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In today’s digital age, real estate professionals must have a stellar online reputation in order to attract prospective clients. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), some 96% of homebuyers use the internet in their home search. A well-designed real estate website can be a game changer, helping you make an excellent first impression on prospects and leads — converting them into clients.
Beyond serving as the first point of contact, your website should display up-to-date MLS listings through an IDX feed, capture leads seamlessly through marketing automation and display a few buyer and seller testimonials to build your credibility. It should also have a visually appealing look to convey your brand and include tools to improve your content ranking in search. With so many website builders out there, how do you choose the right one?We’ve got you covered! In this article, we’ve meticulously researched and ranked the seven best real estate website builders for 2024
Best real estate website builders: At-a-glance
| Real estate website builder | Starting Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| $79/month | Done-for-you support team and marketing services | |
| $79/month | Team collaboration and advanced CRM tools | |
| Inquire | PPC lead generation | |
| $16/month | A versatile, user-friendly option | |
| Inquire | Advanced IDX feed integration | |
| $500/month | High-end real estate marketing | |
| $49.95 per month plus $249.95 setup fee | Cost-effective IDX integration |
1. Placester
Starting price: $79/month
Notable features:
- Marketing support team to help with daily tasks
- IDX integration
- CRM tools
Pros:
- 30-day free trial
- Offers a marketing support team
- Unlimited page creation
- Content creation services included in the highest package
- Interested agents can book a demo from the button
Cons:
- Do-It-For-Me services have a $500 setup fee and higher monthly subscription
- Templates lack customizability on their homepage
Nobody understands the pains of building an IDX website for agents as well as real estate professionals themselves. Placester was founded in 2011 by former real estate agent Matthew Barba and his tech-savvy colleague Frederick Townes. The pair set out with one specific goal in mind: create the best website builder for real estate. And by some measures, they succeeded!
Placester is popular among real estate professionals who want support building their own website. According to the company homepage, more than 20,000 people have taken advantage of Placester’s IDX integration and CRM tools to manage leads effectively.
One attractive benefit of Placester is that you can create as many pages as you want without extra costs. This feature makes it easy to draw visitors into your website, inviting them to click around and read through testimonial pages, hyperlocal lifestyle blogs and, of course, an MLS listing search page.
Plus, for an additional monthly fee, subscribers can request done-for-you website design services that guarantee unlimited updates to the look and copy. At the highest monthly tier, you can even receive ghostwritten content for your website’s blog and social media posts, along with Google Analytics setup and reports.
2. PropertyBase
Starting price: $79/month
Notable features:
- Salesforce-based CRM
- Transaction reporting
- Contact forms, pop-ups and landing pages
- IDX-enabled
Pros:
- Custom client CRM pipelines
- Built-in hyperlocal SEO features
- Interested agents can book a demo from the button on their homepage
Cons:
- Minimum of 10 users (ideal for brokerages)
- IDX integration comes with an additional fee
- Inconsistent customer service
A good real estate website gets people in the door, but a client relationship manager (CRM) is what documents their journey after they decide to stick around.
Propertybase offers a powerful all-in-one website solution, combining industry-leading IDX integration with a robust Salesforce-based CRM, along with marketing tools, lead generation features and transaction reporting.
Starting at $79 per user per month, PropertyBase’s pricing is competitive among its peers when you factor in the comprehensive features included with the subscription. The builder supports high-quality images and videos for a visually appealing website, and SEO-friendly features help attract qualified leads to share their information through contact forms, pop-ups and landing pages.
Despite PropertyBase’s dazzling features, its customer service team has left users desiring more. So if you need a hands-on support team to walk you through the website building process, it may be better to opt for a platform with more warm fuzzies to offer.
3. BoomTown!
Starting price: Must inquire
Notable features:
- Conversion-optimized page designs
- Zapier integration
- Marketing automation and drip plans
- IDX-enabled
Pros:
- Great PPC lead generation
- Interested agents can book a demo from the button on their homepage
Cons:
- Limited content marketing options
- You don’t own your own leads
BoomTown is a top-tier, full-service real estate website solution that caters primarily to teams and brokerages. While its website builder might be considered pricey for individual agents, it packs a punch for those seeking a comprehensive package.
The platform offers an IDX-enabled website builder, a robust CRM system and digital marketing services — particularly excelling in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
BoomTown’s website builder boasts a conversion-optimized design, meaning the templates were carefully selected based on which designs are known to encourage the most email sign-ups. Additionally, the designs prompt visitors to register with an email address to unlock listing views, thereby generating a pool of potential leads.
Unfortunately, however, agents don’t own the email addresses once they are captured on BoomTown — a disappointment for anyone trying to build and nurture their own community of prospective buyers through other means like Facebook groups.
All in all, however, BoomTown is still one of the best website builders for real estate agents. It’s particularly well suited for brokerages over individual agents, and if you don’t mind sharing your email list with the platform it can be an effective marketing tool.
4. Squarespace
Starting price: $16/month
Notable features:
- Drag-and-drop design
- Appointment booking plugins
Pros:
- Affordable
- Sleek, minimalist design
- Appointment booking system
- Free trial, no credit card required
Cons:
- No IDX integration (unless you know custom code)
Squarespace is a versatile website builder suitable for real estate agents (or anyone) looking to establish a professional online presence. While it’s not designed specifically for real estate agents, it offers decent lead capture features, though not as specialized as some competitors. SEO capabilities are solid, and the platform is mainly known for its sleek and modern design options.
While Squarespace doesn’t offer native IDX feed integration, there are workarounds to incorporate MLS listings with custom code. The platform does, however, support high-quality images and videos, allowing real estate agents to showcase properties in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Customer support is available but may not be as real estate-focused as specialized platforms.
Still, in just a few hours, you can craft a simple, responsive real estate website that seamlessly integrates with your social media profiles. This allows you to keep tabs on website traffic, analyze visitor sources, and even upload a basic logo at no cost. If you want a website that communicates your brand without a lot of bells and whistles, Squarespace is quick and relatively easy to set up using drag and drop technology.
One standout feature is the ability to incorporate an appointment booking system, enabling potential buyers and sellers to conveniently schedule meetings with you directly through your website. If you encounter any challenges during the site-building process, Squarespace provides support through chat and email (no phone support).
5. Sierra Interactive
Starting price: Must inquire
Notable features:
- Standout SEO features to improve organic traffic
- Specific IDX filter tags (attract better qualified leads)
Pros:
- Book a demo from the button on their homepage
- Reports high conversion rates
- Unlimited pages
- Allows multiple MLS feeds
Cons:
- Limited marketing automation
Sierra Interactive, an all-in-one solution for real estate companies, is known for its standout performance in organic SEO, allowing agents to rank for top-level keywords, individual listings and neighborhoods. This focus on SEO improves the performance of Sierra Interactive’s IDX integration, in some cases reducing the need for paid leads.
The Sierra Interactive system also includes a full-featured CRM and PPC ad management services, ensuring your team’s workflow is streamlined and efficient.
Moreover, Sierra Interactive’s websites offer impressive customization, giving you control over details like URL structures, meta tags and source code. This flexibility is valuable when building your brand and scaling your business – not to mention ranking in Google search results.
There’s also an array of fine-toothed IDX search traits, allowing agents to insert a wealth of search criteria into the website’s content so that it may be filtered for easy navigation.
But all this customizability does come at a price: Sierra Interactive is not the most economical option, with pricing reported to be a $250 set-up fee + $399 per month subscription fee. It’s also not the most simple option for solo agents and may be better suited for brokerages or teams.
6. Luxury Presence
Starting price: $500/month
Notable features:
- High-resolution images and video
- Choose DIY or done-for-you option
Pros:
- Stunning design used by over 8,000 agents and brokerages
- Options for both customizable plug-and-play tools and agency services are available
- Click the ‘Get Started’ button on their homepage to book a demo
Cons:
- Minimalist luxury feel may not fit with every brand
- Costs can exceed $6,000 per month
With a starting price of $500 per month, Luxury Presence caters to upscale real estate professionals seeking high-end website design and marketing solutions.
Boasting a stunning design used by over 8,000 agents and brokerages, the platform offers both customizable plug-and-play tools and full agency services. Real estate professionals can choose full-service website design or opt for a more cost-effective DIY option with access to Luxury Presence’s template library, SEO tools and MLS integrations.
Once you get past the cost, the magic words here are “brand building.” Luxury Presence’s websites transcend basic digital presence, helping you align your real estate brand with elegance and style. The websites pair captivating aesthetics and practical functionality on both desktop and mobile devices.
Luxury Presence’s website building platforms come with SEO tools, customizable IDX tools and the ability to publish high-resolution images, videos and virtual tours that help visitors imagine the experience of walking through their new home.
7. iNCOM
Starting price: $49.95/month + $249.95 startup fee
Notable features:
- No commitment
- Personalized ad targeting
- IDX integration
Pros:
- Affordable with no commitment
- Great SEO functionality
- Call or fill out their online form to get to a sales agent & demo
Cons:
- Limited design options
- Less-than-stellar CRM
iNCOM is a comparatively cost-effective (once you get past the initial setup fee) real estate website builder that offers IDX integration, CRM capabilities, social media integration and specialized landing pages for enhanced lead conversion.
A notable feature is its ReCall Marketing plugin, which re-targets website visitors with personalized ads on other sites, helping you stay top of mind for longer.
Considering its low $50/month price (after the initial set up fee), iNCOM boasts relatively high close rates. iNCOM’s websites are IDX-enabled, helping you offer seamless MLS integration. It has a pretty robust lead capture system that includes custom landing pages and triggers that prompt email registration.
That said, iNCOM only provides six standard templates with limited customization. However, it supports an unlimited number of pages and basic lead management through a CRM with custom alerts.
The full picture
A polished online presence is essential for today’s real estate professional. When considering the best website builders for real estate agents and brokers, a few key features stand out.
As we mentioned, lead capture capabilities are paramount for growing your client base. Equally important is robust SEO to ensure your site ranks high in search results. Brand building and eye-catching design set the stage for a lasting impression, and the inclusion of an IDX feed keeps property information current and relevant.
Additionally, the ability to showcase high-quality images and videos is a must in today’s visual market, as more clients than ever are comfortable with virtual home tours from the comfort of their own home.
Finally, responsive and knowledgeable customer support can make or break your experience building your own real estate website. So do plenty of research using the links in this article before choosing your website builder, keeping these important features in mind.
Our methodology
HousingWire is the destination for industry leaders and decision makers to stay informed and stay ahead of what’s going on in the constantly evolving U.S. housing industry.
To determine which real estate website builders are best for industry professionals, HousingWire analyzed dozens of products and platforms, weighing the pros and cons of each alongside both quantitative and qualitative data like price, special features, ease of use, return on investment, client support, and customer reviews.
We crawled the web so you don’t have to, analyzing a wide sampling of reviews across social media, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and online discussion forums.
Frequently asked questions
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1. What is the best platform to build a real estate website with?
The choice of platform for your real estate website depends on your specific needs and technical expertise. Some popular options include more general website builders like Squarespace along with dedicated real estate website builders like the options listed above. Each has its own features and pricing, so it’s important to research and pick the one that aligns with your goals. In our list, we included options in a variety of price points that anyone can sign up for and start using today.
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2. How much does it cost to build a real estate website?
The cost of building a real estate website can vary widely depending on the specific platform and features you use. Several options are available that cater to different needs and budgets, for both individual real estate agents and brokerages. For those seeking comprehensive support, Placester offers a starting price of $79 per month and has a dedicated support team. PropertyBase also starts at $79 per month and is an excellent choice for teams, with advanced CRM tools.
If your focus is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, BoomTown may be your best bet, and you can inquire about their pricing. Meanwhile, Squarespace offers a versatile, drag-and-drop option that’s budget-friendly at just $16 month (don’t expect real estate-specific tools, however).
For advanced IDX feed integration, Sierra Interactive is one of the top picks, and its pricing can also be found upon inquiry. iNCOM also offers IDX integration at a cost of $49.95 per month, plus a $249.95 setup fee.
And finally, for high-end luxury real estate websites, Luxury Presence starts at $500 per month and offers tools for IDX integration, along with digital-first presentation tools that help your website standout for both appearance and virtual tour functionality.
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3. Should I build a real estate website on my own or hire a pro?
Like all investments, the decision to pay for a professional real estate website builder should be made with a desired return on investment (ROI) in mind. Like all DIY endeavors, the urge to save money might limit your effectiveness, but it’s also easy to spend too much on bells and whistles you don’t necessarily need.
The solution? Look for a sweet spot and pay for services that tangibly improve lead capture and fill your email list with qualified buyers and sellers in your area. Also consider investing in IDX-enabled websites for real estate professionals, compared to a more general website builder like Squarespace.
Investments that help you more effectively connect to the right clients through MLS search, SEO ranking and hyperlocal real estate marketing will likely come with a higher ROI than simply paying for flashy design. That said, good design can go a long way toward building your brand — especially for luxury markets.
Before investing in services, ask yourself:
a) Can I do this myself better, faster or cheaper?
b) Does my ideal client care about this feature, or will it help me connect to them more effectively?
c) What result do I expect from this investment that will help me get a positive ROI?
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4. Can I build a real estate website for free?
While it’s possible to create a basic real estate website for free using platforms like WordPress, it’s important to note that free options typically come with limitations and may not provide the professional look and features you need. There’s also always going to be the cost of hosting a website and using a pre-designed template.
You’ll likely also want to to invest in a custom domain name (yourcompany.com) and premium features — such as IDX home search, CRM integrations, appointment booking, virtual home tours — to make sure your real estate website stands out in the market.
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5. Do I need to know how to code to build a real estate website?
No, you don’t necessarily need to know how to code to build a real estate website. Many website builders offer intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces, templates and plugins that make it possible to create a website without coding knowledge. However, coding skills can be beneficial if you want to customize your site extensively or offer real estate-specific functions.
For instance, adding IDX integration to a budget-friendly option like Squarespace will likely require advanced knowledge of coding. However, website builders that are specifically focused on the real estate industry — including Luxury Presence, Sierra Interactive and BoomTown — offer plenty of no-code options for CRM and IDX home search.
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6. How do I market my real estate website?
Marketing your real estate website is crucial for attracting visitors and potential clients. Strategies include search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, email marketing, pay-per-click advertising and building a strong online presence through Facebook groups and other social media platforms.
Your website should also offer valuable content, such as property listings, hyperlocal neighborhood guides and helpful resources for homebuyers and sellers, such as your preferred lenders, home stagers, plumbers, appraisers, etc. Don’t forget to share simple, yet powerfully important tips, such as school district information and the best places to eat out in a desirable neighborhoods in your area.
Marketing your website is an ongoing effort, but it will lead to other content creation and promotional activities to drive traffic and generate leads. Like a well-oiled machine, once your marketing efforts begin gaining momentum, they will take on a life of their own.
