Basics of Real Estate App Development Like Zillow and Trulia

Know How to Develop Quality Real Estate Apps Integrated with Advanced Features

The real estate sector around the world has seen a massive evolution during the last couple of decades. The emergence of companies like Zillow and Trulia have set high benchmarks in the market. They have pioneered the approach of facilitating customers through innovative mobile apps and websites. This is the major reason why many new realtor startups are looking for real estate app development like Zillow and Trulia. They know that everyone today wants to buy/sell homes through internet, hence it should be prioritized to target masses in the market.

Building an app like Zillow and Trulia is however not an easy job. Both of these platform are highly advanced, as they provide plethora of features and functionalities in their respective apps. To develop a mobile app like them, you have to be technically skilled in various dev departments. If you are not well prepared in those areas, then taking professional app development services becomes the most viable option. It ensures you to get quality real estate apps, provided you’ve selected the right vendor for project development.

In this blog, we will talk about real estate app development in detail. We will let you know how to develop apps like Zillow and Trulia that can instantly grab the market attention. Let us first start from the basics understanding why real estate apps have become an important demand of realtor businesses.

Popularity of Real Estate Apps

Real estate app

Quality real estate apps are gaining a lot of attention in the market. These apps have simplified the process of buying and selling, allowing people to easily search houses, apartments and other properties from the ease of their homes. Due to this, the popularity of real estate apps in social circuit is quickly rising. The names of Zillow and Trulia have truly become a household thing among many buyers and sellers. They always opt for these platforms whenever they’re required to buy or sell any property within their favorable range.

The innovative features offered by real estate apps have really done the trick in attracting people’s attention. Nowadays, you can search almost any property that fits within your demand. Whether its in your local city or any other remote town, real estate apps give you the leverage to find anything quickly without a hassle. This feature is loved by everyone, as it reduces their efforts to find properties manually.

A recent survey reveals how much popular Zillow is in the US market. With a collective installs of 7.7 million, Zillow remains the most popular app that is trusted for buying and selling properties in the US. This shows the trust and fame of these apps that is continuously growing within the local and international market. It is helping the companies to break more grounds regularly by smartly cementing its place in the consumer market.

Starting Real Estate App Development Like Zillow and Trulia

Real estate app vector

Everyone wants to develop a real estate app like Zillow and Trulia. Both of these platforms are highly popular in the market, hence people always try to emulate them to get an advantage in the industry. However, creating apps like these is not an easy job. It requires you to be technically skilled, as well as knowledgeable in various areas of strategic planning.

If you do not know what type of process should be followed to develop a quality real estate app like Zillow, take a look at the points defined below. It will help you to understand the basics of cross platform app development, and the steps that are essentially required in it.

Industry Research

Conducting industry research is very important for real estate app development. It lets you know what type of apps are currently in the market demand. Based on this evaluation, you can get an initial idea about the requirements of a real estate app. It helps you to plan the development process accordingly, so that everything goes in line to ensure smooth execution.

Those who do not conduct research properly, often remains confused during the development process. They work without any plan to build an app, which is why they mostly fail in the end. If you are also planning to develop a real estate app, make sure to complete the research properly, as it always aids your dev jobs during different phases. 

Pick the Development Strategy

Next up, you need to pick a development strategy that can help you in real estate app development. It is an important selection that should be done keeping the requirements of your project in mind. Ideally, you could go with the agile methodology, as that fits best for all types of software development. It provides you a leverage to work with flexibility, so that no one in the team gets over burn.

With the help of agile methodology, you can prioritize tasks that are most important in the execution line. It simplifies planning, giving you a clear head about the tasks that should be focused. This is the main advantage of agile methodology that makes it a perfect pick for real estate websites and app development.

Select Development Tools

Developing a real estate app requires careful consideration of various factors, including functionality, user experience, and scalability. Choosing the right mobile app development frameworks is crucial for ensuring a seamless and robust application. For the backend development, technologies such as Node.js or Django can be selected, providing a scalable and efficient server-side environment.

On the frontend, selecting a responsive and user-friendly framework like React or Vue.js is essential for creating an intuitive and engaging user interface. These frameworks allow for the development of dynamic and interactive components, ensuring a smooth user experience.

Start App Development

Once you’ve gathered the above things and have a clear understanding of your target audience and app features, create a detailed project plan outlining milestones, timelines, and resource requirements. This plan should include the technology stack, development tools, and frameworks you intend to use. It is best advised to use a CMS system to organize different tasks, so that you can manage things easily.

Next up, collaborate with designers to create an intuitive and visually appealing user interface. Begin with the development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to quickly validate your app concept and gather user feedback. Implement agile development methodologies to iterate on your app continuously, incorporating user feedback and addressing any issues that arise.

Finalize the Process

Finalizing the real estate app development process involves several key steps to ensure that the application is ready for deployment and meets the expectations of users and stakeholders. It is best recommended to first conduct a comprehensive testing process across different devices, browsers, and operating systems to identify and rectify any bugs or issues.

Once testing is complete and all issues have been addressed, focus on deploying the real estate app to the intended platforms, such as app stores for iOS and Android. This will ensure that the app is easily accessible on both platforms, offering great performance all the time.

Key Features of a Real Estate App

Real estate app features

A real estate app should be built with different features that can facilitate all types of users. These features play a major role in making any app successful in the market. If you are working on real estate app development like Zillow and Trulia, make sure to include these features to make the app an instant hit in the commercial market.

Seamless Onboarding

The initial engagement of the user within the app immediately following installation play a pivotal role in determining their overall experience. These first steps are critical, as they significantly influence the likelihood of users persisting with the application rather than abandoning it after the initial use. The key to retaining users lies in simplifying this onboarding phase, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly introduction to the app’s features.

A streamlined onboarding process is essential for facilitating users’ understanding of the app and its functionalities. This involves strategically implementing onboarding steps that effectively address three crucial objectives: aiding in navigation, guiding users through operations, and showcasing the value the app brings to their experience.

Interactive User Profiles

Real estate applications, exemplified by platforms like Zillow, are enriched with a variety of features strategically designed to cater to diverse user segments, all accessible through a single app. The major responsibility of real estate app developers lies in empowering end users to establish personalized profiles within the application.

To illustrate, a buyer’s profile would grant access to features like property listings, the ability to make inquiries, and the option to save properties for future reference. On the other hand, an agent’s profile would encompass elements such as their published property listings, schedules, and data on interested buyers.

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Home/Apartment Details

Each property listing within the platform is rich with comprehensive information, encompassing details such as descriptions, videos, photos, pricing specifics, nearby landmarks, area measurements, owner information, and more. The true effectiveness of your platform hinges on the provision of in-depth insights into every listed property.

As an example, Trulia stands out by offering extensive data on 34 neighborhoods, complete with photos, videos, amenities, and anecdotes from local residents. This unique feature serves to captivate potential buyers by providing them with a nuanced understanding of the community or neighborhood.

Vast Database

Working for real estate mobile app development, the database serves as a behind-the-scenes yet integral component, often unnoticed but wielding considerable influence on the app’s success. The robustness of your database is a critical factor that directly contributes to the value, growth, and user engagement of your real estate app.

The database’s role extends beyond mere functionality; it underpins the app’s ability to provide users with accurate, up-to-date, and extensive information. This includes property details, pricing, location data, and other pertinent information crucial to potential buyers, sellers, and real estate agents.

Search and Filter Properties

Enabling customization within your app not only enhances its relevance but also empowers users to tailor their experience by filtering and identifying properties that align precisely with their preferences. Factors such as budget constraints, preferred locations, specific requirements, and desired amenities can be incorporated into the app’s customization options.

In essence, the success of a real estate app hinges on its ability to provide users with a personalized and efficient property search experience. By incorporating extensive customization features, developers can elevate the platform’s value proposition, offering users a comprehensive toolset for refining their property search and ultimately fostering a greater level of trust and satisfaction in the app.

Push Notifications

Push notifications represent a potent marketing tool, and their strategic application can yield substantial benefits that are too significant to overlook. When judiciously utilized, push notifications serve as a powerful means to remain prominently in the minds of customers, contributing to enhanced customer retention.

In the context of property search applications, the detailed and timely nature of push notifications proves instrumental in delivering relevant information to users. For instance, users can receive immediate updates on new property listings, price adjustments, or important appointments related to their property search journey.

Cost of Real Estate App Development Like Zillow and Trulia

App development cost

The cost estimation for developing a real estate app akin to Zillow or Trulia is contingent upon a multitude of factors. Among these, the complexity of the app, the size of the development team, and the geographic location of the hired development agency play pivotal roles in determining the overall cost.

To delve into specifics, if your envisioned property search app encompasses a feature set comparable to industry leaders like Zillow or Trulia and employs a technology stack similar to the one previously outlined, the projected cost for the development of an app would fall within the range of USD 50,000 to USD 75,000. This estimate takes into account the intricacies involved in replicating the functionalities of established platforms, ensuring a comprehensive and feature-rich user experience.

Why Choose StruqtIO for Real Estate App Development?

StruqtIO, a prominent company in the IT industry, has played a pivotal role in assisting numerous clients within the same domain in the successful delivery of real estate mobile applications. The team of adept real estate app developers at StruqtIO brings a wealth of innovation and specialization to the development of property apps, incorporating disruptive technologies to address the evolving needs of stakeholders both in the present and the future.

Our seasoned team of experts facilitate the integration of diverse stakeholder requirements – catering to buyers, sellers, and aggregators – all within a unified and seamlessly functioning app. This comprehensive approach ensures that the developed mobile application serves as a holistic solution, effectively connecting and meeting the dynamic demands of all stakeholders in the real estate domain.

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Final Words

That takes us to the end of this blog in which we have discussed about the basics of real estate app development like Zillow and Trulia in detail. Both of these apps are highly popular in the market, as they help to connect both buyer and sellers together effectively. This blog has discussed some important tips that will help you to develop a real estate app like Zillow and Trulia. It is certainly not an easy task, but could be done if you strictly pledge to work using the right skills and technicalities.

Meanwhile, if you are looking for a company that could help you to develop quality real estate apps like Zillow, get in touch with us today. We will help you to develop cutting-edge mobile apps rightly as per the needed requirements.

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