Now is the right time to invest in real estate app development in UAE, and there is a secret behind it.
Would you like to know it?
Okay, then the secret is that residential real estate is dominating the market in UAE, with a market volume of $0.39 trillion in 2023 (Statista). It encourages realtors to invest in the market and improve their services utilizing trending technology such as AR and VR, virtual assistants, automation, etc.
With a real estate app in UAE, you can target 97% of the users searching for property online, where 9.20 million out of the total population uses mobile internet. Investing in a mobile app is perfect if you want to grow your property business.
Here, we have created a comprehensive real estate app development guide that will take you through a bunch of information you can leverage for your next real estate app.
Let’s start with some eye-opening stats!
UAE’s real estate market is expected to be $0.69 trillion in 2023, and with a CAGR of 2.97% (2023-2028), its market volume is expected to be $0.80 billion by 2028.
If we go specifically, it is divided into commercial real estate ($0.30tn, 2023) and residential real estate ($0.39, 2023).
By 2028, they are both expected to rise, respectively, to $0.35 trillion and $ 0.46 trillion. It is only one key stat; others also exist. But one thing is sure, the real estate market in the UAE is much bigger than expected.
Here are some other stats that will give you a glimpse into understanding the real estate market in the UAE.
As an additional stat, the size of the global real estate market is $10.7 billion, and the estimated market size for 2030 is $14.6 billion.
The overall real estate market is evolving rapidly, and a major contribution is due to the increasing demand for commercial & residential property and the involvement of technology.
Have you ever thought about the driving forces behind the growth of the real estate market in Dubai? If not, then the next section of this blog contains an ultimate revelation about it.
Multiple factors are behind the real estate market’s growth, such as the economy, government policies, population growth, interest rates, etc. So, let’s read about these:
1. Rise in the Remote Workforce:
Since the pandemic, most companies have been operating remotely, and their workforce is on work from home or their respective locations.
It increased the demand for properties where people can work and live with their loved ones. However, it decreased the trend of the commercial property market.
2. Swift economic Recovery:
Post Covid UAE’s economy is swiftly recovering, and there is a boom in the real estate sector, including other sectors such as tourism, inflows of foreign capital, increasing oil export prices, and others.
The property and real estate market is one of the strongest players in its economy, so it gets more investment from corporations, housing firms, and the government.
3. Reformed Visa Policies:
One of the driving forces behind the growth of the UAE’s real estate market is reformed visa rules to encourage foreign investment. It made it easy for foreign investors to obtain a golden or silver visa and invest in the property market.
4. Technology:
Technology is also the biggest factor behind the growth of the real estate market. In the UAE, smart homes are trending due to real estate mobile app development.
Now most people search for properties they rent, buy or sell online. Mobile apps are making tasks easy for realtors and property seekers.
5. Luxury Housing Trends:
In UAE, luxury home sales are booming. In Q1, 2023, luxury home sales reached $1.63 billion, with localities like Al Wasl/Dubai Canal, Jumeirah Bay Island, and Palm Jumeirah being its major contributors.
6. Employment Rate:
Dubai has the highest and lowest unemployment rates globally, which encourages professionals to settle there for growth. Due to the ripple effect, it increased the demand for corporate and residential housing.
These factors are enough to prove that real estate businesses can have more growth where a mobile app can help them connect with a larger audience base. The above factors are also perfect to convince you why you should be in real estate app development.
There is no doubt that technology is fueling growth in the real estate industry, as it has multiple benefits. More and more real estate brands tend to develop a mobile app in Dubai for real estate. As nearly 95% of users search for property online, it is time to leverage this trend.
Here are some potential benefits of having custom real estate software development in the UAE for business.
The real estate mobile app is the best for increasing the visibility of listings and agents. Manually, it is time-consuming for real estate agents to showcase the property listing to customers.
Here, an app makes tasks easy for a realtor. They can effortlessly showcase property listings online with all the details, and it is paperless, which saves time and money.
One of the best benefits of mobile real estate apps is improved user experience. It helps end users in multiple ways, such as easy property browsing, listing details, price, and more. Users can connect with realtors and agents in no time via in-app communication.
A mobile app can help real estate agents in Dubai increase lead conversion. When a user finds all the information on the click and as a realtor, you can connect with them in no time, it will increase the chances of lead conversion. You can schedule appointments, track leads, send reminders, and more with an app.
Real estate mobile app development is a worthy investment. The evolution of technology forced multiple industries to go digital, and real estate is one of them. A mobile app helps a real estate business with task automation that saves time & costs and increases the business’s reach.
Most of the GenX population searches for property online, and they find it most convenient to search for a property to rent or buy using a cutting-edge mobile app. Using a feature-rich real estate mobile app in Dubai, UAE, you can leverage this trend to connect strongly with them.
It is easy to apply marketing efforts with an app. It works like a mobile app that collects the customers’ data that you can utilize to understand trends, their preferences, what they are searching for on the app, what the common budget of customers is, and others.
Based on it, you can make a strategy and apply it for business growth. Additionally, you can promote your brand directly on social media platforms with social media channel integration to your app.
Trending app ideas can help you boost business growth, or if you are new to the real estate business in UAE, it can help you establish yourself. Here are these:
It is more convenient to find a property online than to search from building to building or locality to locality. If you want to start a property business, then developing a property listing app is a perfect idea.
Here, a mobile app development agency in UAE can help you develop it. The app will help your customers find a suitable property by browsing the listings based on their preferences.
AR/VR is not now in the technical articles or research papers; it is now real and multiple brands are leveraging this technology. The best examples are Amazon AR: Room Decorator, Gucci App, Dulux Paint, and Coca-Cola.
Some of the top brands from the real estate industry also leverage it; the best examples are Zillow, Compass, and Sotheby’s International Realty. The AR/VR apps provide a unique property inspection experience.
You can also consider it a potential real estate app idea to start a business in Dubai, UAE. It will save time for your customers, and they can visit the property from their phone or VR device instead of going in person.
If you are a realtor or a broker who deals in the property rental business, then a property rental app can help you increase your customer base and boost business growth.
You can also develop it as a property rental marketplace where brokers, property owners, and customers can register for their specific needs. Its best examples are NestAway and Airbnb.
It is one of the hot ideas that you can consider for development. Most tenants prefer to know the reviews and feedback about the location where they want to purchase or rent the property.
Nowadays, people search for amenities, transportation mediums, connectivity, environment, safety, etc. If you can provide honest property reviews, your app will get more publicity and attract more users.
Mortgage, taxes, and repair expenses are tough to calculate, even if some people need clarification. What if they have an app that can help them calculate it accurately?
This idea has good scope, and you can connect it with your existing property app. So, the people can calculate the expenses and make a final decision.
There are multiple methods for passive income, and investing in real estate is one of the safest.
Developing a real estate app for investment is one of the revenue generation ideas you can earn by providing personalized suggestions and tips to your customers. It will also help in managing the demand and supply chain in the best way.
The household management app helps in managing & maintaining the households available for rent and sale.
These apps benefit real estate agents, tenants, and people who want to buy property. Here, agents can leverage it for automating maintenance tasks; on the other hand, tenants and homebuyers can view the status of the property.
It is a challenge to generate and manage leads as it requires time and effort to do tasks such as shortlisting potential leads, following up with the clients, setting up a reminder message, resolving issues, and others.
So, the best trending idea to make it easy is a cutting-edge lead generation app. It will help realtors perform tasks such as sending emails, booking appointments, tracking leads, organizing leads, and generating data-driven insights.
Some customers used to buy property from auctions. However, these customers are the premier type of customers.
Finding the right auction event at the right time is tough, so an app can make it possible for a customer to have all the information on their screen and participate in an online auction instead of spending too much time being presented in person.
Renting, selling or buying a property requires much documentation, and a country like the UAE has strict rules and regulations.
Make all documents available, including legally formatted documents, so the realtors and tenants can download them at a nominal fee to make an authentic deal.
You can choose any of the ideas listed above, but do you know about real estate app features? If not, then the upcoming section will help you. It will take you through all the features you must have in your real estate app.
If you are new to the business and have some limitations with business & budget, then real estate mobile MVP is the best idea, and it can fit into your budget.
From the definition point of view, Minimum Viable Product is an app with all core features and functionality. So, here is a list of all the features that you must have in your app.
The most crucial feature of any property app is the search option, which is more effective if it has multiple filters. It will improve the whole search process and make it faster. Here you can include features based on location, property type, price (low to high or vice versa), size, and more.
It is also an important feature that you must include in your app. It will help you showcase all available properties with photos, descriptions, and contact information. Ensure that it is clear and visually appealing, containing images, details, small descriptions, and others.
The map integration helps realtors accurately share the property location with customers or a real estate agent can share the map location with tenants if they want to visit it in person. The best point is that you do need to put extra effort into it.
Integrating off-the-shelf map solutions such as Google Maps and Mapbox is the best idea. To implement it effectively, it is best to seek the help of experienced real estate software developers.
Admin panel helps manage overall tasks, and you must include it in your MVP. It will facilitate the following tasks, such as:
Communication with customers is one of the factors for the success of a business. So, include in-app communication in your real-estate app.
Implementing features like in-app calling, in-app messaging, and chat will facilitate staying connected with your customers. For any discussion or sending any update to your customers, you can send it directly to their device.
For safety, the user verification and validation registration process is a must. Another advantage of registration is that users can customize their accounts as needed, such as adding preferences, saving favourites, etc. You can simplify it by including social login methods like Facebook, Twitter, or Google.
Suppose you are developing a real estate marketplace for UAE users, then two types of users will be onboarded to your app., i.e., tenants or end users, agents or brokers.
Once they register on your app, they will be able to create their profile to showcase the details like contact number, email id, address, alternate contact number, and other details they wish to display on their profile.
The MLS stands for multiple listing services. It stands for the database where brokers provide real-time data and information about the properties.
Integrating the MLS database will improve the search functionality of your app and ensure the availability of multiple options for customers.
In UAE, the most preferred online payment method is cards and wallets. Payment gateway integration is one of the potential features that you need to add to your app. It will facilitate your users payments as per their preferred method.
Appointment booking benefits all end users, including realtors, brokers, agents, and end users. It will help app users book appointments whenever they need. Its other advantage is time management, where brokers or agents can manage their time as per appointments booked.
Real Estate is booming, and mobile apps are playing a key role. Although multiple real estate apps are available over app stores for developing a unique app, it is necessary to know the real estate app development process. So here are some steps to follow while developing an app for your property business.
Developing without requirements is like driving on an endless road. It will take you nowhere, so collect all the requirements first, like:
Document all these requirements in a clear format to explain and discuss later with mobile app developers or a company you will hire to develop your app in UAE.
One of the successful formulas for developing an app that can disrupt trends is to learn about the market and your competitors.
Find out the existing market trends and what your competitors are doing to expand their reach with more customers, improve their service quality, expand their presence in the market, and more.
Once you have collected requirements and extracted valuable information from market & competitor research, you have won half of the battle.
Now it’s time to consider What things you can include to make your app unique from the competitors. Multiple real estate apps are available for Dubai, UAE users, and some of the top apps are Property Finder App, Bayut App, Ejari App, Makani App etc.
The competition is tough, so think about what features & functionalities you can include, what challenges you will solve that other real estate apps are failed to do, and more.
Real Estate database and listings are like a soul for a property app. It is also a big challenge to arrange a database and listings.
So, you can connect your app to multiple listing services—a database created and maintained by brokers Or Purchase data from an authentic data company. The database and listing will help you and your users search multiple properties for the right ones.
A team of experienced professionals is a must for realtor mobile app development. They ensure its quality and seamless functioning with an intuitive user interface.
The real estate app developers will assist you throughout the process to shape your idea into a successful app. So, hire dedicated mobile app developers to design and develop your app. Once you have done it, then the actual process will start.
First, think about the user flow—how an end user and a broker or agent will interact with your app and how they will navigate through your real estate app.
Think about it on the ground and discuss it with your team of real estate app developers in the UAE. Once you both reach a common goal, then start designing your app.
In this phase, the real estate app developers will code for the front end and back end to make your app fully functional using their coding skills. Here, you need to ensure that they use the latest tech stack by keeping aspects such as scalability and flexibility in mind.
After developing the app, test it on all possible scenarios that happen with a real estate app so the bugs can be removed accordingly, or if there is still any issue with the functionality, it can be corrected. Once satisfied with the testing, it’s time to launch your app, and congratulations, You have done it.
A Tip: Do not forget about the maintenance and regular updating of the app. It ensures a fine user experience, smooth app functioning, scalability, and other benefits.
The best idea to build a real estate mobile app is to take inspiration from some of the top realtors’ apps in UAE. So, here are the top-5 real estate mobile apps you can consider for developing an app.
Regarding top real estate apps in UAE, Bayut appeared as the first name. It is a leading property app in UAE that connects end users, investors, realtors, agents, and brokers on a common platform.
It offers a wide database of active properties from which users can choose to rent or purchase based on their budget and preferences. The Bayut app also helps in property sales.
Another legendary app is Dubizzle, a real estate classified app in UAE that allows users to sell, purchase, and rent property according to their own parameters, such as requirements and budget. It covers the whole UAE and its major emirates, such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, etc. Not only the property, but you can also rent a room on it.
Although the Makani app is geo-an addressing app and has been adopted as an addressing system by the Emirates of Dubai, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah & Ras Al Khaimah, you can consider its model for your next real estate app, where your customers can directly find the address of available properties for rent, sale or buy.
Not only in UAE but also in the middle east Property Finder app makes it easy for anyone to find the desired property. Using the app, you can find a villa or flat to buy or rent. It offers services across UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
#5. DAMAC Living
DAMAC Living is the best example for referring to a property management app. It offers the best digitalisation experience in the real estate sector, where you can set up AutoPay, digital handover of properties, book home services or amenities or more.
Developing a real estate app in UAE is beneficial for business, but there are certain challenges associated with it that you need to know. It is required to know these so you can develop an app correctly.
Data integration is crucial for a property listing app or a property management app, but here the challenge is to synchronize the data, especially when multiple sources are associated. Its solution is to make a strategy before integrating the data so that synchronization occurs seamlessly.
For any real estate app in this world, searching and filtering are important feature. It facilitates the users finding the right property. The challenge is implementing search algorithms that can lead users to the right results. Here, an experienced real estate software development company in UAE can help.
User experience is one of the biggest factors that can connect or distract users from a property listing app. So, the challenge is to make it visually attractive by considering all requirements, such as users’ preferences, app ideas and mechanisms.
All real estate apps hold sensitive information of all users, including personal and financial details. So, the challenge is to make information secure. For the same reason, consulting with expert real estate app developers in Dubai would be best.
Scalability is a must for every real estate app, as it handles many users. Here, the challenge is to implement the storage and high traffic handling capability. That can’t be possible without the help of experts. Another solution is using Cloud Technologies such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud.
As a business owner, my whole quest is to generate revenue via a real estate mobile app. There are multiple business models you can follow to monetize your app, so these are:
One of the simplest and most traditional ideas is to earn money from third-party ads. Based on a fee, you can allow third parties to showcase their ad on your real-estate platform. The point you need to take care of is not to allow too many ads; it can irritate your customers.
The Freemium model is also a good option to generate revenue from an app. Of course, it is free to use, but if people need advanced features, they need to purchase the premium plan, that will be ad-free and loaded with premium features.
In-app purchase model can also be a potential option for your real estate app, where people can search, buy, sell, or rent the property and purchase products such as home decoration, home accessories, and more.
It can be beneficial if you want to develop a real estate marketplace. Here, you can offer premium listing services to the brokers, including premium features that will not be available for basic members.
If your question is how much it costs to develop a real estate app in UAE, then it is hard to find the exact price as multiple factors are associated.
But yes, the approximate cost is $15,000–$25,000 for a basic app. It can go up to $50,000 or more based on requirements. Let’s look at the breakdown on which the overall cost depends.
The major impact factor of the app development cost is hiring a development team. If we talk about hourly hiring costs, it starts from $20 onwards.
The other point is the experience of developers. If you want expert developers, their hiring costs start from $30.
You can also hire mobile app developers based on the following:
For creating the best user experience, UI/UX is a must for any app in this world. It is also required to captivate the attention of target users, so here you need to spend $3000 onwards as a cost to develop UI/UX for real estate apps.
The features integration costs range between $15,000 and $25,000, or more if you need advanced features. It can include integrating features like payments, maps, calls or others.
Quality analysis is a must when you are expecting the best business outcome from the app. So, testing is necessary. Its approximate cost ranges between $3000-$6000.
Hiring developers is only beneficial for tasks related to design and development. But for an appropriate development flow, project management is a must. The project management cost remains 10% to 15% of the overall project development budget.
The overall real estate app development cost is like this:
The quality of an app depends on who will develop it. If you are planning to hire a team or real estate app development company in UAE, then you need to focus on the following points:
If you find a company satisfactory based on all these points, you can hire them.
A mobile app is the best option to handle key challenges faced by a real estate business, and it is true that these apps are making life easy for a customer, realtor, broker, agent, and business owner.
The only condition is that it must be developed in the right way. In this guide, you have found all the necessary information that can greatly help you. Still, you can contact any trustworthy mobile app development agency in Dubai, UAE, if you need more information.
Being a real estate software development company in Dubai, we are here to address all your app development needs, provide real estate software solutions for your every business need and make your business grow.
We have a team of certified & dedicated mobile app developers, and they have domain expertise to shape the app as per clients’ expectations. We ensure the best experience in mobile app development for real estate businesses in the UAE.
