Comprehensive Guide to Real Estate App Development: Features, Process, and Pricing

Real estate software is helping to streamline operations and enhance customer experiences across the industry.

From landlords managing rental properties to inspectors keeping vacant housing stock secure, property-related software, or “PropTech,” is transforming real estate management.

At Taazaa, we’ve witnessed—and contributed to—the impact of real estate management software on the industry. We built and still support the Innago platform, which quickly rose to become a leader in lease administration and property management software, according to G2.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the essential aspects of real estate software development, including key features, the development process, and pricing considerations.

The Rise of Real Estate Software

Rental properties continue to rise in popularity with property owners and investors. According to a Deloitte survey, single-family rentals and build-to-rent properties present the most attractive risk-adjusted investment opportunities, second only to “digital economy” (data centers and cell towers, for example).

Real estate management software has become an indispensable tool for these industry professionals. From property listings to tenant management, these digital solutions are making it easier and more profitable to operate real estate businesses.

Grand View Research put the global real estate software market at $10.24 billion in 2022. They predict a steady rise in both cloud and on-premise solutions over the next six years, with a CAGR of 11.6 percent in the US market.

This should be welcome news for entrepreneurs who have ideas for creating or revolutionizing real estate management software.

Types of Real Estate Apps

Real estate software covers a variety of users, from builders to inspectors to owners and landlords.

Realtors, tenants, and homebuyers need apps to simplify client communication, provide easy access to real estate documents, and reduce paperwork. They also use apps to track the current state of houses and apartments for sale or rent. These apps put information about available properties at their fingertips.

Property management apps assist owners, landlords, managers, and maintenance staff in keeping track of maintenance requests, rent due dates, viewing appointments, and other dates and tasks. Many offer advanced analytics features that help property managers see where they can increase efficiency and cut costs.

Buying or renting apps help sellers, landlords, real estate agents, tenants, and homebuyers search for housing to buy or rent. These users can simply enter criteria such as the location, price, and amenities they’re looking for, and the app automatically populates search results matching that criteria. Users can then see detailed information about each listing.

Realtor assistant apps are used exclusively by real estate agents to reduce their workload. These apps simplify listing new properties, automate document management, and provide seamless communication with clients.

Sellers, landlords, real estate agents, and investors use home valuation apps to analyze the true market value of a property they’re interested in buying or selling. These apps use public and private data on housing trends and past sales to forecast future home values and determine the factors driving those predictions.

Real Estate Software Features

While real estate management software shares many of the features standard to other apps, certain features are unique to apps for this industry.

Property Listings

Whether used for home buying or rental properties, a robust search and filter system allows users to find properties based on the criteria they input. Users can do a general search for amenities, a particular school district, or an area of town. They can also get more granular and search by subdivision, street, or even an exact address.

Virtual Tours

This feature gives users 360-degree views and virtual reality tours of properties. Potential buyers and tenants can “walk through” a property digitally before committing to an in-person tour. This saves everyone time by giving interested parties a sneak peek at the property. Newer apps have incorporated AR and VR for virtual tours.

Mortgage Calculators

This in-app tool helps homebuyers estimate their mortgage costs, including monthly payments, PMI, and other factors. Users can see how the size of their downpayment affects their monthly payments and calculate the impact of different interest rates and term lengths.

CRM Integration

Customer relationship management features help real estate agents track and interact with clients and prospects. Realtors can push notifications for new listings, price changes, reminders for scheduled viewings, and so on.

Analytics Dashboard

Real estate software with an analytics dashboard lets investors get real-time, targeted insights into market trends and property performance.

The Real Estate Software Development Process

Creating a successful real estate app involves the same stages as most other software development projects. In a nutshell, the software development life cycle looks like this:

1. Market Research: In this initial stage, you identify and learn everything you can about your target audience, the problems they want to solve, any competitive apps, and those apps’ shortcomings.

2. Conceptualization: Using what you learned, you define the app’s core features and unique selling points. This stage determines the project’s requirements.

3. Design: In this stage, user experience and user interface (UX/UI) designers create user-friendly interfaces and intuitive navigation for the app. This is where you start to see the look and feel of your app.

4. Development: With the design complete, the development team builds the app using appropriate technologies and frameworks. If they’re using an Agile, iterative methodology, you’ll see working versions of your app every two weeks or so.

5. Testing: Before the finished app is released, the quality assurance (QA) team conducts thorough testing to ensure the app is free of defects and bugs.

6. Launch: Once the app passes all QA tests, the team prepares and releases the app on relevant platforms (iOS, Android, web).

7. Maintenance: Post-release, the development team provides ongoing support, bug fixes, and regular updates.

Real Estate Software Development Costs

How much is it going to cost you? It depends. The cost of developing a real estate app can vary significantly based on several factors:

• Complexity of features
• Platform (iOS, Android, or both)
• Design requirements
• Integration with third-party services
• Development team location

On average, a basic real estate app might cost between $30,000 to $50,000, while a more complex solution with advanced features could range from $100,000 to $300,000 or more.

The Future of Real Estate Software

As we look ahead, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the Internet of Things are set to further revolutionize real estate software. AI, in particular, promises to bring even greater efficiency, transparency, and personalization to the industry.

Whether you’re a real estate agent, property manager, or developer, embracing technology through custom real estate software development can give you a significant edge over your competitors. The key to success lies in understanding your users’ needs, finding a problem worth solving, and leveraging the right technologies to solve it.

Need help with a custom software solution? Give us a buzz! Our consultants would love to give you a free, no-strings, ballpark estimate on your project.