Property Apps Are Changing the Game for Buyers and Sellers
We live in a digital world, and the real estate industry is no exception.
73% of all home buyers in 2023 said that they use a mobile site or application to make their home search easier.
The easy access to real-time data and updated, accurate information that apps provide allow people to really harness the power of technology and efficiently improve their real estate experience, whether buying or selling.
Increasing Access to Real-Time Information
Access to the latest property listings and top real estate agents is crucial in getting the best deal on a home or other type of property.
Mobile apps are quickly changing the game in this aspect as they send push notifications straight to your phone and allow you to stay informed without really having to do much of anything.
Buyers and renters alike are using apps to enter specific search criteria and receive daily or hourly updates on hot new listings, changes in prices, and even general real estate news related to their search.
Redfin, for example, has an app with a database of more than 70 million properties and refreshes itself every 15 minutes. Long gone are the days when you had to wait for your real estate agent to gather a list of properties and present them to you in person or over the phone. Buyers, sellers, and agents benefit from mobile property apps.
Updating Old Systems
Before mobile real estate apps came along, sellers had to get their property appraised and wait for a lengthy amount of time for the appraiser to get back to them with an answer.
If you wanted to buy a home, you likely had to go through many financial and legal hoops, and maybe even get pre-approved for a loan.
Now, you can do all of that with real estate software or a mobile app on your smartphone.
For example, Homes.com (formerly Homesnap) has an app that allows you to take and upload photos of a home and receive an estimate of its value. And Houzz caters to anybody looking to sell their home with an app that identifies areas around the house that might need an upgrade to raise its value. The high-resolution virtual remodel function allows users to find ways to increase their home’s value while also testing out what it might look like.
Other apps exist that cater more to the financial side of real estate and allow you to make sense of your options with regards to mortgages, calculating loans, and even accessing financial planning services.
Improving Lead Management
Property apps aren’t just revolutionizing the way people buy and sell homes; they’re also catering to the intermediaries as well. Real estate agents can now take advantage of technology in order to grow their client base, manage their leads, and improve their customer service process.
OpenHomePro allows agents to capture leads and sends personalized follow-up e-mails on their behalf, while Zillow’s Premier Agent is explicitly designed to gain insights into consumer behavior, facilitate easier closings, and integrate leads from other sources all to one platform.
The Future of Apps in Real Estate
Where there’s a need, a mobile app development company is ready to fill it. As more individuals in the real estate industry, including buyers and sellers, begin to find and identify specific pain points in their process, more and more developers will continue to invest in the development of technologies and applications that can make the process easier and more efficient. As technology advances, these apps will increase in the efficiency and functions that they offer to users.
