13 Real Estate Startup Ideas

The nice thing about a startup is that the sky’s the limit. You can make your company anything from a platform to pair homebuyers and sellers with realtors to one where you teach about real estate law. 

To help you brainstorm what you want to do, we’ve put together this list of startup ideas in the real estate industry. Read through them, and you might just find the perfect idea for your new venture.

What if you could help realtors network only with other realtors? If they could get to know each other and who they represent and give them an inside scoop on all the upcoming open houses or properties for sale, they’d be ahead in the game. 

For your venture, think about creating a social network for realtors. You could include a way to tag realtors in conversations or to save details about showings. You could also create a rating system so other realtors know what to expect from working with (or against) the scored persona. From access to chats to background information about each realtor, this could be a great app for professional networking.

An often overlooked part of the real estate industry is interior design. Whether someone is selling their home or trying to furnish it for the first time, they may not have the skills or money to go out, buy new furniture, and create their ideal space. Unfortunately, when a home isn’t staged well, it makes it harder to sell. And, if someone is trying to furnish their space without a goal in mind, they could waste money.

An interior design app could be the right startup idea if you want to help people sell their homes or reimagine their spaces. Partner with furniture supply stores and vendors, and you could all benefit from those who make purchases through the app. To stand out with this kind of app, stay current with trends and what buyers want to see.

One of the problems with buying a home is that you need to do a walkthrough. Going to a showing isn’t always simple, though, and oftentimes the homes don’t actually look as expected. Many people don’t have the time to go to a property during a showing time, or they may not live close by. For those who are far away, at work, or otherwise occupied, a virtual tour is a great idea. 

VR home tours can make all the difference. Your business could offer VR tours of properties before prospects go to see them in person. They can ask questions and submit them to the seller, decide to go see the property in person, or opt to buy based on their virtual walkthrough. 

While real estate does need to maintain a human element, AI realtors can be helpful in VR spaces. AI realtors can answer questions about a home and provide details to prospective buyers when other realtors aren’t there to help and represent the seller. 

To make a solid AI realtor, you’ll need to find out all kinds of information about a property and teach the AI how to provide answers to people who chat with it. Simple inputs may have better outcomes, and you may want to provide a method to reach out to a human chat agent.

Homes and apartments are expensive. No matter how you look at it, most people will spend the most time and money finding (and purchasing) their home. 

So, finding a deal? That’s the key to happiness all around. Your startup can help people find properties that are within their budgets and give them an opportunity to compare houses side by side.

Brokerages connect buyers and sellers, helping them find one another. Sometimes, brokers work with mortgage lenders, too. All in all, the brokerage works as a helpful third party that gets everyone teamed up to help buy or sell homes. 

Mobile brokerages are ideal for people in areas where a physical brokerage isn’t present. A web-based agency could help your team pair up lenders, buyers, sellers, and realtors, so they can start making deals.

Real estate wouldn’t be possible without builders—and while they’re technically part of the construction industry, they can also benefit from VR helping them review homes and property plans. 

Builders that like to customize properties for their customers may want to work with your startup if you create a customizable VR. Allowing builders to create custom plans and then do a virtual walkthrough is a huge help. Look at brands like Autodesk to see this kind of work in action.

Landlords have their work cut out for them when they try to find tenants. Of course, many, many people need to find homes. Not everyone is the perfect tenant, though.

Your business can help by creating a space to match tenants up with landlords. Having tenants get screened through your app (which should include at least a credit check, if not also a background check) helps tenants prove their trustworthiness, and landlords can then find the right people to rent from them.

Builders who create custom properties may want to connect with vendors and real estate agents who specialize in custom homes — they need a space to do so, though. Instead of using typical social media where there are scattered groups, your company could help by creating a custom-built home social network. 

To make your social network different, consider requiring background checks or verifications to prove everyone is who they say they are. And, if you can, make it possible for people to connect, make deals, and rate one another to keep everyone on the up and up.

For buyers, it can be hard to negotiate. Maybe they love a home, but if the home is $15,000 over their budget, that might be too much to work through. Negotiating isn’t a skill everyone has, but a lot of trouble can be saved with a price negotiation service. 

For example, your app could offer sellers a way to sell their homes and input their minimum asking price. Then, someone looking to buy a home could indicate their purchase range. If the two match up? The price is negotiated down. If not, then the potential buyer can move on. 

Alternatively, have live negotiators ready to handle the job of negotiating a home’s price. Their skills could help buyers save thousands!

Online real estate brokerages do most of their work from home. They also meet their buyers through digital means. They may offer VR walkthroughs or schedule chats to talk about potential offers via virtual calls. 

Why create an online real estate brokerage? It has fewer overheads (saving you money) and gives you a chance to connect to anyone who can call in. You won’t be as limited by location as you would be with a physical brokerage.

Investors are always looking for the next best thing, but what is it that they want to invest in? For many people, the answer is that they want to invest in real estate (and lots of it). Your mobile app could help them find properties to invest in, so they can start reaping the benefits as those properties are sold off. 

Your mobile app may want to connect potential investors with builders who are willing to share the profits when selling new builds. Alternatively, connecting individuals with builders who are putting up apartment complexes or condominiums could help them become a shareholder in a large company that pays dividends.

Many people looking to buy property get confused with mortgage plans. These plans can be complex and cover things like how much a property costs, home insurance, and local taxes. They have lots of fine print, too, which can be frustrating to look through when you’re not familiar with the industry or its terminology.

An online assistant for a mortgage plan could help people compare their potential mortgages, answer questions they have as they fill out forms, and more. Choose AI for a simple, easy-to-use tool, or have your own live agents ready to help with any and all forms.

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