Real Estate Website Development: Must Have Features & Costs

Since the post-pandemic, we have entered a different world where humans rely on technology for most of their tasks. We are not wrong to say that the 21st century is the beginning of technology, and today, we have a device called a mobile phone that allows us to fulfill most of our desires with a single tap. During the last 5 years, one thing that has changed is using mobile applications or web applications for most of our tasks; whether it’s shopping, renting, riding, grocery shopping, or anything else, we have applications for everything.

However, recently, there has been another thing that has completely revolutionized: real estate. Today, many real estate leaders have built websites to provide their clients with an enhanced experience. Honestly, websites nowadays are not just digital storefronts. It is a source to attract, engage, and get new potential clients.

When done right, real estate website development allows for a seamless and compelling experience for users and helps real estate owners build trust and create a professional brand presence.

To compete in this digital world, many new real estate players want to build a website application, but they don’t know anything about Real estate Website development. Don’t worry; today, you’re at the right place; this blog will delve into the must-have features of a real estate website, their costs, and why you should invest in real estate website development.

In this blog, we imagine you have a good idea about real estate software and just want to know must-have features and an estimated cost to build your real estate application. So, let’s start with the key features that your application must have.

Key Features for Real Estate Website Development

When developing a real estate website, some key features should be incorporated to ensure it is both effective and user-friendly. Below are some of the must-haves:

1. Advanced Property Search and Filters

Real estate is all about properties, and not everyone can be interested in the same location, budget, and amenities. A real estate website must have a robust search feature so that users can narrow down properties according to their preferences. Your website should have a search feature based on the following criteria:

Location
Type of property: residential, commercial
Price range
Bedrooms and bathrooms
Amenities: pool, garden, parking

All of this will definitely make your website more user-friendly and will increase the chances of conversion if users can filter through their options easily.

2. Property Listings with High-Quality Images and Virtual Tours

There is a famous saying that visibility is the key to selling in real estate. Your website must have high-quality images and information about the properties. Your website should have the following:

High-quality photos from different aspects of the property
3D virtual tours of the property
Complete description of the property containing location, size, and other features

Virtual tours have become famous, as buyers or tenants can see it in close-up view even without making an effort to visit in person for a realistic look.

3. Interactive Map Integration

A must-have: interactive map where the user can see the exact location of properties. You can incorporate Google Maps or a similar service in your website so users will be able to view nearby schools, public transportation, parks, and other amenities to assess whether the location is good enough.

4. Lead Capture Contact Forms

Real estate website development should integrate ways for capturing leads so you can even get connected with interested buyers or renters in person. You can include:

Contact forms for users so they can connect with you regarding a specific property.
Subscription forms for newsletters and new property updates

Live chat support for an instant response to questions

5. User Sign-up and Login

User account registration often increases user engagement and loyalty as this allows users to:

Mark their preferred properties
Get recommendations based on their personal recommendation
Receive new listing alerts

By allowing users to create accounts, you can also capture valuable data that enables more targeted marketing

6. Mortgage Calculator

If your preferred targeted area is in the U.S.A. or any other Western country, then a mortgage calculator can be a useful and attractive feature for your users. With this feature, the interested client can easily calculate the monthly payments based on property rates, down payment, and interest rates. Mortgage calculators will provide lots of convenience to customers because this will help them to know whether their choice is really affordable or not.

7. Real-time chatbot integration

A chatbot can provide instant assistance to visitors, answering frequently asked questions and taking them through your website. This can help engage users, limit bounce rates, and increase the opportunities to capture leads.

8. Mobile Optimization

Since most of the traffic is coming through mobile devices, a real estate website should be fully responsive. Mobile optimization will ensure that the users have a smooth and seamless experience irrespective of the device they use.

9. SEO Optimization

An SEO-optimized website is important to show up in the search engine results. To get your website Seo optimized, you can include the following:

High-quality, keyword-rich content
Fast loading times
Optimized images and videos
Meta tags and schema markup for properties

SEO for your real estate website development will help to boost online visibility, drive organic traffic, and attract more potential clients.

10. Section for Blogs on Market Insights and Advisement

A blog section will allow you to write and provide more info about the listed properties. This will help you get seen on search engines and will boost your website authority. You can write blogs about market trends, buying guides, and other such educative content.

11. CRM Integration

Integrating a CRM system will enable easy management of data, which means that agents will track client inquiries, schedule follow-ups, and build strong client relationships.

So, these are the features a real estate website should have to compete in this competitive market. Now, let’s move to another topic: how much money will you need to invest in real estate software development?

Costs Involved in Real Estate Website Development

The cost of a real estate website depends on the features you need, the development approach, and the experience level of your team. Here’s a breakdown of the primary cost components:

Design and UI/UX	Custom Design: $2,000 – $5,000 for totally unique, brand-specific visual Template-Based Design: $500 – $1,500 less cost-effectively but less customized too. I’ll personally say to go with the custom design as they can provide that personal touch to ensure you’re making that slight difference that sets your website above the rest of the competitors.
Development Cost	Development costs can range very high based on the functionality and scalability needed. Front-end development will cost you between $3,000 – $8,000, depending on the complexity of your website. The backend will cost somewhere between $4000 – $10,000, including features like user logins, lead generation, and advanced filter features.
Integration Costs (API and CRM)	Google Maps API: Free with basic use; for advanced features, it ranges from $200 to $500. CRM Integration: $500 – $1,500 depending on the chosen CRM platform and complexity. The CRM integration is important to ensure that the user data is captured and organized properly.
SEO and Content Creation	SEO Services: $1,000 – $3,000, including keyword research, metadata optimization, and on-page optimization. Content Creation: $500 – $1,500 for high-quality property descriptions, blog posts, and informational pages. Ongoing SEO is extremely important to keeping your website visible in search engines.
Testing and Quality Assurance (QA)	Testing and quality assurance are vital to providing free and glitch experiences to users. A real estate website development testing will be $500 – $1,500, which will ensure cross-browser compatibility, mobile responsiveness, and functionality.
Ongoing Maintenance and Support	Ongoing maintenance and technical Support are important to avoid downtime and keep your website secure. Maintenance: $500 – $2,000 monthly, which covers updates, backups, and server costs. Technical Support: $50 – $150 per hour for resolving issues and updates.
Total Estimated Cost	$10,000 – $30,000 With this much investment, you can build an easy to moderate-level real estate website. However, the cost of building a more advanced website can be high.

Why Invest in a Real Estate Website

Since you know the features and cost of a real estate website development, you might be thinking about why you should invest in a website. So the answer is simple: having a website is not an advantage; nowadays, it has become a necessity to compete in the market. Also, a website offers several advantages, such as:

Broader Audience: With a reliable and well Seo optimized website, you can reach a broader audience, including international buyers, which will increase the chance of sale conversion and growth in profits.
Better User Experience: A well-designed website makes property search much easier for users, and they can find exactly what they want without any hassle or need to visit different sites physically.
More Lead Generation: By using the lead capture tools in your website, you can successfully convert site visitors into leads that will help you take your business to the pinnacle of prosperity.
Brand Credibility: A professional website gives your brand a reputation of trust and reliability. By having a website, you’ll be able to build a broader and loyal user base.

Conclusion

Real estate website development is an investment with big returns. An innovative website with the most recent features, such as advanced search filters, property listings, interactive maps, and lead generation tools, will help you attract more clients and boost your business revenue. Ftechiz is a trusted name for many real estate tycoons to build a customized website for them. We have built over 100 real estate websites for our clients, and many of them today have redefined industry standards and helped our clients become brands in real estate. It would make a difference in the field and attract more clients than any other person.

Although the costs of real estate website development may seem heavy, a thoughtfully developed website can transform your real estate business. Contact us today to help you to take your real estate business online.

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