.png)
From handling inquiries to managing warranties, real estate development projects have many moving parts. Sure, you can get by with spreadsheets and emails (for a time). But these disconnected systems can eventually cause massive bottlenecks in your business.
So, how can you streamline your operations and improve your processes?
And how can you deliver a more transparent home-buying process to your customers?
Real estate development software can help. With the right software, you can transform your development process and sell more homes faster.
We’ll explore the top real estate software for developers and cover key features for each so you can make an informed decision.
What is real estate development software?
Real estate development software helps property developers manage every stage of the development process. The first portion covers the pre-construction phases of property development:
Land acquisition
Feasibility and due diligence
Design and planning
Approvals and permits
Financing
Pre-construction is followed by the construction (or the development) phase, which entails somewhat specialized project management tools that support site managers and builders (we cover some of these options below).
Even as the pre-construction and development phases begin and progress, real estate developers will use these phases to generate awareness and initiate campaigns around phased selling — especially on residential construction projects.
To ensure units built translate into units sold, they’ll harness purpose-built real estate development software that addresses the customer relationship- and sales-focused aspects of development, from initial inquiry to post-purchase warranty tracking, across three main priorities:
Marketing and sales
Customer care/warranty
Property management
Ultimately, developers harness development software to improve efficiency and help developers achieve better outcomes across these phases.
For example, any development project involves multiple stakeholders and contractors. If you’re using a mix of emails, text messages, and spreadsheets, keeping track of every thread becomes almost impossible. Real estate software addresses this by centralizing key information — such as contracts, communication history, and sales data — in one location.
The property management software market is projected to reach $2 billion by 2027. And this figure will likely increase as more developers opt for more efficient systems over outdated tools.
Types of software available
There are different types of real estate software available, which fall under “proptech” or property technology — the use of digital technology in real estate.
Here’s a short overview of different types of software:
Property management software: Helps real estate developers, landlords, and investors manage properties, track payments, share legal documents, and more.
Real estate CRMs: Allows real estate developers manage each step of the home-buying journey and gain insights to improve their processes. Real estate CRMs also keep teams connected and facilitate real-time collaboration.
RE market and financial analysis software: Provides insights into real estate market trends and property valuations. They can help developers determine whether to invest in certain properties.
Lease management software: Helps developers track leasing terms, manage contract renewals, and automate common administrative tasks.
Construction and site ops PM software: Assists builders and construction companies with managing the construction process, from site preparation to final delivery.
Software for the real estate industry is multifaceted, so there will always be some degree of overlap in terms of software functionality. Narrowing down your choices comes down to getting clear on the outcomes and the problems you want to solve.
The benefits of using real estate development software
Still relying on disconnected systems to manage your processes?
Here’s how software for real estate developers can benefit your business.
Improve and streamline your operations
Bottlenecks can occur for many reasons. However, manual processes are a common culprit, as they can lead to work piling up and prevent key tasks from moving to the next step.
That’s not all. If you’re still performing certain tasks manually, you’re leaving your business vulnerable to mistakes that could cause key details to fall through the cracks.
Using real estate software, you can automate your workflows and create structured systems that move more deals through your pipeline. It’ll also help free up more time for your team. One study found that workers who use automation save about 3.6 hours a week.
Deliver more transparent buying processes
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that buyers value agents with honesty and integrity. However, most buyers (90%) also list communication skills as “very important” when evaluating agents.
Keeping track of previous conversations can be difficult when using different methods to communicate with buyers. Real estate software can centralize communications in one place and deliver a more transparent process to your buyers.
Get purpose-built solutions that meet real-world needs
General-purpose CRMs are great as they serve a wide range of industries. However, they often lack industry-specific features, especially ones you’ll need for different areas of your business.
By using the right real estate software, you’re getting a purpose-built solution that meets the unique needs of property development. These include lead management tools, post-purchase warranty tracking, and more. Another benefit is these systems often come with quicker setup times, allowing you to start generating results sooner.
Of course, not all real estate solutions are created equal. In the next section, we’ll examine the features you should prioritize.
Feature-focused: What to look for in real estate development software
There’s no shortage of real estate development software on the market.
Look for tools with these features to narrow down your options.
Pipeline management
Choose software with robust pipeline management features. With a clear view of potential buyers in your sales process, you can identify where “leaks” occur in your pipeline and take steps to address them.
For example, if negotiations frequently fall through, you can better prepare your sales team to handle objections and close more deals.
Automation capabilities
“I love spending hours on manual work,” said no one ever.
The best way to eliminate manual inefficiencies is to look for areas where automation can simplify and cut out added time and effort. In other words, you want to prioritize software with automation capabilities.
Automation features enable you to transform manual tasks into more efficient processes while also reducing the incidence of human errors.
Automation is also usually a proxy for more intelligent or “smart” features, such as data dashboards, analytics, and real-time data aggregation. These features are baked into software to help you understand metrics like conversions, churn, and ROI with greater clarity. As a result, you can spend more time addressing their needs and adapting your internal processes to match their demands.
Document management
Real estate development projects are marred by stacks of paperwork — purchase agreements, inspection forms, etc. You’ll spend countless hours tracking and organizing these documents without a system in place.
Look for software with comprehensive document management features. It should allow you to organize documents for each project easily and include electronic forms and contracts to speed up the sales process.
Financial tracking and reporting
You must be able to measure sales performance to refine your sales strategy. Choose software that offers comprehensive reports and sales dashboards. This will help you track key metrics across your business and uncover insights you can use to close more deals.
Homeowner self-service portal
Brian Solis, Salesforce’s Global Innovation Evangelist, offers the following advice for business owners:
“In times of change, make customers’ needs and expectations your corporate North Star. Keeping customers at the center will inspire loyalty and deepen trust.”
Buyers agree. Nearly 90% of buyers say a company's experience is just as important as its products or services.
To build strong customer relationships, you must deliver exceptional experiences throughout the home-buying journey. Look for solutions that streamline communication with buyers. They should feature self-service portals for homeowners to send and track inquiries. This option lets you quickly solve issues and keep your buyers happy.
Regulation and policy compliance
As with any business, real estate development projects have intricate legal considerations. Non-compliance can lead to heavy penalties.
Any real estate software you choose should have the tools to help you navigate industry-specific laws and regulations. This can include features for tracking permit applications and ensuring compliance with local policies.
Third-party integrations
Chances are you use a myriad of tools throughout your sales process. You might use Slack to communicate with your team, LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify potential leads, and QuickBooks to manage your finances.
Whatever applications or systems you use, ensure they integrate with your chosen real estate software. This will help keep everything in one place and eliminate data silos — when data exists in one system but not others.
Why real estate software makes a significant difference to top-line growth
Ultimately, you want strong top-line growth for your business. But you’ll have difficulty achieving that outcome if you continue using outdated tools and systems.
Using the right software can help drive more growth because purpose-built features specifically designed for real estate professionals can support decision-making and areas most likely to yield an ROI.
For example, a sales report might reveal that conversion rates improve by 5 to 10% when an agent follows up within 24 hours of an initial inquiry. And this isn’t hypothetical — research conducted by the National Association of Realtors found that 73% of buyers hired the first agent they met face-to-face.
“You have to [meet clients in person]…you have to get in front of sellers.” — Bernice Ross, CEO of real estate training and coaching companies BrokerageUP Inc. and RealEstateCoach.com
Software that provides these types of insights is invaluable. While agents and developers will still need to carry out these actions in person, real estate software can make a significant impact by instantly flagging these opportunities in a transparent, org-wide way.
Additionally, some of the best CRMs for real estate will allow you to automate consistent client communications, leading to improved response rates.
Now, let’s look at the top software solutions on the market.
A list of the 5 best software for real estate developers
Here’s a look at 5 of the best real estate development software options.
1. RYZ Real Estate Development Software
Team members wasting time searching for information, multiple versions of the same data existing in different places, and updates failing to reach stakeholders in a timely manner.
Do any of these sound familiar?
Unfortunately, these scenarios are all too common when real estate businesses juggle multiple systems. RYZ can help.
A unified, industry-specific CRM
RYZ’s all-in-one CRM solution is built natively on the Salesforce platform. It combines the most essential sales and customer care features with features specifically geared to resolving the most pressing challenges of real estate developers, such as legal and warranty management.
Our solution enables you to streamline the entire home-buying journey — all from a single platform, so you can get your team organized and make more sales.
Don’t take it from us, though. Here’s what Danny Chan, VP Operations of CentreCourt, has to say about our platform:
“Salesforce has been a game-changer for CentreCourt. We went from pen and paper deals to a unified CRM platform that gives us a complete picture of the customer journey. Now, our team spends less time on manual tasks and more time delivering exceptional customer service.”
Ready-to-use automation tools
Managing your daily tasks can be hard when you’re managing multiple projects.
RYZ offers a suite of pre-configured tools to free up your time. Automate welcome messages to new leads, set up reminders for deposit withdrawals, and more. You can create custom workflows and automate more of your work.
Project tracking and reporting tools
Manual processes can affect visibility into your sales pipeline.
RYZ offers comprehensive tools that help you stay on top of your projects. It also features robust financial reporting tools, so you can measure performance against your business goals. With real-time sales data, you can identify potential risks in your pipeline and make informed decisions to get back on track.
Other key features include:
Inventory management
Lead management
Automated contract processing
Commission management
Warranty management
Homeowner portal
Interested in learning how RYZ can help you achieve more consistent results and amplify your sales? Book a demo now to see the platform in action.
2. Buildertrend
Buildertrend is a construction project management software for homebuilders, remodelers, and specialty contractors.
What does Buildertrend offer?
Buildertrend offers different tools to help builders centralize their work, manage finances, and communicate with prospects.
Key features include:
Project management
Warranty tracking
Lead management
Financial management
Customer portals
Buildertrend also features planning schedules, job costing, budgeting templates, and more for managing ongoing construction projects. The company even has a partnership with GreenSky, a financial technology company, to help builders secure additional financing.
Buildertrend is a reliable option intended to serve builders—it provides an intuitive platform to keep construction projects moving.
However, the platform lacks some functionalities that real estate developers need. For example, Buildertrend lacks inventory tracking, which doesn’t provide real-time visibility into available units.
Buildertrend pricing: Starts at $499/month.
3. CoConstruct
CoConstruct is a construction management software that helps independent home builders and remodelers manage small to midsize residential and commercial projects.
What does CoConstruct offer?
CoConstruct provides a single source of truth for home builders, allowing them to see their projects clearly from start to finish.
Key features include:
Job site activity and project scheduling
Project budgeting and forecasting
Purchase order management
Online file sharing
Customer portal
CoConstruct also offers a mobile app for Android and iOS devices, allowing builders and contractors to access project information while on the job.
CoConstruct is a solid choice for custom home builders. However, it may not address the full needs of real estate developers. In addition, some features—like advanced reporting and warranty tracking—are locked behind higher-paid plans, making the software more expensive than other options.
CoConstruct pricing: Available upon request.
4. PlanGrid
Now part of Autodesk, PlanGrid is a construction productivity software that enables builders to manage the full construction life cycle.
What does PlanGrid offer?
PlanGrid offers an all-in-one construction software with various capabilities suitable for all construction projects across different industries.
Key features include:
Blueprint management
Task management
Field reports
Issue tracking
Mobile accessibility
One of the key selling points of PlanGrid is its field collaboration capabilities. Construction workers can use the software to view blueprints, share progress photos, and track issues.
PlanGrid specializes more in the construction phase of property development. If you’re a real estate developer, you’ll need broader capabilities to support all aspects of real estate development, like lead management and warranty tracking.
PlanGrid pricing: Starts at $39/month (billed annually)
5. Procore
Procore is a construction management app that serves as a central hub to connect contractors, developers, and other key stakeholders involved in a project.
What does Procore offer?
Procore offers a platform suitable for developers managing construction projects with a scope larger than residential or small commercial properties.
Key features include:
Bid management
Financial management
Workforce planning
Advanced analytics
Safety and compliance tracking
While Procore is great for large-scale projects, it may be overkill and offer more than you need. The platform also has a high learning curve, so you must dedicate time and resources to implement it properly.
Procure pricing: Available upon request.
Wrap up
As your real estate business grows, you’ll find it difficult to manage all the moving parts of your projects without a centralized system. The right real estate software can help you stay organized, meet deadlines, and deliver better customer experiences.
This is where RYZ Solution comes in.
RYZ is an all-in-one platform that enables real estate developers to manage the home-buying journey in one place, from initial lead inquiry to warranty support. It offers real-time insights enabling you to make more strategic decisions contributing to your bottom line.
Book a demo to see how RYZ can help keep both buyers and your internal team supported and running smoothly throughout the full homebuying journey.
Comments