market for real estate faces many challenges, such as financial instability and legal problems, in addition to rising prices for land. Suppose you’re an agent or broker using an app to manage your business in the real estate industry. In that case, it is crucial to stay ahead of your competition. There are a myriad of apps for real estate that proclaim to be the best and most effective. However, none of them can compete with Zillow or Redfin the success of.

The app has more than 10 million downloads from the app store, making it the top choice in mobile real estate apps. To beat fierce competition and gain some of that American marketplace for real estate, you need to create an app similar to Zillow and Redfin.

The world housing market is also anticipated to grow to $5.82 billion by 2030. There are enormous possibilities for taking advantage of and dominating the market through real estate app development services. It is essential to be ahead of Zillow and Redfin’s capability to address the right people, competition, laws, regulations, and many other variables.

If you’re considering developing an app like Zillow and Redfin, there are some crucial things you need to consider. In this post, we’ll give you a thorough outline of how to develop an application for real estate similar to Zillow and Redfin.

Reasons To Develop An App Like Zillow Or Redfin

97% of buyers use a mobile application to find or purchase homes online. Real estate is a highly successful business, but today, it is essential to have an online presence. It can help create a presence on the market and draw in new clients.

However, creating an app is only the first step. However, if you want to increase your visibility, consider creating an application. Once you’ve developed a feature-rich mobile application online, your company can reap many benefits. Let’s find out!

Solid Online Presence

With the current digital environment and many players within the marketplace, many players can establish a strong presence. Using the feature-rich and powerful mobile app, you can build a great brand presence and increase your exposure before potential customers. You can benefit from the impact of this number and reap the advantages mobile apps offer for your real estate company.

Enhanced Visualization

HD video and photo galleries, interactive maps, and virtual tours give customers an appealing visual experience. Customers get a clear, complete view of the building. This can help build trust and excitement. This can affect purchasing decision-making and boost the probability of an acquisition.

Better User Experience

An efficient and smooth user experience can make a huge difference and significantly affect a real estate company’s performance. Having a website to promote your real estate company is no problem. However, it cannot provide the same level of experience as a natively adjusted mobile application, especially for users navigating via mobile devices. 

An app for real estate with a mobile-friendly user interface could be created with a straightforward, easy-to-use, and stylish design. This would allow customers to locate exactly what they want without disrupting their overall experience.

Improved User Engagement

Mobile apps for real estate can improve user engagement and retention for your business. Why? The reason is that the users will not need to visit the site, navigate it, or manually input the information. 

When your mobile application is downloaded on your device, it allows users to use it with a single click and continue the search for their home. Because of the ease and convenience the mobile app offers, people will likely be tempted to use the app’s mobile version in the future.

Competitive Advantage

Establishing a good reputation within the highly fiercely competitive market for real estate can be challenging. But, you can have a real estate mobile application with numerous options and features that make it enjoyable for users and agents designed to meet your requirements and offer a seamless user experience that will significantly affect your branding image. This can boost your company’s positive image and help you gain an advantage in your market.

Must-Have Features In Real Estate Apps Like Zillow And Redfin

The following are some of the most popular features that will aid in developing a real estate app like Zillow and Redfin. Let’s get started:

Onboarding

It should be a breeze to sign in. That’s why social media accounts are used to log in. The users can sign up through email addresses or phone numbers, but be sure you’re not making the onboarding process mandatory in the initial stage. Allow your users to download the application first without restriction.

Registration

The feature lets users join using Facebook accounts, email addresses, and Apple IDs. Examine which social media outlets you want your customers to use. Based on a report from a few years ago that surveyed real estate professionals, in particular, who are engaged using Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Extensive Database

If you are a real estate agent and live in the area, residents can hire you to help sell their homes. So, you build a database of houses to sell in your local area. However, suppose you do not already have a database or would like to extend your existing database. In that case, you must take information from other sources. 

Listing data obtained through Zillow and Redfin is a good option if you are an American real estate agent. Suppose you’re not, however, in addition to Zillow’s options for obtaining the property listings. In that case, we’ve mentioned various other sources appropriate to all regions.

Profiles Of Users

You’ll have three different types of real estate app users, so you must create separate profiles for each. You might want to consider adding a buyer profile at the bottom of your app’s navigation bar. Many first-time homebuyers will most likely be looking for homes instead of filling out lengthy applications. It’s also sensible to allow agents to make their profiles only in the initial screen they see upon boarding.

Filter Search Results 

The ability to narrow listings by price or geographical location is great; however, when creating a Zillow and Redfin replica, you must expand the range of filters. Consider allowing users to save their preferred filtering options for searches. This will enable you to let users know about the latest listings that meet their requirements.

Interactive Map Views

Interactive maps are another crucial feature that must be included in any app. They provide a graphic depiction of the location of properties on a map, permitting users to view the exact location, the surrounding area, and information on local facilities.

Information About The Property

Property information is the most crucial aspect of the mobile real estate application. It provides users with the information they are looking for. Graphics, pictures, and charts will always outdo descriptions. Zillow and Redfin employ charts and graphs to show the details of a property, like mortgage rates. Several SDKs incorporate graphical elements into your mobile app for real estate.

Price Calculator

Incorporating a calculator into your mobile application is an excellent idea to ensure users can find out the costs of purchasing an apartment, including the loan amount and the interest rate at various banks. The calculator must be reliable and detailed and let users choose an amount for the property’s value, the first payment, and the loan amount based on the duration of the loan.

Save To Favorites 

To better understand what your customers are looking for, offer users the option of saving properties they are interested in. Renting or buying a house isn’t a simple decision, so people will appreciate having the option to revisit homes they love and look at these properties over and over.

Push Notifications

How do you make user interactions on your app for mobile real estate more effective? Through sending out precise push notifications. To make your push notifications relevant, it is essential to understand your user’s preferences with an engine for a recommendation backed with AI and machine learning technology. It will provide individual recommendations that present users with properties similar to their preferences or closest to what they want.

Calendar

This function is essential to all users of your app. Customers can instantly check available dates and set up showings with realtors or homeowners using an in-app calendar. Also important is an agent’s calendar. Agents can efficiently handle their show schedules using the app and get notifications according to the time they have set.

Analytics

Analytics is among the essential instruments for any web-based or mobile application. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got an app for mobiles used by your real estate business or an online platform that lets realtors interact with their clients; you have to be able to track every aspect of your business expansion. If you’ve got a realtor app that works on iOS and Android, then you must analyze the statistics for both and evaluate these.

Ratings & Reviews

Reviews and ratings from actual customers about the agent’s professionalism, the properties’ condition, or even the neighbor’s friendliness may make a difference for buyers buying properties. 

Reviews and ratings can also aid your agents in establishing their credibility as professionals. Reviews and positive ratings on properties will speed up the selling process for homeowners. Therefore, you should allow all app users to post reviews and assign ratings.

Steps To Build The Real Estate App Like Zillow and Redfin 2024

Are you ready to enter the real estate app market? This section covers every aspect, from conducting market studies to picking the appropriate app for real estate and working with the best firm to develop a real estate app like Redfin or Zillow.

Market Analysis

Before launching a real estate app like Zillow, conducting market research and developing a strategic plan are vital to ensure its success. The initial step to building an application for real estate requires an in-depth knowledge of the marketplace. Be aware of the need for your app in your area and which options your intended audience requires.

Define The App Features

Once you have decided on the real estate application you wish to create, the second stage of real estate app development is selecting the most compelling features for your app. You can be sure to retain these capabilities and features and attract customers and sellers. To build a successful application, you should always create an MVP.

Know The Real Estate App Development Cost

After you have decided about the kind of app for renting homes and the features you would like to include, the next thing to do is consider the development cost. The price of developing a real estate app like Zillow and Redfin range from $20,000-$40,000. The cost could also vary depending on the app’s features, such as design, style, platforms, and more. So, whether you’re a new or small company, you should know the price.

Design The Real Estate App

Once you clearly understand the cost of developing an app, the next stage in building a real estate app is designing its UI/UX. Ensure the app is designed to be enjoyable and easy to utilize. It should be easy to use with a simple navigation system so that users can avail themselves of fast service.

To find the most appealing design of real estate apps, look at the most popular ones, such as Zillow and Redfin. These apps have seized most of the market with appealing designs, intuitive designs, and appealing capabilities.

Hire a Real Estate Mobile App Development Company

When ready to begin the subsequent design process, you must choose the best business. We are the top real estate app development company. We know that each company is unique, so we have an experienced team that can meet every client’s needs.

Cost To Develop a Real Estate App Like Redfin Or Zillow

The cost is the one that clients look up in the first place. Why is that? Because making applications that are robust and packed with features requires an extra budget. Thanks to their top-of-the-line products, Zillow and Redfin are among the best property-buying apps online. Suppose you plan to create an application for real estate like Zillow and Redfin. In that case, it is essential to consider all aspects that impact the design.

Furthermore, the level of complexity of Zillow’s app and the expertise of its group of developers are essential factors to consider. However, the price of creating an app such as Zillow could range between $20,000-$40,000. It is possible to reduce the expense of development by employing developers. Developers can be hired for an hourly rate. An app for real estate would cost approximately $30,000-$80,000, depending on sophisticated features and your needed technology stack.

Challenges In Developing a Real Estate App Like Zillow and Redfin

If you are planning to create your real estate application, be aware that there will likely be obstacles that could hinder your progress. Here’s a list of potential challenges that can be faced to equip you with efficient strategies.

Too Competitive Market

The real estate market is crowded with markets. You’ll be unique if you use a mobile application to beat the competition. How can you stand out from your competition by focusing on your users’ needs and figuring out how you meet them to the highest standard? 

With the aid of a skilled team that adopts the learning-build-iterate method to the mobile app development process. You’ll have the ability to bring your app for real estate to become a recognizable company.

Security Requirements For High Security

Suppose you develop an app for listing real estate. In that case, It stores sensitive data like user profiles, financial data from bank accounts, and information on the current activities of the real estate agents you employ. It is vital to ensure that app developers can handle high-security demands. As we develop a secure messaging platform, we can block unauthorized access to the user’s profiles.

Hard Skills 

When you have compiled the requirements for your mobile real estate app project, it will allow you to identify experts who can develop the app’s functionality flawlessly. What should you do when you realize the team you have hired isn’t equipped with the necessary hard skills? Consider hiring third-party app developers to contract out.

Costly Development

The more intricate elements your mobile app project has, the more costly it will cost to develop it. However, the present user’s preferences leave the app in a position of contention in determining how to serve them best if they require 3D virtual tours: mortgage and property calculators and keyless entry systems, for instance. 

If you’re in this situation, it is possible to appeal to the soft launch rather than the traditional launch. This is among the methods to reduce expenses for developing real estate apps; however, it is not the only option.

Technology Trends In The Real Estate Industry

The real estate market is regarded as one of the most lively and unpredictable sectors, which is why prices can fluctuate frequently, considering its dynamic nature. Additionally, demand for housing is rising dramatically, and people are trying to find more effective methods to communicate with sellers, owners, agents, and tenants. Real estate app development company employs major technologies to make real estate apps like Zillow and Redfin more efficient.

Big Data

Big data is useful for storing and processing massive amounts of data. It also gathers data about each user to help make forecasts about their behavior and decisions. In the real estate industry, large data is utilized in conjunction with AI to generate the ideas and results people seek.

Blockchain

Blockchain is extensively utilized in real estate transactions because of its transparency in protecting against business fraud. This is because it permits double-checking each document to ensure they aren’t modified or altered. Blockchain technology is also helpful in cutting down on paperwork. Also, it helps avoid the endless mediators that charge to use their services.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is typically used to analyze users’ requirements and preferences and provide the most appropriate and relevant recommendations. It can help the user save a lot of time. AI will also assist in managing the property through streamlining maintenance requests and tracking price changes, listings, and other details. It is also efficient in analyzing prices and assisting in managing risk.

Internet Of Things (IoT)

IoT can be a powerful tool that can help with the many tasks involved in selling, buying, and leasing homes. Thus, IoT manages all the elements of real estate, from searching for homes to finalizing contracts quickly. IoT is ideal for increasing software’s efficacy and enabling the most intelligent decisions through proven analytics.

Final Words

There are numerous real estate firms, and new firms enter the market each year. Finding customers is an arduous task in the market where negotiating can take a long time and there is overwhelming competition. Real estate companies can succeed for a long time through app development that provides offers and creates an easy and smooth selection of property. Because millennials constitute a significant part of the market for companies in the real estate industry, it is essential to begin using their language, which is mobile!

Development costs could be different because they depend on a variety of variables, such as versions and features. However, suppose you plan to create a real estate app like Redfin or Zillow. In that case, you must make a significant expenditure, which will pay off. Start now to begin your real estate venture.