Ultimate Guide to Custom Software Development for Real Estate Industry

The traditional real estate landscape is going through leaps of manual data entry, endless phone calls, and heavy paperwork contracts resulting in human errors and delays. 

Real estate businesses that used to stick with the one-size-fits-all approach (off-the-shelf software) face various challenges in terms of cost, scalability, and customization options. 

A research study indicates that businesses that used custom software apps saw an increase in revenue by 29%. So, when they can get such results, why not you? 

This blog talks about what benefits you will get by developing custom real estate software that streamlines your business operations. 

What is Custom Real Estate Software Development? 

Modern customers want personalized products/services, and the real estate industry is no such exception. Although you can find plenty of off-the-shelf software solutions in the market, they won’t provide a personalized sense and feel to the customer. 

That’s why customized software applications are made to target the specific needs of businesses and their target audience. 

Developing software to record patient documents or creating an app that personalizes shopping experiences for customers are a few examples of bespoke (custom) software. 

Similarly, creating customized software apps is a GOLDMINE for real estate businesses and brokerages.  

Unlike off-the-shelf software, custom software development offers unique solutions that meet the needs of niche markets such as luxury real estate, commercial real estate, or vacation rentals. 

Customized software offers several advantages for real estate agents and brokers such as reducing overhead costs, streamlining processes, and selling properties. 

There are different categories of real estate software such as property management, CRM software, online listing software, commercial real estate software, etc. 

So, if you are ready to enhance user experience, automate tedious tasks, and convert leads faster, then investing in custom real estate software is worth the effort. 

Advantages of Custom Software Development for the Real Estate Industry 

Here are the few benefits that custom software provides to real estate professionals-  

1. Streamlines real estate operations  

Unlike off-the-shelf software, customized software can help real estate professionals by automating tasks and streamlining workflows.  

Agents in real estate don’t have to manually update property listings across various platforms including websites and social media.  

Custom real estate software takes care of buyer and seller needs by providing a centralized platform where multiple parties can communicate with each other and track their progress in real-time. 

Thus, it saves time for real estate agents as they can build better relationships with clients and close deals more effectively. 

2. Strong data security 

Another advantage of developing custom software in real estate is to protect sensitive information such as financial records, property details, and client information. 

Because real estate transactions are sensitive and can be prone to cyberattacks, implementing robust security measures (authentication processes, encryption protocols, regular updates) plays a significant role. 

So, investing in custom real estate software helps you to meet security requirements and protect the security of sensitive data. 

 3. Limited customization  

While traditional real estate software does provide access to advanced technologies such as AR, VR, IoT, and many others.  

It’s an undeniable fact that off-the-shelf software caters to a broad audience and offers generalized features that are not always relevant to your business needs. 

With the custom software application, real estate agencies can simplify their workflows, add more features to their software, and integrate advanced technologies (AR, VR, IoT) into their existing systems and workflows. 

Such software solutions directly address the needs of real estate companies. 

Say for instance – Real estate brokerage firms and property management companies can showcase a virtual tour of their properties and buyers can go on 3D tours of the property to get get an immersive experience. 

Therefore, it saves time and effort for buyers and sellers and increases customer satisfaction. 

4. Improves customer relationships 

In the modern age, where building client relationships matters the most in every industry, similarly real estate is no such exception. So, to manage customer relationships, real estate CRM software is what you need. 

It has everything that a real estate business needs right from prioritizing leads, analyzing your client’s data in one place, simplifying their lead generation process to automating communication processes. 

For Instance – Custom real estate CRM software stores customer information in one place so you can increase your customer engagement rate by sending greetings to your customers on special occasions. Thus, you can get in touch with them in the long run and convert them into retainers.  

5. Cost-effective option  

Investing in customized solutions might seem an expensive option for you initially, but it will reduce your long-term costs. 

It provides recurring benefits that a ready-made solution won’t offer as you don’t have to incur additional licensing costs or ongoing subscription fees (especially when your business grows). 

Off-the-shelf software comes with a major drawback – when you want to scale your real estate agency, you need to scale the software so that it can handle the increasing workloads of users.  

In the case of off-the-shelf software, every new benefit comes with a certain cost be it related to switching to a premium subscription plan or paying an additional licensing fee. 

6. Better communication  

Custom software development for real estate companies acts as a bridge between agents, buyers, and sellers. 

It provides a satisfying experience to customers because it’s packed with various features such as- 

• Instant messaging makes the communication process easy.  
• Sending e-mail notifications to update clients about new listings or transaction progress. 
• Sharing documents and contracts with clients securely.  

Thus, customers get prompt replies and agents can focus on the strategic side of things as communication barriers are eliminated.  

What are the different software solutions that can help the Real Estate industry?  

Various software solutions can help real estate companies-  

1. Property management solution 

Custom software helps landlords and property managers in managing real estate properties whether it’s commercial, residential, or industrial.  

Such software helps in managing various operations whether it’s related to leasing, tenants, or maintenance tasks. 

Managing properties with custom software solutions becomes easy as it cuts pen-paper and manual spreadsheets. Thus, it saves your time by automating day-to-day real estate administrative processes. 

It helps to perform various processes such as – 

• Manage property listings.  
• Streamlines tenant rent collection processes.  

• Send automatic rent reminders to tenants.  
• Provides real-time insights and generates reports about the financial health of properties. 
• Manage and track property-related maintenance requests.  
• Bridges communication gap between tenants and real estate company.  
• Helps property managers make informed decisions in the long run. 

2. Real estate CRM software  

It is an all-in-one customer service solution that is designed for managing and filtering irrelevant leads, tracking interactions, attracting and retaining customers, and closing deals on time. 

Simply put, a CRM in real estate is a platform for analyzing and managing customer interactions throughout the customer life cycle.  

In the real estate industry, a CRM can track and manage leads, schedule appointments, do follow up with clients, and much more. 

With real estate CRM software, property managers can centralize customer’s information in one place which includes contact information, property listings, documents, communication history etc.  

Even a good CRM can help agents to automate email campaigns such as following up with leads or sending newsletters to their list.  

Choosing a real estate CRM software depends on various factors such as –  

• Your budget 
• What are your business needs? Different CRM systems come with different features and functionalities. So, pick the one that aligns with your business needs.  
• The user experience of CRM. The software should be easy to use and intuitive.  

3. Lead management solution  

Lead management software helps you optimize your lead generation efforts. In the real estate business, managing a large volume of leads is challenging for brokers and agents. 

So, you need a platform to capture leads from multiple sources, track, nurture leads and automate follow-up processes.  

Thus, you won’t miss any lead and your sales team will move them down the sales funnel.  

4. Virtual tour and visualization software for real estate  

The demand for virtual software has increased since the Pandemic. 

You can provide 360-degree interactive tours to potential buyers and create visualizations of the property they wish to buy.   

With virtual tours, users can interact with property all within their comfort zone.  

Thus, it reduces the need for physical visits, and they can experience your property from anywhere across the globe. 

5. Lease management software 

Lease management software enables businesses to manage residential and commercial real estate property rentals. 

No matter whether you are running single-family or multi-family properties, the software automates various routine processes for lease managers such as generating lease agreements, tracking expiration dates, and sending automatic reminders for overdue rental payments.  

How to find a software development partner for real estate? 

When choosing a real estate software development agency, you should go with the one that understands your business objectives and develops a digital product that exceeds your expectations.  

 1. Understand your business requirements  

The first step involves clearly defining your business requirements, what features and functionalities you need in real estate software, and what your end goal is. 

Be clear as to which type of real estate software your business needs such as a property management system, virtual tour software, or real estate CRM solution.  

To get started, here are a few questions you can ask yourself. It will define the project scope. 

• What’s the objective behind developing real estate software?  
• What features do you expect from a development partner?  
• Does the solution offer seamless integration with existing tools/ systems?  
• Will it improve customer service?  
• Which stakeholders can access the software?  

Get yourself ready on these questions as your potential development partner will ask you during the planning stage.  

2. Conduct a thorough research  

Choosing the right software development partner seems easy, but it’s indeed a daunting task. 

Look for someone who has expertise in developing custom software solutions for the real estate industry. 

Go through their website and read their success stories. It’ll help you understand what type of clients they served in the past and what results they brought for them. 

A good app development partner is not merely an executor, rather they should work collaboratively. 

Here are a few things you should check before onboarding them for your next software development project-  

• How well do they understand the real estate industry?  
• Are they familiar with coding languages and technologies?  
• Ask their software development process from ideation to launch  
• Check their portfolio section  
• Ask for client references   

3. Communication  

Developing custom real estate software requires clear communication throughout the development process.  

The development partner should listen to your feedback and create exactly what you want. 

Additionally, they should provide an exact project timeline estimate in which they will deliver the project.  

4. App testing  

The custom software development agency you choose should have a rigorous testing process to make sure that your product is error-free when it reaches target users. 

If users get a buggy product, it will affect your brand reputation resulting in a huge revenue loss for your business. 

5. Continuous support and maintenance  

The app development partner you choose should provide your ongoing support and maintenance so that your custom software remains up-to-date and adds value to customers’ lives.  

That’s why choosing the right software development company matters a lot for you.  

How BigOhTech can help you with software development for the real estate industry?  

Having 14+ years of experience in the software development domain, we know that every business is unique and the old-school approach of using generic apps won’t work anymore. 

That’s why developing a custom software solution is what you need to get a competitive advantage and position yourself as an innovative market leader.  

While working with various real estate clients, we knew that many of them were running legacy systems which affected their workflow. 

They needed customized software that improves their productivity, simplifies their workflows, and connects everyone on a single platform (tenants, landlords, property owners, etc.). 

As a trusted software development agency, we are proficient in creating a next-generation real estate app that boosts your business productivity. 

We have everything you need to scale your real estate business ranging from consulting to developing a tailor-made solution that fits your business needs. 

Our skilled IT experts are well-versed in crafting bespoke solutions for real estate businesses using advanced technologies such as AR/VR, artificial intelligence, IoT, blockchain, etc. that respond to specific business needs and goals. 

Moreover, we served a client who was a leading player in the Proptech industry. Our dedicated development team builds a platform that acts as a bridge between homeowners and renovators. 

The client was struggling to give an exact quote to homeowners for the area that needs renovation.  

So, we built an AR/VR app that captures the exact home area and calculates the cost of the renovated area. The client was able to view the post-property renovation using an AR/VR-enabled app. 

Just tell us your business requirements and we’ll provide you with technical expertise.  

Wrapping Up 

In the 21st century, every business demands a customized solution to stand out and meet the tastebuds of customers. 

Every customer these days wants user-friendly and tailor-made software that makes it easy for them to search for property and access property details. 

Many real estate businesses struggle to build long-term relationships with clients and close deals because they are stuck with managing administrative processes. 

With custom real estate software, business owners can automate their routine tasks ranging from property listing to managing clients to document sharing. 

Are you ready to transform your real estate business?