The average person thinks that being a real estate agent is an easy job. Spend a few hours on the phone, wear a good suit, send over some Google Maps directions and the deal is in the bag.
However, an average real estate agent has to find the time to manage social media accounts, find new clients, create marketing materials for new listings, remain in touch with active buyers while searching for new ones, and so much more.
If you feel like juggling all of these responsibilities and tasks are taking their toll on you, let me recommend some of the best real estate tools that can help you keep track of all your work to manage your business like a pro.
What are the Best Real Estate Tools?
From keeping track of leads and e-signatures to designing well crafted videos and creating ad copy, there are an abundance of tools for real estate agents. Here is my list of the best ones for this year.
1. LionDesk CRM
Overview
Lion Desk CRM is a CRM platform for agents, brokers, and realtors, providing customer relationship & transaction management, lead generation, and an array of integrations to real estate professionals.
The CRM aspect of Lion Desk revolves around building an automated communication system. This solution allows you to create layered campaigns, organize contacts, and streamline the communication process.
From the LionDesk dashboard, users can not only see parameters such as new contacts, inbound texts, opened & clicked emails, and properties owned, but also how these parameters have changed in the previous days, weeks, or months (expressed in percentages).
The transaction management tool is one of the key elements of LionDesk, presenting a simple table of transactions while showing titles, addresses, types, listing stages, sale values, and commission values.
For emerging agents and brokers searching to expand their contacts, LionDesk offers premium lead generation features; this segment comprises tools for Facebook ad management, as well as pre-built and custom audience lists.
This software operates on credits, which can be used to send video and text messages, send emails, build transaction pipelines, create landing pages, and more.
Key Features
- Bulk text and video text sending
- Transaction & task management
- Pre-built marketing campaigns
- Drag & drop landing page builder
- Click-to-call & power dialer features
- Sub-account management
- Facebook lead generation
- Route leads to team members by zip code
Pricing
LionDesk offers three subscription options, including the Starter bundle at $99 per month; Pro+ Bundle at $139 per month, and Elite Bundle at $219 per month.
What I Like / Dislike About Lion Desk CRM
LionDesk is widely regarded among the top real estate CRM tools, offering an array of advanced tools to grow your list of contacts, streamline transactions & daily tasks, build your own (or your agency’s) web presence, and scale. It’s one of the best-rounded real estate platforms capable of delivering consistent results.
On the downside, its subscription is rather pricey. Even though established real estate companies and agents shouldn’t have any problems paying up to $219 each month, there are numerous far less expensive tools on this list.
Who Is This For?
I recommend LionDesk to all real estate agents and brokers, as even the Starter Bundle has the tools they can use to elevate their businesses. For established names in the industry, the Elite Bundle can be a game-changer.
2. SignNow
Overview
SignNow is an online e-signature tool that allows you and your clients to sign contracts or agreements, accept payments, and pretty much sign any kind of document online. It offers a variety of other features that synergize with its core functions (sending documents to others to sign).
With SignNow, you can customize the signing section with a fillable field; you can add a checkbox, date, initials, dropdown, and numerous other parameters to any document.
Cutting-edge threat protection is provided by SignNow’s encryption, ensuring that all of your documents are perfectly safe.
Personalized branding features are also available in the “Business Premium” subscription (and above). This feature enables you to create custom signing invitations, documents, or emails by adding elements (logos, graphics, slogans, or similar) to any document.
The feature that separates SignNow from most e-signing online tools is called Conditional Documents. Namely, you can create channels for specific recipients to receive multiple documents under specific conditions, which you are free to determine and change whenever you want.
Furthermore, you can add conditional fields, and even put material requests in your documents, prompting the recipient to include additional material as attachments.
Key Features
- Send bulk documents to your clients or customers
- Cutting-edge encryption ensures data safety
- Personalized and customizable document sending
- Conditional documents and fields
- Set reminders and notifications
- Compatible with the proprietary SignNow app
Pricing
SignNow provides four subscription plans, including Business at $20 per month; Business Premium at $30 per month; Enterprise at $50 per month, and airSlate Business Cloud at $50 per month.
What I Like / Dislike About SignNow
I love the versatility of SignNow. It is significantly better-rounded than most e-singing platforms, offering a range of unique features like conditional fields & documents, signer attachments, the ability to request payments, and more.
SignNow is easily one of the top real estate tools out there, but it is limited to electronic singing features. It’s an excellent program, but it will solve only a handful of your problems.
Who Is This For?
I recommend SignNow to agents and brokers that work with multiple different clients daily. Making contracts and arrangements, as well as handling documents remotely is easier than ever with this tool, although its vast usefulness is somewhat limited to e-signing tasks.
3. Structurely
Overview
Structurely is a highly versatile AI-powered lead optimization tool. With it, users can delegate lead qualification and conversion to its AI assistant while the platform itself offers advanced analytics, support for Drip campaigns, and more.
The AI Assistant is bilingual and was engineered to work effortlessly with numerous cutting-edge platforms, such as SalesForce, HubSpot, LinkedIn Ads, Marketo, and Calendly.
What separates Structurely from more traditional-leaning lead generation agencies is the utilization of artificial intelligence, which is active 24-7 year-round.
The Assistant automates pretty much every lead-related process, including appointment scheduling, data collection, customer relationship management, lead revitalization, sending follow-up messages, and most importantly, lead nurturing.
Key Features
- AI-powered lead generation, qualification, and conversion
- Data collection and analysis
- Appointment scheduling
- Customer relationship management
- Integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier, LinkedIn Ads, Marketo, and Calendly
- Detailed reports and analytics
Pricing
The pricing of Structurely’s subscription is custom and affected by the number of imported contacts. All pricing plans feature hundreds of CRM integrations, script customization, appointment scheduling, and other features.
Although a free version is not available, you can request a free demo. After completing the form on Structurely’s Pricing page you will receive a message with your pricing options.
What I Like / Dislike About Structurely
Speed and information acquisition are two things that all agents depend on. With Structurely’s artificial intelligence technology, you will never miss a client, and you will be able to manage relationships with hundreds of active and potential clients non-stop.
Objectively speaking, AI technology is rarely perfect, and delegating the entirety of lead management to a smart computer is a huge step not everyone is willing to take. Structurely’s AI assistant is sophisticated and offers consistent results, though.
Who Is This For?
I recommend Structurely’s services to forward-thinking agents that want to establish an omnipresent impact among their clients and customers.
4. Jasper.ai
Overview
Jasper.ai is the second AI-powered tool on the list, offering innovative content creation features and solutions. Although it was primarily designed to spruce up website content for social media influencers and bloggers, real estate agents that want to establish their brands could leverage these technologies just as easily.
Similar to Structurely, Jasper was designed to automate a series of website-related processes. From content creation and SEO optimization, over social media ad boosting, to scaling existing content, this AI can do it all.
Jasper can create completely original content in over 25 languages. It is equipped with more than 50 unique writing skills and features numerous templates, such as paragraph generator, text summarizer, AIDA framework, Problem-Agitate-Solution framework, product description, creative story, and more.
Key Features
- AI-powered content creation and optimization
- SEO-targeted content
- Paragraph generator for bite-sized content
- Text summarizer for content highlights
- Over 50 framework templates
- Supports over 25 languages
Pricing
Jasper’s subscription plans are based on the number of words you plan to use each month. The Starter Pack is the basic subscription with an estimated cost of $49 per month for 35,000 words (default). Boss Mode’s subscription is estimated at $99 per month for 100,000 words (default). A custom Business plan can also be created by contacting Jasper.ai’s sales department.
What I Like / Dislike About Jasper.ai
Real estate professionals usually have to spend hundreds of dollars on content creators and freelancers to create the basic content blocks for their websites. Jasper.ai takes care of this problem at a fraction of the price.
Furthermore, you can ensure your website’s content is always up-to-date and your website SEO pitch-perfect.
Jasper is an AI machine in a sense, and as such, its proficiency depends on your input and understanding of handling artificial intelligence technology.
Who Is This For?
Jasper.ai is ideal for prolific agents, as well as real estate firms comprised of independent agents that need a simple, affordable solution for their respective websites and web pages.
5. HootSuite
Overview
Whether you’re a real estate professional or aspirant, your daily routine probably consists of answering hundreds of calls and meeting dozens of clients. Managing social media channels can shave several hours off your day, which is the reason why most people outsource dependable easy-to-use tech tools.
Hootsuite is a well-rounded social media management tool, allowing you to publish content, engage broad audiences, monitor the performance of your ads, and finally analyze your efforts before perfecting your strategies.
With this tool, you can schedule Instagram and Facebook posts, make sure all your leads and clients receive replies on time, and monitor the latest trends, as well as the performance of your competitors.
One of the most useful features of HootSuite is the unified messaging platform, which allows you to access all messages (from a single social media platform) in a unified inbox.
Unlimited post scheduling is something all accounts are privy to, regardless of whether you’ve subscribed to the starter “Professional” pack or the ultimate “Enterprise” one.
Another interesting feature of this tool is the ability to manage team roles, as well as team access permissions.
Key Features
- Supports more than 5 users and over 50 social media accounts
- Unlimited post scheduling
- A unified inbox to access all messages from a single social media network
- Integrates with TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest
- Message reviews before publishing
Pricing
HootSuite presents three pricing options, including Professional at $49 per month; Team at $129 per month, and Business at $739 per month. A custom “Enterprise” subscription is also available and can be accessed by contacting HootSuite’s sales representative.
What I Like / Dislike About HootSuite
HootSuite is an extraordinarily versatile social media management platform that can simplify and automate a good chunk of your social media engagements. Whether you’re searching for new clients or want to stay in touch with as many leads as possible, you can do so and more with HootSuite.
The ability to review messages before publishing is very useful, but it is not available in all subscription plans. The second most expensive pricing plan (as well as the first) features it, and the problem is that the price of this subscription is several times higher in comparison to the previous tier.
Who Is This For?
Regardless of whether you are a professional real estate agent that is very active on social media or an emerging broker that rarely uses Facebook, you can benefit from HootSuite. This tool can vastly improve your reach and relationships with leads and clients.
6. Grasshopper
Overview
Grasshopper is a virtual phone system tool designed to manage your inbound and outbound calls and ensure your clients can always reach you, your agency, or the information they need.
Arguably the most important feature of Grasshopper is the innovative business number model. While most call management platforms charge extra for similar services, you can retain both your original private number and get the business number of your choosing without overpaying.
Custom greetings and voice extensions are almost equally important, allowing you to create a custom “client path” before the connection is established.
Desktop inbound and outbound calls are also available. This way, you can easily multi-task several calls or route calls to colleagues.
Voicemail transcriptions, virtual faxing, comprehensive income call control, and reporting functionalities are some of the other notable features of Grasshopper.
Key Features
- Desktop and mobile app compatibility
- Voicemail transcriptions
- VoIP calls
- Business texting
- Call routing and transfers
- Custom greetings and call extensions
- Business number separate from a private number
Pricing
Grasshopper offers three subscription plans, including Solo at $26 per month; Partner at $44 per month, and Small Business at $80 per month.
What I Like / Dislike About Grasshopper
Grasshopper essentially doubles as a large team of call receptionists. Greeting, routing, and connecting your leads to you, this tool is an excellent choice for agents that are being drowned in a sea of calls.
There are no drawbacks to Grasshopper – it’s one of the best at what it does, and it’s not even expensive. It’s safe to consider it one of the top
real estate tools, but just like SignNow, it is laser-focused on overcoming one type of obstacle.
Who Is This For?
Grasshopper is best suited for lone wolves in the real estate industry, such as real estate investors as well as teams of brokers and agents. It is a fairly inexpensive tool that can save you hours of precious time each day.
7. Wave Video Editor
Overview
Wave Video Editor is one of the most streamlined and most versatile video-editing programs on the current market. It is more than just a video maker, as the platform also offers audio editing, video marketing, and video hosting tools.
In terms of video editing programs, Wave Video Editor allows you to create advanced house showing videos online from start to finish with minimal practice. You can also clip, crop, and combine video clips, animate text, or create GIFs, again, all online.
Its audio editing suite of tools encompasses functions such as adding music to videos, adding automatic captions, and the acclaimed Subtitler.
The Video Ad Maker is an extraordinarily helpful tool for real estate professionals, as you can create and market some of your best offers in one sitting. You can also optimize your video content for YouTube, or convert text to video with Wave Video Editor.
The Creative Assets features an array of effects, video overlays, filters, video thumbnails, royalty-free music, and free stock videos.
Key Features
- Dozens of live streaming, social media, and ads-related templates
- Online video maker and editor
- Add music to video
- Convert text to speech or video
- Royalty-free music and stock videos
- Numerous effects, overlays, and video filters
Pricing
Wave Video Editor is available in three pricing options, including Streamer at $20 per month; Creator at $30 per month, and Business at $60 per month. Wave also offers a free version is also available with a basic video editor, thumbnail maker, and stock library features.
What I Like / Dislike About Wave Video Editor
Aside from being one of the best-rounded video makers for real estate veterans, Wave Video Editor is also among the simplest of video-creating tools. All of its features are self-explanatory and are positioned in logical groups and segments.
The cheapest subscription package offers very limited features, which is the only thing I didn’t like too much. Fortunately, even the most expensive subscription is still pretty affordable.
Who Is This For?
Wave Video Editor is ideal for all real estate agents and brokers. Affordable, versatile, and equipped with powerful tools that are both thoroughly streamlined and simple to use, you are bound to elevate your businesses by using it.
8. Canva
Overview
Canva is a comprehensive graphic design tool that can help your real estate agency craft gorgeous marketing materials, edit existing designs, create or repurpose digital assets, and more.
Canva prints are accessible on most devices, including both desktop and mobile apps. Furthermore, its design capabilities aren’t limited to photos alone – you can also create videos and market property listings seamlessly with it.
One of the most useful features of Canva is its streamlined resizing function. With a click of a button, you can change the size of any document or file and use the same designs in multiple ways.
Several privacy-related features are present as well. Canva allows you to restrict access to your fonts, colors, or templates; lock entire elements to gatekeep your branding, all the while offering seamless workflow reviewing options.
Key Features
- Simple-to-use graphic editor
- Create, repurpose, save, or share assets
- Canva Print and Video
- Accessible on computers and mobile apps
- Streamlined resizing function
- Custom and preset templates
- Brand control and privacy features
Pricing
Canva offers two pricing plans, including Pro at $119.99 per year, and Enterprise at $30 per month. A free version with limited features is also available.
What I Like / Dislike About Canva
Canva is one of the top real estate tools for prolific agents that have to showcase multiple homes each day. It equips you with the tools you need to create advanced graphic materials for your listings and offers a shallow learning curve.
It doesn’t have any fatal flaws, although I doubt you will get to use all of the features you are paying for.
Who Is This For?
Canva is perfectly suited for real estate professionals and agencies of all sizes. It is a highly versatile, affordable tool that offers millions of stock assets, and it is very easy to use.
9. Placester
Overview
Placester is a hybrid platform, offering real estate broker software on one end, and website-launching tools on the other.
In terms of the former, the acclaimed Agent Manager program comprises an array of tools that can be used to manage your offices, such as a unified agent profile database, streamlined admin access privileges, automated onboarding process, and website template-creating functions.
This tool also offers a plethora of fully customizable real estate templates and effects that can be used to create attractive marketing material.
Key Features
- A unified agent profile database
- Admin access controls
- Onboarding automation
- Website template creation
- Hundreds of customizable presets
- Custom real estate website building services
Pricing
Placester offers four pricing plans, including Basic Setup at $100; Semi-custom Site Build at $650; Custom Site Build at $950, and Enterprise Custom Site Build at $1350. All fees are charged only once.
What I Like / Dislike About Placester
Whether you’re starting from scratch or want to modernize your website, create marketing material or improve your onboarding process, Placester is the app to use. Its versatility is absolutely unparalleled, as it combines the elements of several tools on this list.
While the one-time charging model may be more appealing to some, I would argue that Placester’s services are a bit on the more expensive side.
Who Is This For?
Placester is best suited for real estate agents and agencies that are planning to rebrand or modernize their online presence.
Wrap Up
The best real estate tools can help make your job easier and offer you a good return on investment. Some agents are social media experts; some have a knack for graphic design and a keen eye for photography. Others don’t mind crunching numbers or onboarding new staff.
I believe that the vast majority of real estate agents could use a bit of help with some of these overwhelming tasks, which is the reason why I’ve listed the apps I deem the best real estate tools on the current market.
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