Real Estate Website Development: A Complete Guide
Updated May 25, 2023
Business development in today’s market is impossible without the active use of technology. This fact is especially accurate in highly competitive industries, including real estate.
To keep in touch with larger audiences, companies must be present online. The website is the top tool for attracting attention. So if you want to promote yourself in a niche, don’t hesitate with real estate portal development. Digitization of services is your first step to visibility.
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The Value of Real Estate Website Development for Business
Realtors and real estate agencies have always been interested in publishing their listings on the front pages of newspapers, magazines, and other popular media outlets. But this has changed with the spread of technology and consumers shifting to the Internet. Popularity now depends on having a presence online.
In 2020, for example, more than 97% of homebuyers searched for real estate online. Real estate website development is becoming not just a fad but a must-have for those who want to keep up with the trends of the digital age. Whatever services you provide, having a website is crucial.
Development covers different types of websites:
- Marketplaces. These platforms bring sellers and buyers (landlords and tenants) together for mutually beneficial transactions. Customers search for real estate options, review them, and communicate with sellers. Examples: Zillow, Airbnb, Trulia.
- Renting websites. These portals are aimed exclusively at landlords and tenants of the rentals. Famous examples include Rentals.com, Trulia, and Lovely.
- Applications by agencies and agents. Official channels of companies or professionals who act as intermediaries in buying/renting properties. Examples of top-tier realtors are Guy Yarkoni in Toronto and Michael Calcagno in Santa Barbara.
- Applications that list properties. Portals where agencies, agents, and brokers post their current listings. Clients study the offers and contact the person in charge to get the deal details. Examples: Realtor, Rightmove, Zoopla.
If you’re still in doubt about whether you really need an online presence, take a look at the examples above. The names of these companies and experts are known locally and globally.
Would you like to have the same for your brand? Aside from awareness, there are numerous other benefits of real estate web development for business:
- Increase the customer base. Your services will be available to a vast audience, so the chances of attracting new customers increase. Of course, you will need to optimize the website for the search engines and think it through in terms of user experience.
- Improve service and support. An online presence allows you to be constantly in touch with potential customers, answer their questions and work with objections. Communication is possible via the call center, online chat, personalized newsletters, and the help of a chatbot.
- Increase awareness in the marketplace. A website raises awareness of a brand or expert. It is essential for new businesses just starting in the niche. An official online resource is a way to make a loud name and generate interest from the audience.
- Expand advertising opportunities. The Internet is ideal for marketing and advertising purposes. You have a lot of options to attract attention: increase the ranking by key queries (SEM), ubiquitous advertising (PPC), publishing content (content marketing), peer-to-peer advertising (affiliate marketing), and more.
- Optimize business processes. Thanks to digitization, you can quickly perform everyday tasks related to processing requests, selecting customized offers, analyzing data, planning, and forecasting.
You need to follow certain requirements to create an online resource that will attract the attention of target users.
Requirements for Real Estate Web Development
Users should be able to find your website online and get a great first impression when they visit it. If a person spends less than a minute on site and leaves without exploring, there’s a problem with UI, UX, or content.
Five important points to consider to attract and retain users on the website:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Despite the high competition in the niche, you have every chance to reach the top of the rankings. Follow the current requirements of search engines so that it is easier for robots to process your site and for target users to find it.
Good domain name
Choose a memorable name for your website. Try to get it right from the beginning if you don’t want to run around buying multiple domains. To avoid it, list potential names beforehand and look at them carefully to pick the one you like the most.
When it comes to the domain, you can’t go wrong with .com. If it’s unavailable, go for the domain zone belonging to the territory of residence of the target audience (for example, .co.uk) or reflecting your theme (.estate).
Adaptive Web Design
People will access your website from various devices, so it needs to adjust for all possible screens. Web developers will write adaptive code so the site can instantly adapt to the desired resolution.
Adaptiveness influences not only user experience but also SEO. The site needs to be responsive to rank higher on search engines. According to GoodFirms, 73.1% of designers say non-adaptive design is the main reason users leave a site.
Easy navigation
The website visitor should have no difficulty navigating. Introduce a visually appealing interactive menu and provide a quick transition to other pages from any page.
Give users easy access to general information “About the company” and let them contact you through a contact form or online chat.
Customer-oriented content
All published content should serve a client in the first place. The ranking algorithms are now so complex that it is almost impossible to reach the top of search results with technical methods alone. It is essential to create text, pictures, audio, or video content to meet the expectations and intentions of the target audience.
We’ve described the general points determining a site visitor’s first impression. Now let’s see what features users can use to find listings, research, compare, and contact a seller or realtor.
Key Features of Real Estate Website
Features to create during real estate portal development first:
Listing and Mapping
Each industry platform includes listings of apartments, houses, offices, and other properties available for rent or purchase. To implement this feature, you will need:
- Your own database. Easy for experienced market players but problematic for start-ups.
- Connection to the MLS database (Multiple Listing), extracting data and integrating it into the website using IDX. According to NAR, the local MLS is one of the top three technology tools for prospecting leads at 30% (also on this list: social networks at 46%, CRM at 26%).
- Both options combined, if possible.
All listings on the platform should have detailed information. You want to include a brief and detailed description, location (region, city, district), features of the location, and cost.
Smart search with filters
If there are many proposals, you should ensure it’s easy to filter them and find the one customer needs. This feature affects conversion more than any other.
The more filters, the better. The likelihood that a potential client will find the option they want increases.
Visualization of the property
We discussed the need for a detailed description, but this is not enough. The user must be able to see what the property looks like from different angles.
For visualization, we recommend:
- 360-degree photos and videos. They show the interior and exterior of a property.
- Drone footage. Drones allow us to show a homestead, nearby locations, or even an entire neighborhood from a bird’s eye view.
- Innovative AR/VR technologies. Presence tours allow you to peek into the site or walk around and see the infrastructure.
NAR predicts that over the next two years, VR (14%) will be one of the most effective technologies in business, along with AI (15%), drones (27%), 5G (30%), and cybersecurity (31%).
Maps
Maps are an extension of both the search and visual capabilities described above. With their help, clients can search for real estate options in a specific area and see what is nearby.
Maps allow one to pinpoint locations within the city or lay a route, for example, to the place of work.
Calculator
Another conversion booster. To make a well-informed decision, allow the user to calculate how much it will cost to buy/rent a house, considering mortgage payment terms, annual family income, salary, and other financial factors.
You can implement handy calculators to assess:
- mortgages;
- refinancing;
- debt-to-income ratio (DTI);
- benefits of renting versus buying;
- housing affordability based on various factors.
Many companies, such as Zillow, are using AI and ML to improve the accuracy and reliability of their data.
Messaging and chatbots
Customers should be able to contact a seller to ask clarifying questions on the portal with listings or with a specialist from your company on the real estate agency website. Implement a live chat for quick feedback and a chatbot for automated service.
Blog
Blog publications help your website match the search engine requirements. Share optimized content on the blog at least twice a week for the best result.
The blog topics must be relevant to the audience. You can give advice on buying/selling, discuss legal issues, publish topical news, and compose guides and reviews.
My Account
Users should be able to register and log in to their own accounts with a username and password. Ensure maximum security of access with two-factor authentication. This function should be available for both the buyer and the seller.
Functionality may vary depending on the type of website. We explained what any industry web resource should provide to its customers. Next, we will discuss the development process.
Read also – real estate mobile app development.
Stages of Real Estate Portal Development
Business analysis
Business analysts start with gathering, analyzing, and documenting requirements. They constantly interact with you and others in drafting the SRS document and work strategy.
At this stage, performers gain a complete understanding of project goals, industry specifics, and the value for the audience. An in-depth requirements understanding allows you to select the right technologies, tools, and methods.
UI/UX design
Designers begin creating layouts to show how the future website will look from three points of view:
- Structure: wireframes. A product diagram that shows how things will work. Designers rely on data about goals, target audiences, and competitors to list features for a complex project. The wireframe comes in low-detail and high-detail. The former takes fewer resources, while the latter requires 1-2 days and access to Sketch or Figma.
- Visual: mockup. Based on the approved structure, designers create the website aesthetics. A mockup is usually a static JPG. Or, a mockup can be a layout created with InVision, Sketch Cloud, or Figma Preview Mode. The first page takes 1-2 days to make. Then the work goes faster if you understand the desired style.
- Functionality: prototype. An interactive clickable model of the product. It shows how the site will look and work. If you have a design concept ready, it takes 1-2 days to create using Sketch, Figma, Invision, or Adobe XD. You can also use a detailed wireframe as the basis.
If the website is simple and has few custom scripts, you can limit yourself to a mockup or a combination of mockup and wireframe. In other cases, the work takes the three stages listed above.
Programming
The designers submit the completed layout to you for approval.
Then the development starts, consisting of two parts. The logic and product functional “bones” are done at the back end. Front-end developers create the looks and interface of the application.
If the scale of the project allows, we perform the layout and programming stages simultaneously.
Basic content
When the website is ready, you should fill it with information that the copywriter has created in advance. Convert the content into the required format and publish it.
Writers work according to the TOR, considering all requirements, including SEO (key queries, structure, title, description, etc.) Note that you will need to update and actualize the content in the future.
Testing
You need to test the product after each stage of work. The final check is also essential because it prevents insignificant but nasty defects. For example, broken links, incorrect display on mobile devices, etc. After fixing the bugs, the web resource gets moved to the web hosting and tested again.
Implementation and support
Specialists help you implement the product in your business processes. They perform all the necessary integrations. For example, it is essential to link the website with your CRM. Merging allows you to unite your clients in one database, simplify sales and service management, automate marketing, and much more.
Also, you and your team will learn how to work with the administrative panel and services to collect statistics. Also, learn how to publish your content, post ads, create pages and collect data on user behavior.
Meanwhile, technical specialists will take care of troubleshooting technical errors.
The Cost of Real Estate Website Development
The cost of your project depends on many factors:
- desired functionality (number of functional modules);
- creation of web and mobile apps;
- integration with external systems and services;
- the complexity of implementation of the UI/UX elements;
- time constraints affecting the size of the team;
- the need for post-release maintenance and support.
A website with the above mentioned features can cost $75,000-100,000, assuming it takes 1,500-2,000 hours to create.
This sum is approximately calculated based on average rates of $50 per hour. You can get this pricing from senior developers in an IT outsourcing location in Ukraine.
The logic behind the pricing is simple: the more time the project requires, the higher the cost.
Let’s compare rates per hour and per project for popular outsourcing destinations:
| Country | Hourly rate | Project cost | Timeframe of the project |
| Eastern Europe | $50 | $75,000 – 100,000 | 1,500 – 2,000 hours |
| Western and Central Europe | $100 | $150,000 – 200,000 | |
| Australia | $100 | $150,000 – 200,000 | |
| USA | $150 | $225,000 – 300,000 |
Please note that all prices are approximate and depend on the exact scope of work. Naturally, a simple website with basic features will cost several times less than a large-scale complex product.
Real estate portal development can be the first step for you to take a prominent position in the market locally and globally. The key is to partner with a reliable IT service provider with a proven track record in the industry. The provider should help you from strategy to implementing the finished product into your infrastructure.
Read also about – the cost of real estate application development.
