Top Real Estate Software Features Buyers and Agents Expect Today
The real estate market is experiencing a technological revolution, similar to most other fields of human activity. For example, the Internet allowed real estate companies and experts to transfer the majority of their communication online, removing the need to use inefficient paper systems and cumbersome telephones.
In this article, our goal is to assist the readers with understanding some core technological features expected by most customers on the market.
Using this guide, you’ll be able to understand what apps have the most superior set of features on the market and, more importantly, how to develop an application that will have all the features requested by real estate customers (agents and buyers).
Feature 1. Listing capabilities
The so-called MLS is one of the defining innovations of the XX century in the real estate sector. An MLS offers insight into all the key properties available in a specific market. In the past, those systems took various forms, including paper-based ones.
Today, they are primarily digital but still isolated from the more mainstream solutions. Consequently, all buyers and agents will likely want access to MLS frameworks for a realistic insight into the existing market. In this light, we recommend considering all integration features for MLS frameworks.
A successful real estate app must have an advanced capability to integrate with different property lists and quickly collect information from them to provide various types of customers with relevant information.
Feature 2. Search functions
One more important feature of any app in a real estate market (including those developed with the help of custom software development for real estate industry) is advanced search features.
A significant problem with many MLS frameworks was the absence of search features. Consequently, if you download data from an MLS, many customers expect that your app should be capable of easing the process of finding data through search capabilities. In this regard, the scope of the search features typically depends on the exact needs of your target group within the real estate sector.
Nonetheless, everyone requires them in some capacity based on keywords and, perhaps, more advanced search features involving advanced code-like commands. A real estate app without search features is unlikely to gather any attention from customers because this capability is among the core reasons for the digitalization of the real estate sector in the first place.
Feature 3. 3D visualization
Modern real estate experts spend significant time showing various properties to buyers. Regrettably, photographs are often insufficient to convey the general impression regarding a particular property.
Therefore, many people want to review them in real-life conditions to make decisions. A common reason, for example, is the need to understand the overall layout of a location.
Modern 3D visualization combined with video tools of various kinds allows one to reduce the number of live visits by offering a more realistic review of various locations than mere photos.
While live reviews are often necessary even in these cases, 3D visualization can significantly decrease the number of non-productive visits. Consequently, most of the customers on the market prefer to have as many tools for reviewing apartment and house layouts as possible. The more information one has, the easier it is to make long-term investment decisions.
Feature 4. Secure chat features
Most real estate customers want to communicate with real estate agents to clarify specific issues and gain information about the market in general. In this light, the need for internal chat capabilities arises.
Today, the expectation is that customers will have access to a separate chat application within a more extensive real estate app. The reason for this expectation is simple: the usage of outside programs is often inconvenient because the market is remarkably differentiated, with the majority of the population using very different messengers; more importantly, there’s a pressing need for a secure channel of communication, which every outside platform cannot fulfill.
Thus, the best option for real estate applications is to have an internal chat as it is simply more convenient to use (especially if no registration is essential) and, more importantly, ensures complete control over security.
Feature 5. AI integration
Artificial intelligence is everywhere today; thus, most customers expect that all modern apps must have some degree of AI integration to fulfill the minimal convenience requirements.
Why is AI so popular? There are two reasons. Firstly, modern AI can significantly improve the existing search algorithms, making the results of searches much more advanced and detailed.
Secondly and more importantly, this technology can improve the overall customer experience by offering automated responses with a high degree of accuracy and providing a lot of tacit information that used to require human intervention in the past.
An app without AI simply lacks those features and cannot fulfill the basic convenience requirements in the current markets. AI enhances many features, and many people are no longer willing to return to the pre-AI times.
Conclusions
To summarize, modern real estate apps need database, search, visualization, communication, and AI features to function correctly on the market. Without them, many users may perceive the relevant apps as somewhat archaic, even if they offer innovative price calculation features.
If you fail to integrate those elements, the likelihood of success outside specific niches is low. If you want to develop a full-scale real estate app for your company, the best option is to address organizations like Keenethics.
You should search for business partners with more than 5 years of experience in the market and, more importantly, vital knowledge of the real estate sector.
