What a real estate agency website needs to attract clients

One website, two audiences

An estate agency website speaks to two different people: someone looking for a home and someone who wants to sell or let theirs. They have different questions, and a website that only thinks about buyers misses the most valuable client: the owner who trusts you with their property.

What should be clear in five seconds

The first screen should make clear which area you cover, what type of property (homes, luxury, holiday lets, commercial) and what each visitor can do: search for a property or sell theirs.

“Your home is our passion” could belong to any agency. “Buying and selling homes in Portocolom and eastern Mallorca. We value your home for free within 48 hours” says exactly what you do and for whom.

Two clear buttons, one for each audience, work better than a single huge search box.

Search and property listings

For people searching, the property listing is the most important page. A good listing includes:

• Quality photos, bright and in a logical order, and if possible a floor plan and a video or virtual tour.
• A clear price and what costs or taxes the buyer will face, even as a guide.
• Complete details: floor area, bedrooms, bathrooms, orientation, year, condition and community fees.
• Energy rating. In the European Union, sale and rental adverts must show it.
• Approximate location and a description of the area: services, schools, transport.
• A visible viewing button, with the property reference already included in the message.

The search, by contrast, should be as simple as possible: area, type, price and bedrooms are usually enough. And if you use real estate management software, ideally properties are published on the website automatically from it, so you don’t duplicate work or show properties that are already sold.

A page to win owners

It is the page most often missing from estate agency websites, and the one that can bring in the most business. Someone thinking of selling wants to know:

• What their property is worth. A simple valuation form is one of the best ways in.
• How you work: professional photos, marketing, buyer screening, support all the way to completion.
• What your fees include, or at least how they are calculated.
• Proof: properties sold, average time to sell, reviews from other owners.

Explained in three steps (“1. We value your home. 2. We prepare and market it. 3. We support you until signing”), the process takes a lot of fear out of the first step.

Signs of trust

• Real people: team photos, names, languages and the area each one knows.
• Professional details: registration as an estate agent where required, professional associations and liability insurance.
• Reviews from buyers and owners, ideally from Google rather than hand-picked.
• Local knowledge: neighbourhood or town guides, guide prices, what to know before buying there. For example, “Living in Portocolom: prices, amenities and what to know before buying”.

Don’t rely only on the portals

Property portals are essential for reaching many buyers, but they have a limit: there, your advert sits next to your competitors’, and the enquiry is about the property, not about you.

Your own website is where you can explain why to choose you, win owners and receive enquiries nobody compares with anyone else. Link to it from your adverts, emails and social media, and give people reasons to come back: new listings, exclusive properties or useful content about the area.

International clients

If you sell to buyers from other countries, the website should be in their languages, and not just translated: they need to understand how buying works in your country, what taxes they will pay, what documents they need and what role each professional plays. That information builds a lot of trust and is hard to find on the portals.

I explain it in the guide multilingual website: how to do it right for international clients.

Quick review of your website

• Is it clear within five seconds which area you cover and what type of property you handle?
• Is there a clear path for people searching and another for people wanting to sell?
• Do listings have good photos, a clear price, an energy rating and a viewing button?
• Do you have a valuation or owner page?
• Can visitors see your team and your reviews?
• Do sold or withdrawn properties disappear from the website promptly?
• Is it in your buyers’ languages?

Frequently asked questions about estate agency websites