Currently, many real estate companies have a choice between two types of apps. They can either work with off-the-shelf solutions offered by outside companies or use their internal custom solutions. The more typical approach is to use all types of off-the-shelf solutions because they appear cheaper to purchase and maintain. In this article, our primary goal is to showcase that this traditionally positive aspect of off-the-shelf solutions is often overstated and, consequently, that there may be a rising need for using custom frameworks. Custom solutions help real estate companies stand out by offering unique services and having complete control over their solutions, thus preventing many typical technical problems associated with off-the-shelf solutions.
The first reason for investing in custom MLS frameworks for real estate companies is the ability to offer unique services not present in other markets. What do we mean by this? Let's imagine you work in a market that does not adhere to the more common expectations for real estate. For example, this market may be outside the United States and Europe, which are targeted by the more common real estate solutions. In this light, there is a risk that you'll have to create many makeshift additions to your off-the-shelf software simply because it does not have the requisite features that are necessary in your situation.
Custom MLS software development solves this problem once and for all. It is possible to create an app that targets the exact needs of your market by considering local laws and general traditions when interacting with customers. No off-the-shelf solution for mainstream markets like the US can fully adapt to those needs. Consequently, you can significantly increase the convenience of your real estate tools if you invest in custom software developed specifically for your company.
Ultimately, this will allow you to stand out in two ways. Firstly, you'll generally have features that are required by the market and possess a convenient way to utilize them as opposed to the more common makeshift solutions, such as the usage of complex Excel macros, which may often be slow and cumbersome, significantly decreasing the overall speed of data processing. Secondly, the presence of custom features will allow you to provide some capabilities that are not seen anywhere else in the market. Consequently, there's an ability to attract customers through capabilities not available in any other product on the market. For example, you may add AI features ahead of all other companies to maximize the convenience of search features in your MLS. Many conservative off-the-shelf solutions still do not offer most customers this capability.
The second reason to invest in custom MLS software is the ability to have complete control over your application and all aspects of its development. A common problem with off-the-shelf solutions is that they can force you into a more or less complete vendor lock-in. This means that you will have to rely on another company's solution to such an extent that it will be impossible to shift towards something else without encountering significant financial losses. As a result, if your vendor decides to introduce substantial changes to their app that undermine your business model, it will be impossible to do anything about them without encountering some inconvenience. This factor can immediately reflect on your customers' experience, leading to a long-term decrease in the quality of the services you offer.
With custom MLS solutions, your business can stand out not only because it has some unique features but also because it has more or less complete control over the creation of new features and, for example, the security of your platform. Above all, you will be able to decide what changes are necessary in your app in the first place. If you need to add some features, this decision is relatively simple: you'll just have to ask your developers, and that's it. Any rising problems with security on the market can be tackled fast, too: you have complete control over the whole development process. This aspect genuinely stands out for most of the customers on the market because it showcases reliability and the presence of a complete vision of further business development. In our opinion, this feeling of reliability is probably among the most critical aspects to achieve for most customers on the market.
Custom MLS software means that you’ll have to worry about fewer variables. Yes, it pushes more responsibility upon you. However, it offers more control, too. With the knowledge of internal development in this field, you can achieve one more aspect: the ability to digitalize many of those processes typically indicates an advanced mastery of real estate concepts. A company that digitalizes its process is highly likely to have much more control over its business than any other firm. Therefore, investing in custom MLS software is probably among the best decisions that real estate companies can make.
This information means that custom MLS software is becoming increasingly essential in the current markets. With the accelerating speed of technological development marked by technologies like generative AI, it becomes increasingly vital to make large-scale investments into software platforms that are generally more flexible and allow for a higher degree of customization than in the past, enabling their users to modify them according to the changing standards on the market. With this coming market change, the services of companies like Keenethics will become more critical. The earlier you address custom development companies, the easier it will be to find a genuinely powerful real estate partner company.
