How To Build A Real Estate App Like Zillow Or Trulia: Features, Costs & Tips

The days are gone when you must find a real estate agent before finding the right home for your family. Digitalization has made it simple to find anything online, and real estate is no luxury now. With a single click, you can have hundreds of homes to choose from for rent or buy. There is no surprise that you can even sell your home, too, through an app. The credit goes to real-estate app development, which has made it possible. 

The app store or Play Store holds multiple apps, but no one can compare with an app like Zillow. On closer inspection, it is a legendary real estate mobile app that offers its users several options. 

The real estate sector is snowballing with the trends, and market competition is fierce. If you want to create an app for your property business, referring to an app like Trulia or Zillow is the best. It will help you grab the uncovered opportunities in the real estate market. You only need an idea to build a real estate app like Zillow with a unique concept. 

Thinking about where to start? You’ve landed on the right blog. This blog will help you review all the information you need to develop an app for a real estate business. 

Let’s start!

App Like Zillow: An Overview

Headquartered in Seattle (USA), Zilow is a pioneer in revolutionizing the USA’s real estate industry. In earlier days, the company was operating through a website that helped millions of customers find their homes. Later, they launched a mortgage marketplace and intelligent search, making Zillow.com a great success. Later, Android and iPhone apps launched in 2008-2009, and the rest of the history is in front of the world. 

Before you decide to build a real estate app like Trulia or Zillow, strategically, it is crucial to understand the USA’s real estate market stats. Let’s have a look: 

• The USA’s real estate market is projected to grow $155.60tn by 2029 at a CAGR(2025-2029) of 3.31%. 

• There is a surge in demand for suburban homes due to remote work, and apps like Zillow cater to these demands in the US real estate market. 

• Zillow database holds 130 million US homes. 

• In 2024, the Zillow app and website were visited 9.3 billion times. 

• In 2024, Zillow attracted an impressive average of 228 million active users across its app and website.

These stats draw a big picture of the USA’s real estate market and an app like Zillow. Based on these stats, launching your real estate app is the right time. 

Essential Features of Real Estate App Like Zillow or Trulia

When embarking on real estate app development, it’s crucial to incorporate essential features that will set your app apart from competitors like Zillow and Trulia. So, here is the list of important features you need to consider in your next real estate app, such as Magcicbricks, Trulia, or Zillow. 

1. User Features

• Signup/login: Users can sign up via email, phone, or social media.

• Advanced Search: Filter by location, price, type, size, and amenities, which allows users to search for their suitable home or property.

• Interactive Maps: Every user can view properties on a map with real-time data overlays.

• Virtual Tours: This feature allows users to experience properties  Immersively via 3D Walkthroughs. 

• Property Listings: Showcasing detailed descriptions of properties with high-quality images.

• Favorite Listings: Users can bookmark properties for future reference.

• Mortgage Calculator: Allows users to estimate loan payments and affordability.

• Push Notifications: Get notified of price drops, new listings, and updates.

• In-App Chat: Users can connect with agents or sellers through chat.

• Comparative Market Analysis (CMA): This helps users gain insights into property valuation and trends.

2. Agent & Seller Features

• Listing Management: Agents can add, edit, and remove property listings anytime or based on business requirements. 

• Lead Management System: This feature allows for tracking and managing customer inquiries.

• In-App Promotions: Agents can opt for featured listings for increased visibility and business growth. 

• Analytics & Insights: Agents can track listing performance and user engagement, which helps tailor marketing efforts. 

• Appointment Scheduling: It allows sellers to schedule property visits or appointments with clients. 

3. Admin Features

• User Management: helps app admins manage user accounts, registration, and profile management of all users, such as agents, sellers, and users.  

• Listing Moderation: As per business needs, the admin can add, delete, edit, or modify property listings seamlessly.  

• Revenue Management: Administrators can monitor and handle income from commissions, subscriptions, and real estate transactions.

• Data Analytics Dashboard: Provides insights into market trends and user behavior.

• Subscription Management: Administrators can oversee user subscriptions and add, remove, or adjust subscription plans as needed.

• Content Management: Admins have complete control over the app content, such as descriptions, images, and videos. 

4. Advanced Features

•  AI Chatbot for Customer Support: The chatbot offers instant assistance for users and helps the support team with productive tasks. 

•  Blockchain for Secure Transactions:  The blockchain technology helps create Smart contracts for property deals and offers ultimate transactional security. 

•  Augmented Reality (AR) for Home Staging: Visualize furniture and décor in properties and allow users to experience the real property in a virtual environment..

•  Voice Search & AI Assistance: One of the most advanced features to consider for your next real estate app like Zillow, that helps users search properties using voice commands.

• AI-powered Property Recommendations: This feature will help you personalize customer experience and grow your business.  

Why Develop An App Like Zillow or Trulia?

The real estate sector is rapidly growing, and the customers' demands have shifted towards digital mediums to search and find their dream property. Considering this scenario, developing an app like Zillow or Trulia benefits your real estate business. If you want to know why you should invest in on-demand real estate app development, here’s why investing in such an app makes sense:

1. Booming Real Estate Market

The global real estate market is skyrocketing with the increasing demand of digital solutions. Apps like Trulia make it effortless for the customer to search for properties online instead of searching around corners of a particular location. 

2. High Revenue Potential

The real estate apps offer high revenue potential as you can earn through commissions, featured listings, advertisements, promotions, and subscriptions. 

3. Improved Market Reach

Instead of operating your property business physically, you can reach more customers through on-demand real estate apps like Trulia, Zillow, and others. You can quickly improve your business visibility and enter the niche market by leveraging real estate app development. 

4. Streamlined Sales Process

You can streamline your sales process using advanced tools through the app. The sellers can list the properties, while on the other side, agents can showcase properties to the customer,s offering the best deals and improving lead generation. 

5. Improved User Experience

An expertly designed real estate app enhances user experience through seamless navigation, stunning visuals, and engaging property interactions. Locating properties is a challenge. Therefore, offering users a seamless remote experience becomes essential, allowing them to access properties effortlessly. 

6. Competitive Edge

Due to the fierce competition in the USA’s real estate market, it is daunting to stay in the top charts. A feature-packed, user-friendly app can help you remain competitive and grow your business. 

7. Data-Driven Insights

Share trends, price history, and local demand to help users make more intelligent choices. Show sellers what their home might be worth based on accurate data. Using data analytics features, you can make strategic business decisions. 

8. Partnership Opportunities

You can easily collaborate with sellers, agents, mortgage lenders, insurance companies, and moving services through a custom-built app like Zillow. It will help you to create revenue through multiple streams. 

Technology Stack Needed for Development of Property Search Apps

Developing a property search app requires a well-structured technology stack to ensure seamless performance, scalability, and security. Below is a detailed breakdown of the essential technologies used in different aspects of development.

Technology Stack Overview

Read Also: Real Estate App Development Cost: Comprehensive Cost Breakdown    
 

How Much Does it Cost to Develop an App like Zillow?

It is a million-dollar question for every realtor who wants to migrate their business online through real estate app development: What is the cost to develop an app like Zillow or Trulia? 

First, you must understand that real estate app development costs depend on multiple factors, such as complexity, platform, UI/UX design, third-party integrations, etc. However, based on our experience, the ballpark estimate is $25000-$80,000 or more, depending on the requirements. 

Let’s look at the cost breakdown based on the various stages. 

In addition to this, the regional cost to develop an app like Zillow also differs in the following as: 

The best way to identify the development cost is to consult an experienced real estate app development company like IMG Global Ifnotech. Once you share your requirements, the experts will suggest a detailed cost estimate after analyzing your specific requirements. 

While estimating the cost, there are crucial factors that you need to keep in mind. Let’s move to the next section of this blog, determining the cost affecting factors. 

Crucial Factors That Affect Zillow-like App Development Cost

Estimating the cost to develop an app like Zillow is not only just depicting a figure; it requires patience and time. There are multiple factors that experts keep in mind while providing an estimate, so here are these: 

1. Platform

The significant platforms include Android and iOS, and their cost differs. If you want to target Android users, the Android app development cost can be around $20,000-$50,000. On the other hand, the cost range of Native iOS real estate app development starts at $25,000. Regarding cost-effectiveness, the best idea is cross-platform app development that costs around $25,000-$45,000, and the benefit is that you can target large audiences. 

2. App Complexity

App complexity plays a crucial role in estimating real estate app development costs. If you want to include advanced features, functionalities, and designs, it will lead to more complexity so the price will be higher. Usually, the range of complex app like Zillow development cost may exceed $80,000 or more. 

3. Developers Location

Another essential cost-affecting factor is the location of developers. It works like this: if you want to hire mobile app developers in the USA, their hiring cost is like $150-$250/hr; on the other hand, you can hire app developers in India starting at $25-$50/hr based on the experience. 

4. App Design

Designing plays a vital role in creating an immersive user experience, but everything has its costs, including the design. Here, you will create an app like Zillow that millions of users will use in the future, so the design must be interactive and immersive. Regarding its cost, it initially started at $5000 and will increase with the complexity of the design. 

5. Third-party Integration

Integration helps enhance the app’s functionality, and it can be used with Google Maps & Geolocation, MLS (Multiple Listing Service) API, Payment Gateways, CRM for Real Estate Agents, and more. Some integrations are free of cost; however, some require a portion of the price based on your requirements.   

6. Tech Stack

The tech stack comprises tools and technology to build an app. Some technologies are free, but some are costlier, impacting the overall development cost. Here, requirements play a crucial role. For example, developing an advanced app requires advanced tools and technology that increase costs. 

7. Maintenance Cost

Seamless execution is required, primarily when focusing on the best user experience. The post-release maintenance and support help keep the app updated with the technology and trends. The estimated maintenance cost starts at 15-20% of the total annual development cost and increases with additional features and upgrades. 

Read Also: How Much Does It Cost to Develop A Real Estate App Like Magicbricks?    

How Can IMG Global Infotech Help You?

IMG Global Infotech is a leading real estate app development company with over a decade of experience developing state-of-the-art mobile applications and websites. We have experience creating apps that align with clients' requirements and have proven this multiple times while delivering projects on time. Our expertise lies in developing cost-effective solutions for businesses of diverse sizes, from small-size real estate businesses to large-scale property business firms. Our team of dedicated app developers has a proven track record in creating success stories using the latest tech stack, which made IMG Global Infotech the right choice for real-estate app development. 
 

Conclusion

Now, you have a complete idea about an app like Zillow and its development cost, features, and benefits. You are just a step away from building your app; you must make a final decision. While developing the app, make sure that your app is aligned with your idea and matches the preference of your target audience. It will help you reach your customers effortlessly, and you can benefit significantly from it. Last but not least, developing a Zillow app clone requires expertise and knowledge, so hiring an experienced real estate app development company is the best. 

Being an experienced mobile app development company, we can help you build your real estate app like Zillow from start to end. Share your requirements and get your app today from industry experts.