Top 17 Real Estate Apps

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By Mark Sette Updated June 29, 2022

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Real estate apps put more information in the palm of your hand than ever before to help you achieve your real estate goals. Whether you’re an investor, agent, or renter, there’s an app to help find what you need.

Real estate apps store tons of information that let you quickly find what you're looking for thanks to intuitive designs and smart filtering capabilities. These features help create better financial outcomes for users.

Here's a break down of the best 17 real estate apps so you can choose the offering that’s right for you. We analyzed a variety of platforms to identify the top apps based on features, pricing, reviews, and user-friendly experiences.

Top 17 Real Estate Apps of 2022

Best overall

1. Zillow (for house hunting, home value estimates, and realtors)

2. DealMachine (for real estate investors)

3. Redfin (for house hunting, home value estimates)

Our best overall real estate app winners are Zillow, DealMachine, and Redfin. These platforms score highly for the number of available features, ease of use, and user-friendliness.

Zillow and Redfin each have large volumes of property inventory that are easily searchable, making the apps ideal for house hunters and home value estimators alike.

DealMachine specializes in helping investors find off-market properties while streamlining the process of contacting motivated sellers. Its app helps shorten an otherwise time-consuming process so you can find your next deal more quickly.

Best real estate apps for investors

Real estate apps for investors

Real estate apps are useful for investors as they store vast amounts of information to help determine whether a property will make a good investment.

This includes access to real estate market trends, property estimates, tools, and calculators to help you run the numbers on a property and guide your decision making.

DealMachine

DealMachine real estate app

  • Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 rating on the app store with over 3,200 reviews
  • Cost: $49 - $249/month

DealMachine focuses on helping investors find and purchase off-market properties to easily land your next real estate deal. The app offers two main features: skip-tracing software and driving for dollars functionality.

DealMachine automates the most time-consuming part of off-market property acquisitions: Locating the property address, finding homeowner contact information, and making contact attempts. The app is very intuitive so anyone can quickly get started.

DealMachine costs between $49-$249 per month depending on which tier you sign up for. This platform rates highly in the App Store with a 4.8 rating and over 3,200 reviews.

Get started today with DealMachine's 7-day free trial

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PropStream

PropStream real estate app

  • Reviews: 3.8 out of 5 rating on the app store with over 100 reviews
  • Cost: $99/month, with add-on packages costing $20- $27/month

PropStream helps real estate investors more seamlessly identify and buy off-market properties. Its main product is skip tracing software that lets you build lists of motivated seller, discover off-market properties, and create outreach strategies.

PropStream offers up to 10,000 property downloads per month for a $99 monthly fee. Other features such as list monitoring, marketing tools, and extra teammates are available at an additional cost.

The app scores above-average with its users, with a 3.8 rating on the App Store with 100+ reviews.

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BiggerPockets

BiggerPockets real estate app

  • Reviews: 2.7 out of 5 rating on Google Play with 600+ reviews
  • Cost: Free basic version, $39/month for full version

BiggerPockets boasts a community of more than two million users who are drawn to the education-centered mission of the platform. Members have access to property analysis tools, investing forums, rental property calculators, and other useful features.

Investors can directly interact with other real estate investors and professionals in the BiggerPockets forum. Education resources such as webinars and podcasts provide multiple formats to learn about real estate investing.

You can sign up for the BiggerPockets basic membership for free. The pro membership costs $39 a month with full access to all features, including advanced calculators.

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Roofstock

rootstock real estate app

  • Reviews: 3.0 out of 5 rating on TrustPilot
  • Cost: Free to browse; 0.5% buyer fee and 2.5% seller free for real estate transactions

Roofstock is geared towards investors looking to buy or sell single-family homes. The marketplace can be tailored to your experience level, whether you’re an individual investor or a high-volume institutional investor.

Roofstock has grown in popularity over the past few years, as the company has completed more than $5 billion in single family resident transactions since 2016.

The company provides you with tools, resources, and data so you can analyze investment opportunities and make more informed financial decisions. The RoofstockOne product lets you buy into a real estate portfolio for as little as $5,000.

Buyers pay a 0.5% transaction fee while the seller pays 2.5%. Every investor is protected by a 30-day refund policy for all transactions.

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Best real estate apps for house hunting

real estate apps for house hunting

The internet is the predominant way house hunters view property listings, with over 97% of homebuyers searching listings online.

Home buying apps let you easily filter your search so you can find exactly what you’re looking for in your next house. Apps provide you with property photos, videos, and 3D tours to explore homes in-depth.

Real estate apps are able to provide extensive property details posted on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS): a database real estate agents use to market and sell properties.

Zillow

Zillow app

  • Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 on the app store with more than 6.2 million reviews
  • Cost: Free to use and list, variable realtor fees for sales

Zillow is one of the most popular real estate apps with over 36 million unique monthly visitors and more than 150 million listings in its database. In addition to a vast catalog of homes, buyers have access to many resources to assist in their home search.

Zillow provides market insights covering everything from location and school zones to rental income estimates and property values. Combined with market analysis and advanced filtering, users get a complete view of each property.

The app is free to use. Its high scoring reviews reflect a great user experience, rating 4.8 on the app store with more than 6.2 million reviews.

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Redfin

Redfin real estate

  • Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 on the app store with one million reviews
  • Cost: Free, listing fees between 1% - 1.5%

Redfin is a popular app for house hunting with a large inventory database and intuitive search functionality. It operates as a full service real estate brokerage company that lets you buy or sell a home directly on the site.

All users have access to Redfin’s extensive resources at no cost, such as mortgage calculators, home value estimates, and market insights. Redfin offers buyers a rebate option that gives back part of Redfin’s commission to cover closing costs.

An important aspect of Redfin’s platform is a reduced listing fee between 1% - 1.5% instead of the average listing agent commission of around 3%.

The user experience ranks highly, scoring 4.8 out of 5 on the app store with nearly 1 million reviews.

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HomeSnap

Homesnap real estate app

  • Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 on the app store with 86,000 reviews
  • Cost: Free, Pro and Pro+ tiers charge agents $299 for membership and $599 for renewal

HomeSnap is a real estate app that is only available on iOS or Android devices. The app is mainly geared towards matching home buyers with their ideal home. Real estate agents use a different version of the app to help buyers on their journey.

The app is innovative by letting you "snap" a photo of the home to pull up relevant information to aid your housing search. Built-in messaging features let you chat with family members and agents to organize and streamline your search even more.

The app store reflects high marks for these features, scoring 4.8 out of 5 with more than 86,000 reviews.

HomeSnap has no fee for users and provides an ad-free experience. Real estate agents access HomeSnap through Pro or Pro+ tiers for an initial membership fee of $299 and $599 annual renewals.

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Trulia

Trulia app

  • Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 on the app store with more than 1.2 million reviews
  • Cost: Free

Trulia is another well-known home searching tool with over one million real-time MLS-based listings. House hunters who prioritize neighborhoods and lifestyle get the most value from Trulia’s robust filtering and search functionality.

Although these features bear some resemblance to its parent company, Zillow, Trulia uses a simpler site design and more visualization features such as breakdowns of monthly property costs.

Trulia scores well on the app store with a 4.8 out of 5 rating with more than 1.2 million reviews. The app is free to use.

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Best real estate apps for a home value estimate

Home value estimators

One of the most important factors you should know before selling your home is your home’s value. Real estate apps help nail down your home’s estimated value by factoring in:

  • Location
  • Market trends
  • Neighborhood sales
  • Number of bedrooms
  • Square footage
  • Property amenities

Keep in mind that home value estimators are far from perfect. Figures are based on algorithms that pull home sales data from a variety of sources, and mistakes are common.

In addition, home value estimators aren't always aware of the upgrades and improvements you've made to your home. You might not get credit for updating your kitchen and bathrooms, for example.

For a more accurate home valuation, find a local realtor for a comparative market analysis (CMA) report. A CMA by a pro agent considers the most relevant home sales in your area. Clever Real Estate can match you up with quality local agents for a free home value estimate report.

If you're still looking for a quick ballpark home value estimate, here are our top picks.

Zillow

  • Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 on the app store with more than 6.2 million reviews
  • Cost: Free to use and list, variable realtor fees for sales

Zillow is widely considered the best app for a free home value estimate as it has one of the largest databases of housing inventory available on the market.

Zillow leverages its vast resources to provide home estimates, or "Zestimates", that let you better understand potential list prices within a range.

The company succinctly spells out its estimate methodology so you can see how the "Zestimate" was calculated. The data is refreshed every day for more than 100 million homes throughout the U.S.

It’s important to note that even though Zillow and Trulia are under the same company umbrella, there are differences in how estimates are arrived at.

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Redfin

redfin app

  • Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 on the app store with one million reviews
  • Cost: Free, listing fees between 1% - 1.5%

Redfin also provides a home value estimate tool that is free to use. Simply plug-in an address to Redfin’s home estimate portal and you’ll receive a range of likely sale prices if you were to list your home.

Redfin’s estimated home value methodology is based on automated online data, MLS databases, and recent area home sales. You can also use the app to speak with a Redfin agent in your area to get further expertise at no cost.

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Realtor.com

realtor.com app

  • Reviews: 4.7 out of 5 on the app store with over 509,000 reviews
  • Cost: Free

Realtor.com is one of the leading real estate sites to buy or sell a home. Affiliated with The National Association of Realtors, the site factors in additional expertise and educational resources when it comes to estimating your home’s value.

The home estimate search portal is intuitive to use with everything you need to get a good sense of your home’s approximate value. Realtor.com also offers a sellers market that lets you connect with experts to help further explore selling your home.

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Best real estate apps for renters

renter apps

Renters can use real estate apps to be more knowledgeable than ever before when looking for an apartment, condo, or single-family home.

Real estate apps geared towards renters provide filtering capabilities that include location, number of bedrooms, monthly prices, and move-in dates.

Here are our picks for the top three real estate apps for renters so you can download the right app for you.

Apartments.com

apartments.com logo

  • Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 stars on the app store with more than 236,000 reviews
  • Cost: Free

Apartments.com gives you access to more than one million apartment units available for rent at over 500,000 property locations.

The app features an intuitive, sleek design so you can spend more time exploring individual apartments that match your criteria. You’ll also enjoy seamless search functionalities and filtering options to make your search go smoothly.

Users rate the app highly at 4.8 out of 5 stars on the app store with more than 236,000 reviews.

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HotPads

hotpads app logo

  • Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 stars on the app store with over 86,000 reviews
  • Cost: Free

HotPads is another real estate app made exclusively for renters. This app focuses on some of the most competitive rental markets such as New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, and Washington D.C.

HotPads features advanced filtering options and email notifications that are more tailored to your preferences. You can also contact agents directly through the app to help organize your apartment search.

The HotPads app scores well with users, rating 4.8 out of 5 stars on the app store with over 86,000 reviews.

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Zumper

zumper app logo

  • Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 stars on the app store with more than 59,000 reviews
  • Cost: Free

Zumper is one of the largest privately owned rental platforms with more than 178 million site visits per year. Zumper helps you search for your next apartment by including helpful market trends and insights to keep tabs on all your options.

The app also serves as a one-stop shop that lets you tour, apply, and pay directly through the app to further streamline your apartment search. App users rate Zumper highly, receiving 4.8 out of 5 stars on the app store with 59,000 reviews.

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Best real estate agent apps

Real estate professionals can also harness the power of apps to help grow their real estate business. Mobile apps help agents find a greater pool of buyers, sellers, and renters while further tailoring their listings.

The best real estate apps for agents combine optimized listings with client management tools such as drip campaigns, pipeline management, and marketing strategies to provide a holistic, organized approach.

Zillow Premier Agent

zillow premier agent app logo

  • Reviews: 4.7 out of 5 stars on the app store with more than 17,000 ratings
  • Cost: Free basic version, additional fees on a per-agent basis

Zillow provides a platform called Zillow Premier Agent that lets agents and teams more effectively manage their business. Agents receive access to marketing tools and client relationship management strategies that grow and scale their business.

This platform also features a streamline lead management process so agents can efficiently connect with interested buyers. Listing and task management functionality is also included to provide a well-rounded, easy-to-manage service.

Zillow Premier Agent scores well with users, ranking 4.7 out of 5 stars on the app store and receiving more than 17,000 reviews.

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Buffer

  • Reviews: 4.7 out of 5 stars on the app store with over 27,000 reviews
  • Cost: Free basic version, up to $100/month depending on tier

Buffer helps you manage your social media platforms by automating your campaign strategy so you can more effectively grow your brand and reach buyers.

While this platform has a greater scope than real estate, agents can use this service to offload content scheduling while creating a consistent presence across different apps and platforms you use for business.

Buffer has more than 27,000 reviews on the app store and receives a 4.7 out of 5 star rating.

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ShowingTime

showingtime app logo

  • Reviews: 2.6 out of 5 stars on the app store from more than 500 reviews
  • Cost: Free trial, $45/month start with additional tiers priced on per-agent basis

ShowingTime is built exclusively for residential real estate agents and teams to help manage showings and incorporate feedback under one platform organization.

The app revolves around information-sharing so real estate professionals can coordinate showings, sync calendars, provide instructions, and manage client interests.

The user experience itself is a bit clunky and unreliable, receiving just a 2.6 out of 5 stars on the app store from over 500 agent reviews.

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What are real estate apps?

Real estate apps hold vast amounts of property information that can be easily searched and filtered, attracting millions of visitors on a monthly basis.

Buyers, sellers, renters, investors, and real estate professionals can all access pertinent information on real estate apps to transact deals quickly and efficiently.

The explosive growth of real estate apps has led to platforms that are tailored for a wide array of real estate search needs.

For example, investors searching for off-market properties will find apps such as DealMachine most useful, while renters find Apartments.com more suited for their search.

All of these apps are powered by an immense amount of housing data, filtering capabilities, location preferences, and other tools to optimize your real estate search from your smartphone.

How house hunting apps pull data

House hunting apps receive up-to-date property information like census data and property tax records by linking the apps to the MLS. The technology allows realtors to list properties through a portal that is shared by broker partners to a greater pool of buyers and sellers.

This collaborative approach results in more holistic inventory databases that streamlines the buying and selling process. In exchange for this collaboration, compensation is paid when buyers and sellers are matched.

House hunting apps integrate information from MLS listings into more user-friendly formats, allowing users to easily filter, view photos, and tour properties while searching for their next home.

How real estate apps estimate home values

One of the most impactful features of real estate apps is helping you estimate the value of a property. Home value estimator apps incorporate market data such as location, number of bedrooms, and square footage.

Real estate apps compile this information to estimate a range of a property’s value. However, other components such as traffic noise, house aesthetics, and overall upkeep are not included because those factors are hard to quantify.

Real estate agents help fill in the missing gaps to come up with a more realistic home value estimate through a CMA report.

How we chose the best real estate apps

We researched real estate apps across the board to identify the best options. Our evaluation included a thorough review of user experience, number of features, database size and accuracy, filtering capabilities, and customer reviews. Using this methodology, we’ve chosen the top 17 real estate apps in this list for 2022.

Real estate apps: FAQs

What are real estate apps?

Real estate apps are mobile and desktop apps that are designed to help real estate investors, home buyers, sellers, renters, and realtors.

The best apps can streamline your home search, help you find undervalued properties, give you an accurate home value estimate, or connect you to the right real estate agent.

What are the best real estate investing apps?

The winners for the best real estate investing apps are DealMachine, PropStream, and BiggerPockets. These apps can help investors or home buyers find an off-market property, connect with motivated sellers, and learn more about the real estate investing process.

Which real estate app is best for buying homes?

Our best home buying app picks are Zillow, Redfin, HomeSnap, and Trulia. These apps make it easier to filter your home search and get matched quickly with homes that meet your buying criteria.

Which real estate app has the most accurate home value estimates?

The top choices for best real estate apps for home value estimates are Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com.

However, home value estimates are far from perfect, and can be off by thousands of dollars. For a more accurate estimate, we recommend connecting with a local realtor for a comparative market analysis (CMA) report.

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