Developing a Real Estate Marketplace Like Zillow: A Guide

Commercial real estate marketplace like Zillow are complex, which means many developers struggle with them as they seek to build them. Even worse, real estate developers are often under time pressure, which means they don’t have the luxury of waiting until their product works perfectly before pushing it out to the world. Fortunately, with the right IT partner, guidance, and planning, you can build high-quality commercial real estate applications with minimal pain and effort.

The world is becoming increasingly digital; businesses need a solid online presence. But how do you build a commercial real estate application to help you stand out from the competition? If you are wondering, let us give you a background of Zillow.

Market Overview: Zillow 

Zillow is one of the most frequently visited real estate websites in the United States for selling, buying, renting and financing, ensuring transparency and seamless services. It gives customers an easy option to get pre-approved and secure financing for their next home purchase.

This detailed step-by-step guide will help you develop your own commercial real estate marketplace like zillow on your own in no time.

Step 1: Market Research

Before you build a real estate site like Zillow, you must understand the market you’re entering.

• Who are your potential customers? 
• What do they need from a real estate app? 
• How will your app meet their needs better than the competition?

Step 2: User Research

If you’re thinking about building a commercial real estate application, the first step is to research your users. 

• Who will be using your app?
• What needs will they have?
• What are their pain points? 

Answering these fundamental questions will help you build an app that meets users’ needs. You’ll also want to make sure your application doesn’t create new problems for them or exacerbate existing ones. You can do this by doing usability testing with potential users and speaking with them one-on-one or in focus groups.

Step 3: User Experience Design

The first step in building a real estate marketplace like Zillow is understanding your users and their varying needs. In-depth user research, surveys, interviews, and other methods can achieve desired results. Once you know your users well, you can begin designing the user experience.

The goal is to create an intuitive and efficient experience that meets the needs of your users. You’ll need to consider the application’s information architecture, navigation, and overall flow to do this.

Step 4: Wireframing and Prototyping

When you’re starting to build a new application, it’s essential to clearly understand what you want the end product to look like and how it will function. This is where wireframing and prototyping come in. Wireframing is the process of creating a representation of your app’s user interface, while prototyping is creating a working model of your app. 

Both techniques are essential for conceptualizing and planning the software development cycle because they enable you to validate ideas early on without investing too much time or money.  

Step 5: Selecting the right Tech-Stack

The first step in building your commercial real estate application is to select the right tech stack. Very often, choosing a tech stack is a daunting task, but there are a few key considerations that will help you shortlist or narrow down your options. 

First, what platform do you want to build for? Web? Mobile? Both? 

Next, do you need any special plugins or widgets? 

Finally, how complex will your application be and what specific features will it have? After considering these questions, you should know which platform would work best for your needs.

Step 6: Going from prototype to code

Once you have a prototype of your application, it’s time to start thinking about how to turn it into code. This can be an extremely daunting task, but breaking it down into smaller steps can help. 

If you haven’t already applied the thought process, now is the time to define the features and requirements for your app and write them down in detail. Try not to skip this stage – it will save you many headaches later on if you do so now.

It doesn’t matter what kind of real estate software solutions you’re working on; developers always need to know what they’re building before coding. Spend time planning your interface and user experience before jumping into design or development.

Benefits of a Real Estate Marketplace like Zillow

Real estate transactions are complicated, of different magnitudes and involve several people and entities, from the buyer to the seller to the agents, lawyers, inspectors, appraisers, and others who need to be involved in the process.

Real estate marketplace apps are one way of streamlining this process and making it easier for everyone involved. The real estate marketplace makes it easier to find potential property sellers based on specific criteria like price range, area, property type, square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, etc. 

Hassle-free home search

One of the best things about a real estate marketplace app is that it makes your home search hassle-free. You can easily browse through listings in your area and get detailed information on each one. Plus, you can set up alerts, so you never miss a new listing.

24/7 assistance

One of the best benefits of a real estate marketplace app is the ability to get assistance 24/7. No matter what time of day or night it is, someone will always be available to help you with your question or concern you may have. 

Accessing this assistance is perfect for any potential homebuyer or seller who wants their life stress-free. It’s also great for agents in the field all day long who need quick answers from back at the office.

Buyers are screened

You can ensure the buyer’s screening when you buy a property through a real estate marketplace app. This is because the app will have pre-qualified the buyers before they can make an offer on your property.

Realtors and brokers who use the platform gain visibility

As a real estate professional, one of the most important things you can do is make sure you are visible to as many potential clients as possible. A real estate marketplace app can help you achieve this by putting your listings in front of a large audience of buyers and sellers. Once they have viewed your listing, they will likely contact you for further information or even set up an appointment.

Additionally, it offers a new way for people who want to buy or sell their home without a traditional agent, which often means higher profits for both sides of the transaction.

Sellers can add value to their property before listing it

If you’re selling your home, one of the best things you can do is add value to it before listing it in the open market. You can increase the sale price and get more money in your pocket by making improvements or upgrades. Plus, potential buyers will be more interested in your property if it’s in good condition.

Read More: The Role of Predictive Analytics in Real Estate

Core Features of the Zillow Real Estate Marketplace App

Search engine with a database

If you’re looking for a new home, you can use the search engine on the Zillow app to find listings in your area. You can also set up saved searches and get notifications when new listings that match your criteria are posted. You can also see recent sales and price history charts and graphs.

The maps show how far you are from different schools, parks, coffee shops, grocery stores, etc., while the tool estimates how much your house is worth if you sell it. Finally, you can buy or rent homes by searching nearby available properties.

Multiple Listing Services

If you’re looking for a new home, you’ve probably heard of the Zillow real estate marketplace app. This app is an excellent resource for finding homes in your area and learning more about the features of each listing. One of the best features of Zillow is the Multiple Listing Service or MLS.

This service provides users with detailed information about each listing, including square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and other vital details. You can also use the MLS to contact the listing agent directly.

Geolocation

One feature that Zillow offers is geolocation. This allows you to find properties in your immediate vicinity. You can also use the app to find out information about a specific property, such as its square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, etc. One of the most useful features of the Zillow app is its geolocation feature, which allows users to see listings in their area. 

This is especially useful for people looking to buy or rent a property in a specific location. The geolocation feature can also be used to find properties similar to those you have already viewed.

3D Tour 

One of the great features of the real estate marketplace app is the 3D Tour. This is a fantastic way to virtually explore a property before making an offer or taking a walk-through. The 3D Tour allows you to see the home’s layout, get a feel for the size and scale of the rooms, and check out unique features like fireplaces and balconies.

Property Listing

When you enter the Zillow app, you can access a list of properties for sale in your area. You can click on each listing for more information about the property, including photos, size spec, several bedrooms and bathrooms, and other details. You can also save listings you’re interested in to return to them later.

How much does it cost to build an app like Zillow?

The cost of building a real estate marketplace app like Zillow depends on several factors such as advanced features, complexity, targeted platforms and more. Also, one of the critical factors is the size of your development team and expertise level.

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Albert Smith

Albert Smith, Marketing Manager at Hidden Brains, drives brand growth with innovative strategies in web, mobile app, and software development.