Real estate apps we build
Brokerage and listing search apps
Branded home search with saved searches, alerts, favorites shared with a partner, tour requests and direct chat with an agent.
Agent productivity tools
Lead inboxes, showing schedules, open house sign-in, comparables and quick listing updates for agents working from their phones.
Tenant and resident apps
Rent payments, maintenance requests, package notices, amenity booking, community messages and digital keys.
Property management and inspection apps
Work orders, move-in and move-out inspections with photos, vendor coordination and owner reporting.
Listing data: MLS, RESO and portal feeds
Listing data is licensed, not free to use. In the US, most MLSs now provide data through the RESO Web API, which uses standard field names from the RESO Data Dictionary and has largely replaced the older RETS protocol. Access is granted by each MLS under an agreement, usually through a participating broker, and comes with display rules: broker attribution, refresh frequency, which fields can be shown, and how sold data may be used. In Canada, CREA's Data Distribution Facility plays a similar role for many members. In the UK and Australia, listings usually flow from agency CRMs to the major portals, and apps typically use the agency's own data or a portal or data provider's licensed API.
| Data source | Typical use | What to confirm first |
|---|---|---|
| MLS via RESO Web API | US brokerage search apps | Licensing agreement, IDX or VOW rules, required disclaimers |
| Agency CRM or listing software | Brand apps for a single agency or group | API availability and whether the vendor charges for access |
| Third-party property data providers | Valuations, history, school and neighborhood data | Licensing terms for display and caching on mobile |
| Your own database | Build-to-rent, new developments, commercial portfolios | Ownership of photos and floor plans |
US rules on what listings can display have shifted since 2024, including restrictions on showing buyer-agent compensation offers in MLS data, so we review each MLS's current policies before designing listing screens.
Search, maps and virtual tours
Map-first search
Buyers and renters search with their thumbs on a map. We build marker clustering for thousands of listings, draw-to-search boundaries, commute-time filters, and list and map views that stay in sync. Google Maps, Mapbox and Apple MapKit each have different pricing and styling options, and the right choice depends on your expected traffic and design.
Virtual tours and media
- Embedded 3D tours from providers such as Matterport, loaded only when the user opens them to keep listing pages fast.
- Photo galleries with progressive loading and full-screen zoom, plus video walkthroughs and live video tours.
- AR features using ARKit and ARCore, such as room measurement on LiDAR-equipped devices or placing furniture in an empty room.
- Floor plans with tappable rooms that jump to matching photos.
Tenant apps, maintenance and integrations
Resident apps live or die by maintenance requests. A good flow lets a tenant photograph a leak, choose a category and permission-to-enter window, and then see progress without phoning the office. Behind the scenes, the request creates a work order in your property management system and notifies the right vendor.
- 1
Property management systems
We integrate with platforms such as Yardi, AppFolio, Buildium or Entrata where they offer partner APIs, and plan for approval processes that some vendors require.
- 2
CRM
Leads, tour requests and saved searches flow into Salesforce, HubSpot or a real estate CRM so agents see app activity alongside other channels.
- 3
Payments
Rent and deposits run through a payment provider using tokenized cards and bank debits, so the app never stores account details.
- 4
Access and building systems
Smart locks, intercoms and package lockers are connected through their vendors' APIs or SDKs, with careful handling of offline and expired keys.
- 5
E-signature
Leases, addenda and offers are signed through providers such as DocuSign or Dropbox Sign rather than custom signature capture.
Fair housing, advertising and privacy considerations
Real estate advertising is regulated in ways many app teams do not expect. In the US, the Fair Housing Act prohibits discriminatory housing advertising, and this extends to how ads and recommendations are targeted. The UK's Equality Act 2010, Canadian provincial human rights codes and Australian anti-discrimination laws set similar expectations. Some markets also regulate listing content directly, such as UK guidance on material information in property listings and Australian state rules on underquoting.
- Avoid filters or recommendation features that steer users by protected characteristics, including proxies like certain neighborhood labels.
- Show required broker, MLS and equal housing notices on listing screens.
- If the app supports tenant screening, US background checks fall under the Fair Credit Reporting Act; use a specialist screening provider.
- Treat identity documents, income proof and payment data as sensitive under UK GDPR, PIPEDA, the Australian Privacy Act and US state privacy laws.
How offshore delivery is set up for real estate apps
MLS agreements often limit who can access data and for what purpose, so we confirm early whether development use by an offshore vendor is allowed. Where it is restricted, the team works with sample RESO-formatted data sets and a staging feed under your license. Tenant apps are built against sandbox property management accounts with fictional buildings, residents and work orders. Real resident data stays in production, accessed only by your staff.
Many proptech companies start with a fixed-scope MVP and then move to an ongoing team; our guide to choosing an engagement model explains how to switch without losing momentum. For a fast cross-platform build, you can also bring in offshore Flutter developers to work alongside your team.
Common pitfalls in real estate app projects
- Building search screens before securing MLS licensing and reading the display rules.
- Loading every listing photo at full size, which makes map browsing slow and expensive on mobile data.
- Treating maintenance as a simple form instead of a workflow with vendors, permissions and status updates.
- Ignoring map provider pricing until usage grows and the bill arrives.
- Forgetting that listing feeds and PMS APIs change. Budget for ongoing app maintenance from day one.
Proptech ideas rarely fit a template, which is why most of our work here is custom app development. To plan a budget, start with our breakdown of offshore app development costs, then contact our team with your data sources and feature list.