Develop a Real Estate App Like Redfin: Suppose you want to invest in real estate app development. That’s awesome! Have you ever thought about which real estate app you should focus on? In today’s competitive world, surpassing expectations to succeed in your project is essential. To stand out from competitors, ensure your users have a familiar experience. That’s why we thought of making an app similar to Redfin!
People no longer need to go to a broker’s office to find properties or rental places. Nowadays, apps like Redfin dominate the real estate industry. Apps like Redfin have revolutionized the real estate app development market by upgrading the traditional brokerage system and using cutting-edge technologies.
As a result, if you want to develop your property search app, Redfin is an excellent choice. This guide will show you how to create a custom real estate app like Redfin for your business. We will provide step-by-step instructions. Discover your real estate app’s latest trends and features by reading till the end.
- The real estate app development market is increasing. In 2020, 97% of home buyers searched the internet for their dream house.
- Redfin converts customers into leads by providing their dream homes without expensive brokerages.
- You must choose specific features and technologies like AI, ML, VR, AR, and more to create apps like Redfin.
- To make your app development process more accessible and improve your app’s user experience, consider partnering with a trusted real estate app development company. They can provide you with the latest market trends and streamline the development of your app.
- When selecting an app development company, checking out their portfolios, customer reviews, and services is essential.
- A monetization model can help your app generate consistent and profitable revenue over time.
What is the Redfin App, and why should you invest in it?
Redfin, a Seattle real estate and home search app, has experienced significant growth in recent years. The home search app made $886 million in revenue in 2020 because many homeowners used it to find homes online. Why not?
Redfin has added unique and practical features to its real estate apps. Redfin’s success can be attributed to its unique selling points (USPs), offering on-demand home tours, dedicated seller marketing platforms, and discounted brokerages. If you want more reasons to invest in a real estate app like Redfin, we can help you discover the latest market trends.
- Today, most customers (97%) prefer to search for houses online when they want to make a purchase.
- House search apps installed in the USA increased by 14% in 2021.
- 62% of homebuyers use mobile search before making a final decision.
- 76% of buyers use a mobile device to find their dream home.
What do these stats tell you? A real estate company must invest in digital solutions like websites, real estate software, and mobile apps. Plan smartly for your app and partner with a reputable real estate app development company to succeed.
That’s what worked for SearchSmartly, a company based in London! With its impressive AI-powered property search algorithm, the real estate appraised £1,250,000 in funding in June 2021.
How to Make a Custom Home Search App Like Redfin
You’ve done market research and believe you have all the necessary information to create an app similar to Redfin. Today, features are essential for determining the scope of your project. It’s crucial to prioritize competitive features to stand out and attract customers. As a top real estate app development company, we offer powerful features to help make your project successful.
1. Property Details
The most important part of your home search app is the property details. You can provide your users with different information about multiple properties, such as residential area, total build-up area, price, and more. You can also inform your customers about nearby hospitals, roads, malls, and grocery stores close to their preferred properties.
2. Images and Videos
A picture can say a lot, especially regarding real estate app development. Adding images and videos to your real estate app, like Redfin, can enhance customer engagement and increase the likelihood of converting them into potential buyers.
3. Smart Search
Including search filters for price and property size is a good idea. To create a successful real estate app like Redfin, you must offer more than just basic features. A good home search app should have filters for location, house area, price, lot size, locality, and other features. Additionally, incorporating voice search into your real estate app will enhance its functionality.
4. Favorite
With this powerful feature, you can let your users save properties they’re interested in. Help your users make better decisions by allowing them to review the properties again. They will appreciate it.
5. Connect with the Owner
The most important thing you can offer your users is connecting home buyers with homeowners. You have two options: offer the feature for free or include it in your premium model.
6. Smart Suggestions
AI has revolutionized the real estate industry, with smart suggestions being one of its standout applications. The app will use smart tips to analyze the properties users must explore. Afterward, it gives them the best offers that match their needs. In addition to the essential features, many advanced features can help your real estate app development company succeed. When planning to target big nations, focusing on them is critical.
7. Virtual Tours
Virtual reality is now a major trend in the real estate industry. In addition to keeping users interested, it helps homeowners and real estate agents market properties more effectively. To create a real estate app like Redfin, prioritize incorporating 3D models and visualization.
8. In-App Calculators
When buying property, users frequently search for mortgage, loan, or EMI calculators. If you include built-in calculators, the chances of conversions will significantly increase. Redfin also offers this feature to its customers. Users can quickly determine their mortgage payments, including the principal amount, interest, insurance cost, and HOA fees.
9. User Analytics
User analytics is the most valuable metric for admins. You should use big data and AI/ML modules to turn a large amount of raw data into helpful business insights. You can find out the most popular areas for searches and also determine the preferred house sizes of your target audience.
10. AR Tools
In addition to virtual reality, augmented reality is becoming popular in the real estate market. Today, people are looking for AR tools to help them virtually decorate their homes or choose paint colors. If you want to reach people in the USA or Canada, including the AR feature is essential.
11. Real-Time Chats
You can make your Redfin clone app a big hit in the market by adding real-time chat and support functions. You can use ML-based chatbots to automate your customer support and help resolve their queries. In addition, you can use an automated system to route calls if needed. Real-time chats with customers improve their chances of becoming valuable prospects and, eventually, customers. Please consider adding this feature to your app.
Tech Stack for Redfin to Compete in 2024
You must choose good features and a competitive tech stack to create an app like Redfin. As a top real estate app development company, we recommend using the following tech stack for your Redfin clone app.
1. Sign up or register
Nowadays, many people are opting for social sign-up. You can use SDKs such as Facebook SDK, Google Sign-In, and LinkedIn SDK.
2. Database and property listings
Databases are essential for all businesses, especially in real estate. Use secure cloud platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure to keep your data safe. In addition, using the IDX (Internet Data Exchange) policy is essential to ensure the secure flow of data from MLS (multiple listing software) to your mobile app.
3. Search Filters
To provide location-based and property-based filters to your users, you will need:
- CoreLocation is used to track the real-time location of users.
- Elasticsearch allows for customizable search options.
- Use Realm to access the list of saved properties in your app.
4. Mapping Functionality
You can use third-party APIs to add accurate mapping features to your real estate app, similar to Redfin. Here are a few examples:
Some commonly used tools for mapping and location-based services are Google Maps API, MapBox SDK, GeoNames, Google Places API, and Spatial Neighborhood.
5. For the 3D Virtual Tour
VR/AR tools can provide virtual scenarios for your customers. In addition, you can use popular tools like EyeSpy360 in real estate apps such as Redfin.
6. For Push Notification
You can use Apple Push Notification services (APNs) or Firebase SDK to add push notifications to your custom home search app.
How to Build a Home Search App Like Redfin?
Let’s discover the main steps to develop a real estate app like Redfin, including exploring market trends and hiring a dedicated development team.
1. Focus on Market Trends
Market trends are crucial for the success of your project. By conducting thorough market and competitor research, you can gain valuable insights into your audience’s primary concerns and understand how your product can effectively address those problems.
In addition, you can also learn about the popular trends in your niche that will help make your app successful. Studying your competitor’s strategies can significantly benefit your real estate app development.
Choose an app development company that provides market and competitor analysis services. Also, find out who your top competitors are in your target market.
2. Hire a Reputed Real Estate App Development Company
To create a real estate app like Redin, the next important step is choosing a reputable app development company. Choose an experienced real estate app development company that can provide customized services to meet your business needs.
The company should have extensive experience developing advanced real estate apps for startups and enterprises. How can you tell if a particular company is the right fit for you? It’s not hard!
Reviewing their portfolios to see their past work is essential when choosing a development partner. Also, check the technologies they work with and the services they offer. A good real estate app development company provides various services, including code review, software re-engineering, testing, and after-sales support.
3. Always Begin with an MVP
You’ve analyzed the market and chosen a reputable app development company. You believe you have everything necessary for a successful real estate app development. Are you certain that your ideas match your company’s goals and budget?
That’s where an MVP comes in! An MVP, or minimum viable product, is a prototype created by developers and designers. An MVP is a simplified version of your app that shows you how it will look and what certain features will do. You get to choose the features and designs for this preview.
You can improve your app’s user interface, customize its features, and enhance the overall user experience, similar to what Redfin does. So, pick an app development company to help you with MVP development.
4. Adopt a Suitable Monetization Model
The way you make money from your app may not be the most important thing, but it does play a big role in growing your business. Don’t worry about whether your real estate app will succeed in the market. Every app needs time to reach the top level. At least to make the money you expect.
How will you make money before reaching that expected stage? The answer is in the monetization model. A good way to make more money from your app and keep your business running smoothly is by using a successful monetization model. You can keep using the same model even when your app starts making good money. So, talk to experts to find the right way to make money from your app.
Online Advertising: You can display paid ads from other companies on your real estate app to earn extra money, such as Redefine.
Commissions: Redfin uses this model to make money online. With your real estate app, you can earn commissions on every deal. Brokers typically receive commissions from homeowners.
Freemium Model: The Freemium model is widely used for making money, no matter what industry you’re in. You can provide your users with some basic features for free and charge for the more advanced ones. Spotify and Amazon have a similar model.
5. Do Not Forget to Test Your App
Lastly, remember to test your app. You may have used the agile development methodology for your app, which provides information after each stage. However, there may be bugs that go unnoticed during development.
Testing is essential because it helps identify bugs affecting your app’s performance. So, choose an app development partner that provides testing services.
Are you looking for reliable app development company?
1. About the Project – Broker Think Tank
Broker Think Tank is a platform for selling real estate and properties. It offers users immersive experiences with stunning pictures, videos, and other engaging features. Agents and homeowners can easily upload attractive photos and videos of their properties using this platform.
Customers can easily export their videos to popular social platforms like Facebook, YouTube, etc. Users can easily share images or property details with friends through email or text. Broker Think Tank makes it easy to manage properties, find your dream home and complete transactions.
2. Services Offered
The client wants developers to make an app that improves their real estate selling services. They provided different services such as:
- App Development
- Custom API Development and Integration
- Consulting Services
- QA and Testing
- UI/UX Design
3. Tech Stack Used
- Language: JavaScript + PHP (Web), Objective C (iOS)
- Database: MySQL
- Development Tool: XCode
- Web Services: REST API
4. Final Result
Developers have created an app that meets the current market trends and the client’s business needs. Here are a few key features of the app:
- Easy Sharing
- Digital Catalogue
- In-built Chats
- Edit Videos
- Favorite Properties
Final Words
Do you want to create a real estate app similar to Redfin? Are you searching for a trustworthy app development company? No worries, we’ve got you covered! Please bookmark our website as we will discuss the top App developers for Real Estate. In the coming days, we will discuss the best ERP solution, property management modules, HOA management system, and listing software.