Best Real Estate Website Builders For Agents & Brokers
Today’s site-building market can offer you piles of decent solutions with the most popular functions covered. However, when you need one for a specific domain – and it is as specific as real estate – your choice will be tangibly narrower. Moreover, not all site builders with built-ins for real estate businesses will be optimal for your project.
The good news is that proper platforms for creating real estate websites do exist. You only need to know how to choose the best one. Read this article until the end, and you’ll learn what makes a site builder a truly precious real estate solution. Wish to know the best platforms at once? Then, go straight to the section with the Top 5 Best Real Estate Website Builders available in the industry today.
How to Choose a Real Estate Website Builder?
A successful real estate online project should be able to engage customers thanks to a quality showcase of its property. Your website should allow visitors to pick objects according to their locations and other preferences. It should also have all the necessary equipment for maintaining leads and conducting secure transactions.
So, clear design and specific functionality are the key needs of any realtor’s site. A good real estate site builder will provide your website with at least the following features:
- ease of use;
- professional templates with appealing designs;
- a proper IDX plugin;
- lead management tools;
- a CRM.
Besides these functions, a real estate website – like any other online site – should have good SEO & analytics, be responsive, and offer convenient payments.
As to IDX plugins, this is the core element of any real estate website. IDX stands for Internet Data Exchange, and this is the very system through which realtors create their own listings by connecting this or that MLS (Multiple Listing Service.) Potential clients, in their turn, can search for properties of their interest.
The better organized IDX a real estate website builder offers, the more convenient a website for your clients you’ll be able to build.
So, while choosing the #1 real estate builder, you need to pay attention to the functional capabilities of your chosen website builder in general, as well as select one that has proper IDX and other real-estate-oriented features.
Best Website Builders for Real Estate
If you want to save time and get a ready list of the best website builders for realtors, we are here to help. There are two ways to get the best result. You can use a real estate builder proper and an all-purpose website builder with an IDX plugin. Below, you can find the top-effective site builders of both types.
1. IXACT Contact
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platform of IXACT Contact starts our top list. The builder was launched by a solid Canadian company, Morris Real Estate Marketing Group, in 2007. It was initially created with realtors’ needs in mind. Although IXACT Contact offers plenty of features, the builder is beginner-friendly and can be used by non-coders.
IXACT Contact Pros & Cons
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Special Real Estate Features
Take IXACT Contact as a simple but workable platform with all basic needs covered. One of the strongest points of the CRM is that it goes with excellent automated email marketing tools. Among the key features are monthly e-Newsletters, drip campaigns for lead nurture, special e-Card templates for listings, just-sold forms, holiday campaigns, birthdays, and more.
IXACT Contact offers powerful tools for lead generation and lead capture. You can connect the Social Stream add-on to your website, and the process of finding leads on social media networks will work automatically.
The platform will let you create an agent website in no time. Expect it to be mobile-responsive, attractive in terms of design and usability, and supplied with a blog. Paid add-ons include a version for teams, the Broker Program, IDX solutions for agent websites, IXACT Recruiter, and several others.
One more convenience from IXACT Contact is the Keep in Touch Coach. With this smart tool, you won’t ever forget to make important calls, send emails, etc.
IXACT Contact Cost
There’s no free plan, but IXACT Contact offers a free trial. Its starting plan is $45/mo. When ready for yearly billing, the price will be $38/mo. You can also order a custom plan from the company.
2. Placester
Placester is a dedicated real estate site builder whose story started in 2009. Today, this is a powerful platform for creating and managing a realtor’s website fully equipped for real estate activities.
Placester Contact Pros & Cons
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Special Real Estate Features
You can effortlessly build an effective real estate website with the help of Placester. No coding skills are needed, and at your disposal will be about 30 responsive templates with real-estate-oriented designs. Your customization freedom won’t be endless, but you’ll have enough features to create your website’s unique and appealing design.
Placester offers Agent Manager software, that is, a set of instruments tailored for smooth real estate brokerage. With super admin rights, you can easily manage agent websites, exercise control over your back office, and make changes to it with a click.
Placester also has its Marketplace through which it offers various services. There, you can hire a team of web design professionals who will create an original website for you fully equipped for your needs. You’ll only need to customize it.
A vital plus of Placester is that it charges you a fee for active agents only. That is, you won’t pay for every registered agent. You’ll pay a fee for agents who have created a website on Placester.
Placester Cost
Placester offers three plans. The cheapest DIY (Do It Yourself) plan is $99, and it does not include updates, automatic maintenance for your website, and other significant features. So, for a solid real estate business, the other two plans might fit more. These are DIFM Website ($149/mo) and DIFM Content Pro ($399/mo).
3. Real Geeks
Want to build a lead generation website designed for real estate activities? Then, Real Geeks is the best platform for you. Launched in 2007 by a successful realtor, Real Geeks was initially supplied with a real-estate-focused CRM and lead management tools.
Real Geeks Contact Pros & Cons
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Special Real Estate Features
Real Geeks is an all-in-one solution for professional realtors. The platform can offer everything your real estate business needs and even more.
Real Geeks has the broadest choice of industry-oriented templates. You can create agent landing pages, coming-soon pages, custom lead capture forms, and more. You can integrate an IDX, and the Home Valuation tool will be a pleasant specialty for your prospective and existing clients.
Real Geeks boasts its integrations. The platform offers the Facebook Marketing tool for creating ads that truly capture leads on the social media network. The platform has enough tools for smart email marketing. One of its specialties is the Real Geeks AI Assistant. This complex of instruments will help you immediately respond to every lead so that you never lose a chance.
The platform will provide your website with a quality, multi-functional CRM, also available in the form of a mobile app, as well as with useful applications (through the APInation software). Finally, you can subscribe to Real Leads, an advanced program for lead management.
Real Geeks Cost
Real Geeks offers no free plan. You can set up a Real Geeks website at $250, and the monthly fee will be $299/mo. You can connect one team member for this price. Every new member will Cost you $25 a month.
When you wish to enhance your website with the Real Geeks specialties like Real Leads or Facebook Marketing, you’ll have to pay $600 a month. The company will let you try a demo version of its platform to sense if the platform offers good value for money.
4. WordPress + IDX Plugin
WordPress belongs to universal solutions based on open-source code. This platform can be used for creating everything. WordPress will let you build a website of whatever complexity and for whatever purpose, including real estate.
WordPress Contact Pros & Cons
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Special Real Estate Features
Be ready for a massive collection of real estate plugins compatible with WordPress. First of all, you’ll get the widest choice of IDX platforms. You can connect your website to the top-popular plugins for email marketing, lead generation, lead capture, analytics, security, SEO, and many more.
As to designs, you can work out your website’s appearance from scratch when you know how to code or can hire someone with the corresponding skills. Another way is to choose one of the WordPress themes designed for realtor websites. While free themes may not suit you, you can purchase a premium theme with an accurate design tailored for smart real estate activities.
WordPress Cost
WordPress is free. That is, you can download and use the platform without spending a dime. However, building and launching a professional real estate website will require certain investments. At least, you’ll need to pay for hosting and premium themes/add-ons.
Moreover, you might need expert help unless you are a pro coder yourself. In the end, your website may Cost you from $500 to $30,000 and higher. The more complex website you plan, the higher the Cost will be.
However, WordPress is the best solution for large real estate businesses planning to run an advanced website with unique design and special options.
5. iHome Finder
Need a reliable IDX plugin for your WordPress website? iHome Finder can be the one. This IDX CRM integrates ideally with CMS platforms like Wix, Squarespace, and, surely, WordPress. You can also use iHome Finder as a dedicated solution, that is, build a fully functional website for real estate activities.
iHome Finder Contact Pros & Cons
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Special Real Estate Features
At iHome Finder, a dozen real estate designs will be at your disposal. Their number will grow as soon as you upgrade to a more expensive plan. Even the cheapest plans for a website or a plugin are packed with a massive number of features, enough for an effective start.
You can expect to get all the necessary basics for lead conversion & capture, brokerage, market reports, etc. Your clients will have access to the property search banner with standard options on your website. Your plan will include various pre-built IDX pages. The iHome Finder mobile agent app – called Optima Leads – will also be accessible to you.
Within premium plans, your feature set will be much more extended. Available options will include premium search (advanced search forms, quick search widgets, and more), MarketBoost tools, smart email marketing campaigns, automated featured listings management tools, and many more.
When ready to subscribe to the most expensive plan on the platform, you’ll get access to a powerful CRM with multiple instruments (pipeline management, smart lead filtering, lead ratings, etc). One more plus here is excellent instruments for marketing automation. You’ll also get the best level of support (24/7 live chat included).
iHome Finder Cost
The platform offers plenty of pricing solutions. There are three plans for an agent plugin, agent website, and broker/team website. There are also two plans for a broker/team plugin. Compare the prices given below:
Be aware that all plans require an additional one-time setup fee. Its size depends on the plan and ranges from $99 to $499. iHome Finder offers both a free trial and a demo version.
What Is the Best Website Builder for Real Estate?
All real estate builders reviewed are worthy solutions. Which one will be the best for your real estate activities? It depends on your planned site’s size, feature needs, and design expectations.
With a complex project in mind, you should consider WordPress with an integrated IDX plugin or such advanced platforms as Real Geeks and iHome Finder. But be ready for heavy investments.
However, if you are searching for a quick solution for creating a functionally rich but simple-to-use real estate website, we recommend opting for IXACT Contact and Placester. For a competitive price, the platforms will offer you enough tools for professional real estate activities.
