How to Build a Custom Property Management App?

In earlier times, managing and viewing properties was a complex, time-consuming task. Thanks to the continuously evolving technology and adoption of mobile applications, you can now create a property management app that allows both buyers and sellers to view and manage multiple properties within a few clicks. But before investing in such apps, you must learn about the development process and cost. In this case, we recommend you hire a professional mobile app development company. They will handle the end-to-end development process and deliver a tailored solution to align and fulfill your business needs. Let's now look at the steps of building a property management application.

Steps to Build a Property Management App

Every successful mobile application follows a structured development process that covers some steps–from ideation to final deployment. Below, we have covered the development steps:

Define App Goals

Determining the app goals is the most important component of every app development process. You need to identify the features you wish to integrate into the app and the services you want to provide through your property management app. This step is essential to ensure the right features are integrated into the final product and it meets your expectations.

Market Analysis

Amidst the process of determining the features, another step is to thoroughly research the market and analyze the target audience and competitors. This will help you identify the gaps and how you can cover them with your unique services. A foolproof USP will help you win more customers and boost sales.

MVP Development

This step involves building a basic features application instead of integrating all complex features in one go. An MVP of your app will help you create your brand’s awareness in its initial stage and attain real-time feedback from the target set of users. After receiving feedback, you can work on improving the final product, ensuring higher customer satisfaction.

App Development

Now, the mobile app development company will begin the development process. They will leverage the latest technologies, such as Blockchain, AI, ML, cloud computing, and augmented reality, to power your property management app. The backend and front end of the app will cover robust frameworks and programming languages such as Node.js, React Native, and Python. Blockchain in most property management software (PMS) will become a key player in the coming years. These applications are set to transform with the blockchain ecosystem that develops and manages entire operations for the real estate industry, so make sure your app includes this technology for future growth and success.

Testing and Optimization

Once the app development is completed, the quality analyst team of your hired mobile app development company will take over the application and push it for testing and optimization. This is where they test the application for bugs and security-related issues and optimize its performance for final deployment. It’s important for the app to pass the testing phase so that it can be pushed to the launching phase on the dedicated applications stores and made available in the market for the final users.

Final Launch and Promotion

In this step, your app is ready for final deployment and launch in the market. The app has passed all phases and security checks; hence the mobile app development company can now push it to live over the App Store and Google Play Store. Post its launch, direct the development partner to monitor it for bug checks and maintenance, and you can focus on promoting it through campaigns, email marketing, and social media marketing. Your marketing efforts are equally important to enhance the brand’s awareness its reach across geographical locations and stand out from the competition.

Must-Have Features of Property Management App

Features are the key role players in every mobile app, and the property app is no exception. They are the ones that will push the user to engage with your app and stay intact for longer intervals. Hence, you need to carefully plan them while considering the latest market trends, competitors, and your target audience. Here is a list of some essential features your property management and real estate application must include in order to make it a success in the long run.

Online Payments

Payment integration is one of the top must-haves in a mobile app. Ask the mobile app development company to integrate top payment gateways for smooth payment processing and exceptional user experiences. It will help reduce the expenses incurred on billing or preparing offline documents and securely collect customer money. This will also ensure secure transactions and reduce thefts and money losses. This feature will allow your client to view account balance payment histories and receive receipts. 

Reporting and Analytics

Tracking your app’s performance is a crucial component of determining your success. You need to add this feature to your mobile application to ensure you get access to lots of information about how your business is doing, covering expenses, income, fees, payments, and property availability. Those reports can be customized to the needs of your business by adding extra columns or sorting by various variables. The analytics feature will also help analyze consumer behavior and areas of improvement in the application.

Document Management

Your property management app can help store all your clients’ documents regarding their purchased and sold properties. It will help them view the said documents whenever and wherever they require and utilize them as per their needs. For instance, the app can store and protect its flow statements and rent rolls to streamline its future accessibility.

Communication and In-Built Messenger

Adding a feature for communication and easy social media integration enhances the users' overall experience. The app should also include an AI-powered messenger to streamline the communication between the buyer and sellers. This way, both parties can easily interact and finalize the deal if everything fits the bill. The built-in messenger will also store the chat history for both parties to access their conversation but ensure it is encrypted for added security.

Calendar

This is another essential yet unique feature you can direct the mobile app development company to add to your real estate app. This feature will be designed to display reservations, property availability, and guest status to the customers so that they can plan their property view days and make reservations. It will also allow them to make rescheduled reservations if the availability doesn’t match the available slots or if any uncertain events hamper the availability of the concerned parties.

Accounting

Many businesses may need to realize this feature is equally important for real estate apps. It will help your clients facilitate loan generation and manage interest payments while allowing the buyers to view and make loan interest payments. This feature will help both parties manage and optimize rent payments and keep a safe transaction record. 

These were the top essential features you must consider to include in your property management app and enable it to stand out while leaving an impact on the users.

Property Management App Development Cost

The development cost of a real estate and property management app can range from $25,000 to $45,000 for basic feature apps. However, the cost can go $60,000 and higher for more complex applications. Hence, consult a professional mobile app development company for an estimate and cost breakdown. 

Let’s have a look at the cost-determining table below to understand a rough estimation:

App Complexity	Development Cost	Development Timeframe
Simple	$40,000 to $60,000	3 to 6 months
Moderate	$60,000 to $100,000	6 to 8 months
Highly Complex	$100,000 to $250,000	9+ months

Formula to Calculate Real Estate App Development Cost

Property management cost = Total development hours x hourly rates

Moreover, it’s important to note that this is a rough estimate, and various factors can impact the actual cost. These factors include:

App Complexity and Features

The complexity of your property management app is a primary determinant of its cost. Consider the scope of features you want to include—property search, user accounts, property listings, virtual tours, in-app messaging, integration with external databases, AI-driven recommendations, and more. Since each feature requires designing and development efforts, it will heavily impact the final cost. Simple apps with basic property listings and search functionalities will lower development costs, while a complex solution with advanced features and integrations will yield higher expenses.

App Design (UI/UX)

An organized app design and user interface are essential for a successful real estate app. The effort required to make the app aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly as well as the complexity of the UI/UX components all have an impact on design costs. The design of this app will receive significant attention because a simple design attracts users and boosts engagement and trust. Working with a reputable mobile app development company is possible since they will comprehend your objectives and produce an app that appeals to your target market.

Tech Stack

The cost and time of app development are significantly affected by the choices we make regarding our technology stack. When it comes to selecting the right programming languages, frameworks, and third-party services, these decisions can play a crucial role in determining how swiftly and smoothly our app can grow in the future.

While certain technologies may appear to cut costs in the short term, it's essential to consider long-term maintenance and scalability. Choosing the wrong stack could ultimately lead to increased expenses down the road.

Development Process

The development phase is when most costs are incurred. It includes developing the front end and back end of the program as well as its core functionality, database setup, feature integration, and API development. The intricacy of the program, the number of features, and the platforms you're targeting (iOS, Android, and web) all have an impact on development costs. The final development cost may be greatly increased by custom features like property search, virtual tours, property listings, user profiles, chat capabilities, and integration of third-party APIs for maps and data. To learn about the price and important factors for app development, read our real estate app development guide.

Location of the App Development Company

Another cost-impacting factor is the location of the mobile app development company. If the company is based in the USA or the UK, the cost will be higher, whereas the price can be lower in countries found in South Asia, such as India. Make sure to outsource the firm based in India with a global presence to save unnecessary expenses. Also, take note that you shouldn’t fall for low-quality pricing models. Instead, check the company’s background and ensure no additional costs are tagged with the app development project.

How to Choose the Right Mobile App Development Company 

The rising demand for real estate app development has also increased the number of companies offering Android app development services. Since choosing the best development partner is critical for your project’s success, we are disclosing some essential tips you should consider to handpick the right partner.

Checking expertise

Do you know that expertise in app development and a deep understanding of tech stacks are important to build a custom property management app? If yes, put that tip into action and start by checking the chosen company’s technical knowledge and ask questions regarding the technologies they will use for backend and frontend development, UI/UX design, API integration, and cloud services. This will answer your queries regarding their expertise and help you shortlist the right ones for the next step.

Analyzing their past work and client reviews

The next step is to check and verify the company's past work and project portfolio. You can ask them directly, and the right company with a pool of deliverables will provide open access to their work links or as suited to them. Once you have gone through the past project, you can ensure they have created similar products as the one you want and the quality of tools and resources used to complete it. Additionally, you can scan the internet to find client testimonials and discover whether they are able to deliver your project on time or not. 

Understanding communication and project management style

Understandably, every successful app project is the result of effective communication. Hence, you must ensure that the team you will be working with follows a transparent communication process. They must keep you in the loop throughout the development process and should be open to suggestions as provided by you. It will ensure that your project is completed within your guidelines and exceeds your expectations.

Exploring their pricing models

Cost is always a concern when we talk about mobile app development. To ensure the costs don't hinder your development plan and project's budget, talk about your requirements in detail with the eCommerce app development company at the earliest. If their pricing model falls under your budget, you can proceed with the team; if not, you can handpick another company. Additionally, keep in mind that low-quality deliverables should maintain the price of a project. Instead of falling for low prices, go for reasonable costs, ensuring high-performing app development.

Ensuring the company offers post-launch maintenance services

App maintenance is another essential component that ensures the success of an eCommerce mobile app. The ongoing maintenance and support services offered by the development team keep the functionality of an application intact and free from bug issues. Imagine a scenario where your app faces glitches and performance-related issues after market launch. Now what? It will start losing users and pull down your app's traffic. This is where the need for a proactive development team comes in. They will handle maintenance and provide regular updates to fix issues and improve app performance.

So, these are the key tactics that can help you choose the best development team and ensure they build a custom product for your business. Once you finalize the deal, schedule a meeting with the team to clarify their working style and what norms they follow for enhancing productivity and the project’s quality. These small things affect a lot when the project development process gets into action and give you confidence in the mobile app development company you will be working closely with. It also allows you and the company to manage good professional relations and stay in touch for other projects as the requirement arises.

Also read: Unlocking Success: A Data-Driven Journey To Website Redesign

Bottom Line

The evolving mobile app development landscape has also empowered the real estate industry. This is the reason why property management apps are flourishing, and several businesses are investing in them. Additionally, it’s essential to know about the development steps and cost. The above-mentioned step-by-step guide explains how each step of development works and why you must choose a reliable software development company to complete your project. The development partner will oversee the entire process and ensure the end product is efficient, high-performing, and yields maximum ROI.