If you’re looking for a home, you probably have a lot of questions. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of apps to help you find the best real estate in your area.
The real estate industry is constantly changing, so it’s important to have access to the latest information. Apps are great for that because they can be updated in less time than it takes to watch an episode of insert Netflix show here.
There are many apps available for every kind of property search. So whether you’re looking for a house, condo, or apartment—we’ve got you covered!
Best Apps For Property Search
Real estate apps get millions of monthly visits thanks to the convenience they create with on-the-go searches. The National Association of Realtors reports that 97% of homebuyers begin their searches online, and 76% use a mobile or tablet device.1
Mobile real estate apps put a massive database of houses, apartments, and commercial buildings in the palm of your hand. They benefit prospective homebuyers, renters, and investors through searches filtered by location, number of bedrooms, square footage, and more.
We analyzed 15 real estate apps based on their user interface, search efficiency, inventory size and accuracy, customer support, and reliability. We’ve chosen the best real estate apps to cover all your property-hunting needs.
The 7 Best Real Estate Apps of 2022
Best Overall: Zillow
Best for Auctions: Xome Auctions
Best for Home Purchase: Redfin
Best for Home Values: Trulia
Best for Rentals: Realtor
Best for Renters: Apartments.com
Best for Entrepreneurs: LoopNet.com
Best Real Estate Apps
Zillow
Xome Auctions
Redfin
Trulia
Realtor
Apartments.Com
LoopNet.Com
What Are Real Estate Apps?
How Apps Determine Home Value
Are Real Estate Apps Accurate?
Methodology
BEST OVERALL
Zillow
ZillowLEARN MORE
Zillow’s app wins best overall because of its massive scope. It has the largest property inventory, including its own Zillow-owned homes, with one of the largest filter lists. Its efficient features include sharing a prospective property with your partner or roommate as well as the ability for renters to begin the application process quickly. The app covers virtually every need the user could want.
Pros
Users have access to over 125 million homes
Zillow-owned properties can be unlocked through the app
Detailed search and filter criteria
Coordinated searches for partners or roommates
Personal rental profiles
Cons
Zestimate algorithm not always accurate
Difficult to identify listing agent
Search filters can be inaccurate
Zillow, founded in 2006 by two former Microsoft executives, is one of the leading apps in the real estate market. The app constantly updates its database. When a realtor or seller changes a property status—from “for sale” to “pending and under contract,” for example—you’ll see that change in the app within 24 hours. Some minor changes made by sellers appear within a few minutes on the app.
Zillow offers the option to list apartments for sale, rent, or lease as well as virtually tour properties and contact agents. Properties on Zillow also can be viewed through video tours and photographs. Users even can receive update notifications about selected properties from the app.
Property listings come from one or more of the multiple listing services, as well as third-party providers, agents, partners, and brokers. It does not source from other platforms.
Zillow is free of cost for buyers and sellers. The primary source of revenue for the app comes from advertising and lead generation costs from realtors. Zillow’s scale earns it the title of best overall because it boasts the largest inventory, many ways to search and sort for both home buyers and apartment renters, and convenient features like sharing favorites and built-in applications.
BEST FOR AUCTIONS
Xome Auctions
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Xome Auctions is the best app for buying a property through an auction because of its comprehensive online bid listings. Like other apps, property details, photos, and map locations are shown, but Xome Auctions is the best because it also states whether the property is financeable or if it needs to be paid for in cash.
Pros
One of the largest databases of auction properties
Access to pre-auction properties
Same suite of features as the website
Push notifications alert you when a competitive bid happens
Contract e-signing within the app
Cons
App has a history of bugs
Relatively new without a very large client base yet
The Xome Auctions app is available on both Android and Apple app stores and hosts one of the largest collections of exclusive properties. Users can also use Xome’s pre-auction feature to bid on properties early. Xome delivers transparent bidding and fast closing.
You can search for residential or commercial auctions by location, status, and auction asset type, such as bank-owned, short sale, or newly foreclosed. Sort properties by price, beds, baths, square feet, auctions starting soon, or by auctions ending soon. The app includes a walk, commute, and bike score along with listing and sales history so you can see the historical value for the property over time.
The listings on the app come from multiple listing services as well as from exclusive Xome sources. The app wins best for auctions because of the comprehensive features available to the bidder. Details like financing, property and neighborhood statistics, alerts when someone else bids on a property you are watching, and property price history all keep the bidder well-informed. Xome Auctions further exceeds its competitors with an efficient e-signing capability for contracts.
BEST FOR HOME PURCHASE
Redfin
RedfinLEARN MORE
Redfin is an actual real estate brokerage firm that has created an app to take them to a national scale and revolutionize the buying and selling processes. The app is our choice as best for home purchases because it combines cutting-edge technology with actual Redfin real estate agents and customer service employees that keep the human element in the process.
Pros
Customized searches
Accurate estimation of home values
Buy with a Redfin agent and share part of commission
Calculates mortgage, property tax, and insurance
Cons
No feature to sort by last-updated
Less detail on the home’s surrounding neighborhood than other apps
Founded in 2004, Redfin allows the user to search for nearby houses, condos, and townhouses that are for sale or hosting an open house. You can book a home tour within the app. For sellers, the platform allows you to list your property for sale. It charges sellers who use the app a listing fee of 1.5% or 1.0% if you buy and sell with Redfin, which is lower than traditional listing broker fees. It also pays a commission rebate to the buyer if the buyer uses a Redfin agent. That potential dollar figure is shown in the app listing.
Redfin’s app interface is simple and easy to use. Users can review some neighborhood details and learn the process of home-buying with free classes within the app. Notifications alert you to every house that becomes available and meets your criteria.
Redfin earns its revenue through listing fees, commissions, and advertising fees. It earns best for home purchases because of its clever blend of innovative technology balanced by timely and customized human interaction to help the deal close swiftly and keep the buyer’s and seller’s stress levels to a minimum.
BEST FOR HOME VALUES
Trulia
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We awarded Trulia the best for home values because it provides more information about what goes into a home value than any other app. Fifty percent of Trulia home values were within 5% of the selling price, and more than eight out of 10 were within 20% of the selling price.
Pros
Local info on neighborhoods, schools, and shopping
Notifications about new homes on the market that fit your criteria
The platform provides pre-qualified financing and calculators
You can draw with your finger on the map to customize searches
Link to the listing agent in each property listing
Cons
Recently dropped crime data from their listings.
Trulia, which launched in 2005 and was acquired by Zillow Group in 2015, has high reviews in the two major app stores. The service allows the user to view a property in multiple ways. For instance, you can view the property itself, shopping, eating establishments, schools, commute times, and neighborhood demographic stats. You can search for apartments as well as homes with two different apps, Find Homes and Trulia Renters, for more personalized searches.
Regarding demographics, the app can show you the number of single people or people who have graduated from college living around the neighborhood, as two examples. Trulia is the best for home values because they build their home value estimates from more factors than any other app, such as city and county assessments, local comparative sales of similar homes, and price history trends. Eight out of 10 times they are within 20% of the sales price.
The app is free for users, and Trulia earns its revenue mainly through advertising.
BEST FOR RENTALS
Realtor
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Realtor.com is associated with the National Association of Realtors and 800 regional multiple listing services. Realtors can update their listings daily for free, making it a winner for the best for rentals. By having human agents update their listings, landlords benefit from finding qualified prospective tenants faster.
Pros
Users can hide a listing from their search results
Search other rentals in the same area with a touch of a button
Shows when listing was last updated
Property listings include neighborhood noise level assessments
Cons
Clicking on “Contact Agent” will not go to the listing agent
Limited search criteria
Realtor.com was founded in 1996 and is currently owned by Move, Inc., a branch of News Corporation (NWS). The Realtor app is the best for rental unit owners because it shows when the rental listing was last updated, which is one of the top demands by renters in the app feedback comments. It provides surrounding area information on schools, crime, and noise—another primary interest. An app that caters to its target market as Realtor does enjoys lots of views. Combine all of that renter traffic with the fact that landlords can list their property and accept applications for free, and you can see why Realtor earned our nod for best app for rentals.
The app shows properties through pictures and sometimes video tours, making it easy for a rental property owner to highlight the best features of the home and give prospective tenants a good feel for the property before they ever walk in the door. Realtor’s app is free to use and earns its revenue mainly through advertising.
BEST FOR RENTERS
Apartments.com
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Apartments.com is a renters favorite place thanks to the biggest inventory of rentals on the market combined with amazing imagery to show prospective tenants what the property offers. Prospective tenants can apply directly through the app.
Pros
Largest inventory updated daily by an in-house research team
Apartments.com not only features apartments, but also houses, townhouses, studio homes, and condos
Within the app, you can send your application to the landlord or property manager through the “Apply now” feature
Search filters include wheelchair access, air conditioning, dishwasher, and whether the unit has a washer/dryer or just a hookup
Cons
The app is rated well across platforms, but users sometimes face problems with sorting and updates
Apartments.com does a good job of showing what’s nearby; however, it lacks in displaying the crime stats of the neighborhoods
The in-app application feature is convenient, but there is a cost of $25 in order to apply to up to 10 properties in a month
Apartments.com, founded in 1992, has been owned by the CoStar Group (CSGP) since 2014. CoStar researches the best commercial real estate companies in the United States. It has helped Apartments.com by providing them with a large research crew providing attractive listings through its professional photography and videography.
The app’s revenue comes mostly from advertising fees as well as the application fees that cost up to $25 for every 10 applications in a 30-day period. Apartments.com won best for renters because of its large inventory of not only apartments but also rental houses, condos, and townhomes combined with its convenient “apply now” feature within the app. It has extensive search and sort capabilities that we found to be more hearty than other apps.
BEST FOR ENTREPRENEURS
LoopNet.com
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LoopNet.com is the best real estate app for entrepreneurs because it only lists commercial properties. This saves investors time and frustration because they do not have to sort and filter through homes and individual apartments for sale and rent.
Pros
Users can receive in-depth looks at the available properties with pictures, videos, neighborhood stats, street views, investment highlights from the broker, and extensive property facts
Robust filter criteria to search properties for sale or for lease
Alerts tell you when your favorite properties have been updated
You can contact the listing broker with one click
Cons
Some reported bugs with the available space search function
The app inventory lags the online website inventory
LoopNet was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The platform is owned by the CoStar Group, which owns several other information and marketplace websites. LoopNet is solely for commercial property investors. This is not an app to search for a home to buy and live in, nor to seek an apartment to rent. It provides exposure to the largest active searching tenant community.
Search by location, and whether you want a property to buy or lease. There are 12 property types to search, such as retail, healthcare, office, restaurant, and multifamily apartment buildings, for example. Filter by price, size, year built, and capitalization rate. Further sort by listing date or whether the listing includes a video or a 3D tour as well.
LoopNet’s app excels at efficiently connecting app users to commercial listing brokers, which is why it wins the best app for entrepreneurs. Investors and listing brokers can swiftly exchange information and schedule tours all from within the app. Since timing can be a critical factor when closing on an investment property, the app notifications, convenient communication, and streamlined listing inventory are important assets.
The platform earns its revenue through commissions, listing fees, and advertising fees.
What Are Real Estate Apps?
Real estate apps are mobile applications aimed at making the process of property transactions easy. These apps are designed in a way that makes it easy for buyers, sellers, realtors, landlords, and investors to find each other quickly and conveniently.
Real estate apps consist of vast databases with hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions, of properties listed in them. This helps buyers look for their ideal home within the comfort of their homes, cars, or even from across the country. Sellers, landlords, and property managers also benefit from these apps as they can post details of their listings on multiple channels.
Real estate apps also offer a convenient advertising platform for realtors and agents who are looking to build their client base and acquire leads. In a few years, these apps may drastically shrink the size of in-person brokerages.
How Do Real Estate Apps Determine Home Value?
Real estate apps perform a comparative market analysis to determine the value of a property. These apps use cutting-edge technology to track and import market trends, location, neighborhood, property condition, tax records, and nearby sales.
Following this step, the app analyses property details like the number of rooms, bathrooms, the size of the porch, the availability of parking spaces, gardens, and swimming pools, to name a few. The app will then study previous sales in the neighborhood with similar specifications.
Even though recent sales are an effective method of setting a valuation, real estate apps also look at current listings, pending sales, as well as the available inventory to determine more accurate results. All of these steps contribute to property valuation.
Are Real Estate Apps Accurate?
Real estate apps have faced accuracy issues from the start. One of the reasons real estate apps are so powerful and have overtaken older forms of property searching, such as newspapers and realtor-led home visits, is also the same reason the apps have fought accuracy challenges. Apps deliver exponentially more properties to buyers, renters, and investors because they scrape established databases on the internet for this information. If there is inaccurate information in one of those databases, it will translate that inaccuracy to the app as well.
The process is not foolproof, but app users can minimize this by cross-checking information across other apps and with actual human realtors. The real estate app companies are also trying to make up for the inaccuracies in their databases by employing researchers to verify information in their property records.
How We Chose The Best Real Estate Apps
To select the best seven apps, we reviewed 15 different real estate apps. We analyzed their features, read their customer reviews, and tested the searching criteria they offer.
Special emphasis was given to app reviews, bug fixes, search and filter criteria, intuitive functions, and the amount of neighborhood research. We compared these apps to see the quality provided, then checked the user interface, details, and notification features of each app.
Lastly, we looked into the source of the listings. We checked if the sources were exclusive or borrowed and whether the information was credible. Our main goal was to check if there were any discrepancies in the sources. After extensive research, the above-mentioned apps were chosen as the best options for those looking for buying, renting, selling, or investing in real estate property.
apps for house
Buying a home is likely the most expensive purchase you will ever make in your life. If you plan to spend six figures or more on a single transaction, it is best to go into it with the best knowledge and information to get the best deal possible. Real estate apps can help you do this and can give you greater insight into the market where you’re looking to make a purchase, so you can nab the house of your dreams. But before you go download any old real estate app, it’s good to know that there are a few different types to consider: Some have a larger volume of house listings, while others are more geared toward commercial real estate and even auction properties. There’s even one that can score you some discounted home-buying fees. So whether you’re on an active house hunt, looking for an investment property or want to put your abode on the market, take a look below to learn more about (and download) the best real estate apps available today.
Best Real Estate Apps of 2022
Best Overall: Zillow
Best For Discounted Home Buying Fees: Redfin
Best for Learning About Real Estate: BiggerPockets
Best for Commercial Real Estate: LoopNet
Best for Most Houses: Realtor.com
Best for An Active Home Search: Trulia
Best for a Team Real Estate Search: Homesnap
Best for Auctions: Xome
Best Real Estate Apps
Zillow
Redfin
BiggerPockets
LoopNet
Realtor.Com
Trulia
Homesnap
Xome
What Is A Real Estate App?
What Does A Real Estate App Cost?
What Do Real Estate Apps Provide?
Methodology
BEST OVERALL
Zillow
Zillow
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Zillow is arguably the best known real estate app, and for good reason. Zillow was a pioneer in online home value estimates and tells users estimated home values, past sale prices and more for virtually every home in the United States. If you are a homeowner, you can create an account to track your estimated home value over time and insights into a potential sale price if you decide it’s time to move.
If you are looking to buy a home, you should definitely bookmark the Zillow website and download the app to your smartphone. The Zillow app lets you view home prices by location on the go and offers filters and search options to zero in on your next home.
BEST FOR DISCOUNTED HOME BUYING FEES
Redfin
Redfin
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Redfin is both an app and a brokerage firm. The app is excellent, offering estimated home values that are sometimes more accurate than Zillow’s algorithm. One of the best features of the mobile app for anyone in an active home search is the ability to filter on upcoming open houses. While it may not lead to your next home, it does give you an idea of what homes are like in the area and what you can expect to get for your money.
The standard real estate fees for Redfin are lower than traditional agents. When selling, most homes list for 1.5 percent, and when buying, the average buyer gets a $1,500 refund back on the agent fees.
BEST FOR LEARNING ABOUT REAL ESTATE
BiggerPockets
Bigger Pockets
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BiggerPockets offers a huge range of free resources to learn about real estate, including blog posts, podcasts, ebooks, guides, and forums. The app is a gateway into the BiggerPockets world, which is also available through the website
You can learn a ton about buying a home that will increase in value, as well as how to do work on a property to get the best return on your investment. If you want to take your real estate game to the next level and get into real estate investing, this is the top resource on the Web.
BEST FOR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
LoopNet
LoopNet
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Speaking of real estate investing, the best app for real estate investors may be LoopNet. This real estate app is like Zillow for bigger properties. If you want a multi-unit or commercial property, you won’t find many details on the other sites on this list. LoopNet is exclusively for commercial property investors.
Plugging in your local area often yields a range of results for multi-unit residential and commercial office spaces. But remember that with real estate investments you don’t have to buy in your local market. You may do much better buying out of town or even out of state.
BEST FOR MOST HOUSES
Realtor.com
Realtor.com
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Realtor.com is, not surprisingly, the official search portal for the National Association of Realtors. One benefit of using its site is the close relationship realtors have with the Multiple Listing System (MLS) that provides data feeds used by most sites on this list. Because of the special relationship, however, Realtor.com is often updated a little faster and has a wider range of listed properties.
If you don’t yet have a real estate agent, Realtor.com makes it easy to connect with a local agent as well. Though be sure to thoroughly vet any new agent before hiring them or signing an exclusive agreement. You should shop around for both agents and homes before buying.
BEST FOR AN ACTIVE HOME SEARCH
Trulia
Trulia
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Trulia started as an independent company but is now owned by Zillow. This brought some of the behind the scenes data from Trulia to Zillow and vice versa. Zillow is best for the general home ownership lifecycle, including tracking your current home’s value. Trulia is better for those in an active home search.
Trulia offers very focused tools for one purpose, finding a new home to buy, and does it quite well. Some great features include abilities to filter your search by specific home features, such as hardwood floors, so you know you will only see and review homes that could meet your needs.
BEST FOR A TEAM REAL ESTATE SEARCH
Homesnap
HomeSnap
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Homesnap has features useful for home buyers and real estate agents alike. While it has the regular MLS-powered search features that most real estate apps have, Homesnap adds messaging and sharing features that make home buying with a spouse or partner or even getting your parents to chime in, much simpler.
HomeSnap also claims real-time MLS updates, which gives you access to new and updated listings as quickly as possible. In competitive home buying markets such as Denver and Portland, that added speed could be the difference in a winning bid and missing out on a home completely.
BEST FOR AUCTIONS
Xome
Xome
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If you love the action of an auction, you’ll love Xome. Xome offers real estate search similar to many others. But it also brings you access to real estate auctions. Some auctions come through the MLS while others are exclusive to the Xome platform.
The Homes Only on Xome section of the site offers options to nab a deal on bank-owned, foreclosed, short-sale, and standard home listings. For real estate investing, this feature is a great addition as you may be able to pick up a property before it hits the general market at a lower rate. The lower price paid means higher profit when you sell. That, after all, is what real estate investing is all about.
What Is a Real Estate App?
A real estate app is an app that brings you a variety of real estate services on the go. You can search for homes, look for a commercial property to house your business, find a realtor, or look up your current home’s value. Real estate apps combine real estate knowledge and technology in a convenient format that is easy to use. Each real estate app has different features and tools that cater to specializations. Some features are better suited for those seeking commercial properties, others will help you determine home valuations, and other tools can make you a better landlord.
How Much Does a Real Estate App Cost?
Real estate apps are typically free. Most apps allow you to freely browse properties, lenders, and agents. You can also use these apps to read about news and major events in the industry for free. However, if you want to list your house for sale on the app, then there may be fees. There may be listing fees between 1% and 3% of the home’s selling price. If you’re a broker who wants to put a commercial listing in the app’s database, that will cost you, too.
What Should You Expect From a Real Estate App?
Real estate apps vary greatly from one another, so you can expect different things from different apps. For example, you may expect to see businesses for sale on an app that specializes in commercial properties. Other apps focus on auctions, so you can expect to find live auctions with bank-owned homes and foreclosures on an app like that. Some typical features you could expect to find on most real estate apps include active listings that are currently on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), agent and lender referrals, and blogs about the latest real estate news.
How We Chose the Best Real Estate Apps
There are a plethora of real estate apps out there. We combed through many of them and decided on the best 8 to recommend to you. We chose these top 8 real estate apps by weighing major factors including unique features, the type of real estate they’re best suited for, tools and perks they offer, and their search functions.
Conclusion
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