Mobile Apps and the UK Property Market: A New Way to Buy and Rent Homes

As we can see, property rental apps are crucial necessities in one’s life, considering the fast-growing property rental market today. These have high convenience, efficiency, and accessibility to tenants and landlords. Facilities such as Virtual tours, Live renting listings, and clear and easy communication are some features that make property renting apps efficient and reduce the headache of renting. In arguing about the must-have features in property rental apps, this article looks at some of the most trending technology and celebrated property rental applications in the United Kingdom, including Rightmove, Zoopla, and Movebubble. Such knowledge guarantees the user will be able to make the right choices and improve the renting in general thanks to knowing the strengths and problems of those best apps.

Let’s explore the need for a rental property app if needed!

Why Property Rent App is Needed

A property rent app is essential in today’s fast-paced real estate market. It offers convenience, efficiency, and accessibility for both tenants and landlords. With features like virtual tours, real-time listings, and accessible communication, these apps streamline the rental process, save time, and reduce the hassle of searching for properties. They also provide valuable trends/tools for managing viewings, applications, and mobile payments, making the renting experience more seamless and user-friendly.

Must have Features in the Property Rent App

Learn about the Critical features that ensure a seamless and efficient user experience. When developing a property rent app or an architecture software, including these must-have features ensures a seamless and efficient user experience:

1. User Profiles and Authentication: Secure login and personalized profiles for tenants and landlords.

2. Advanced Search Filters: Enable users to search properties by location, price, size, amenities, and more.

3. Virtual Tours and Photos: High-quality images and 360-degree virtual tours of properties.

4. Real-Time Listings: Up-to-date property listings with availability status.

5. Map Integration: Interactive maps showing property locations and nearby amenities.

6. Scheduling and Booking: Options to schedule viewings and book properties directly through the App.

7. Favourites and Notifications: Users can save favourites and receive alerts for new listings or changes.

8. In-App Messaging: Secure communication between tenants and landlords.

9. Application and Documentation: Digital application forms and secure document uploads.

10. Payment Integration: In-app mobile payment solution for rent, deposits, and fees.

11. Reviews and Ratings: Feedback system for properties and landlords.

12. Maintenance Requests: Feature for tenants to report and track maintenance issues.

13. Admin Dashboard: For property managers to oversee listings, applications, and tenant communications.

14. Localization and Language Support: Adaptation for different regions and languages to reach a broader audience.

Including these features enhances user satisfaction and streamlines the rental process, making the App an invaluable tool for renters and property owners.

1. Rightmove – Most Popular:

A popular property portal in the UK, Rightmove provides many essentials for estate agents and common folk looking to buy/sell/rent a property. Every person in the United Kingdom is familiar with this one, and its branding is highly recognized. Rightmove grasps all the belts in the UK market with its website; however, what about the company’s App?

The iPhone version of the App is developed with iOS compatibility, with features that interface with iPads. Still, the App’s structure differs from those created for the U.S. market. It is flexible with the information regarding minimalism presented on the home page.

However, users can perform mostly the same operations as in Zillow’s application—including because Rightmove added a feature that allows potential buyers to schedule viewings and provides a platform to manage viewings and virtual viewings.

To make it even easier, Rightmove for mobile has a feature where you can link all account versions to open the saved listings in the App and the open house calendar.

What Apple Users Say:

Specifically, it is observed that Apple fans widely use the application. One very angry reviewer made a comment that was borne out by our explorations of the App, nonetheless. Another parameter they contrasted it with is the UI; on this one, Lorts’ designers incorporated a lot of features, which makes their App feel rather cluttered for a modern piece of software, whereas Zoopla agents simplify the user interface and make the design relatively minimalistic.

Another review written quite recently mentioned a similar problem: that using the App, one cannot save the types of properties for more efficient search.

What Android Users Say:

Like always, Android users have been slightly more demanding. Some of these included: one user noted that the App does not save types of properties, and another said that it will show listings of the kinds of properties that they have in a way dismissed by clicking on the filter button.

Many times, the App developers themselves participate in the comments section regarding both the bad reviews and the five-star ones. Presumably, then, this should be indicative of the Android version actively getting better.

OnlineMarketplaces’ View:

We like Rightmove. It’s so popular that it is one of the phrases commonly used to describe the reasons for the popularity of this phenomenon. However, it is noteworthy that the platform is a vital constituent of the company’s supply chain, particularly in the UK market, while the App might benefit from some cosmetic enhancements. However, compared to the other apps mentioned in the current review, Rightmove’s application icon is the most clustered, having advertisements at the bottom. However, when it comes to the information in the list of properties for rent or sale, the application presents only the type of property, rent, price, number of bedrooms, the agent and whether there is a floor plan.

2. Zoopla – Best Overall:

Thus, Zoopla’s App, which is described as being used more by Android users than Rightmove’s, is rated. The App’s appearance is well thought out and clean to a fault, but it is also simple. This App has a home price tracker that monitors the price of a user’s home and sends alerts on properties.

From the Zoopla advertisement, one can infer that it’s the source that provides real estate data more than “anywhere else” and is the most helpful tool when searching for a home.

Zoopla provides its users with information that includes market news and view segments, valuation technology services, and more than a million listings. It provides enough data to enable users to make sound decisions concerning real estate.

The Zoopla app allows users to find listings in the UK and Other Countries, compare housing prices in any region of the UK, and follow their house price estimates. Zoopla provides automatic property updates and a favourite list to enable the user to easily access them regardless of the version of Zoopla being used.

What Apple Users Say:

It has a relatively typical rating of the Apple company, which is famous worldwide. A couple of grumpy clients recently spoke about valuation estimation, and both pointed to the problem as being due to the date the data was produced. Some of the latest remarks concern enhancements that may be made to the map view feature, filter options and capabilities, and synchronization between the Zoopla application and the web platform accessible through a computer system.

What Android Users Say:

It is popular among Android users, or at least those who gave it a rating, more than Rightmove’s application, at least that is what the rating suggests. For instance, when going through the reviews in the Google Play Store, many of the new reviews are outstanding. These poor ratings may be attributed to factors that are situational, including glitches and bugs that require fixing.

OnlineMarketplaces’ Views:

The App is visually appealing, especially after recent changes were made in rebranding and UI and UX improvements. When entering all the criteria for the search, there is a scrolled list of property types that go from detached to park homes, with adorable icons of each type.

This is unusual from the other apps reviewed in the sense that in every search result, there is a banner telling the users how recently a listing has been created; for example, Zoopla will show the most recent first by default and the listings that have the ‘Just Added’ yellow banner on top.

3. OnTheMarket – Fastest Listing Speed:

FTB specialist OnTheMarket says it gets hold of listings a day earlier than its rivals, Rightmove and Zoopla. As for viewing a listing, OTM listings are specific and contain all the information that can be viewed before a buyer enters the property; Google Street View is involved.

Users can also find out what facilities are nearby to the listing, such as schools and transport.

When viewing details and photos of the listing, when they are enlarged in the browser window, a user is also able to go through all the property information and floor plans provided for a particular listing, as well as access an agent’s contact information, all within one place.

This also enables users to share a property of interest on all social media platforms and get the latest on the real estate market to be informed enough as they make decisions about purchasing, renting, or even selling a substance or property. 

What Apple Users Say:

Although many reviewing ‘Apple’ back a short time ago expressed their dissatisfaction over the fact that the vast majority of the listed companies had a label stating that they were ‘no longer active on the market, the majority of the users are somewhat satisfied with the rest of the functionality of the App. What stands out while doing this review series is that apps need help displaying listings not defined within a user’s search preference. Is it situational, or is there a bug in the algorithms that the app developers are unaware of?

What Android Users Say:

As mentioned above, the last Android volume reviews could be more positive. Others claim they are using the desktop site again or another platform like Rightmove. Problems are reported, starting from UI/UX bugs, link issues and insufficient listings. One user claimed that he has to clear the filters every time he enters the application, meaning that the filters are not preserved when the application is closed. Still, many have criticized that equal or worse, the filters for the search engine reset at some random intervals of time or do not work at all.

However, the complaining is met with equally fast reactions from the people working on the game. Overall, it is only wishful to see more enhancements in the Android version of the application.

Also Read – How to Select the Best Android App Development Company?

OnlineMarketplaces’ View:

We realized this because as we keep on applying the filters to the search, no property will be returned at all. This was done through many UK towns, against more and fewer filters applied to the searches, which wasn’t previously possible on Zoopla or Rightmove.

Does this mean OTM, even though it proudly boasts that it delivers listings much faster than the other sites, has a limited number of listings to present because of that? Would it be worth using OTM when there are a seemingly greater number of listings on other platforms? Is this situational?

4. Movebubble – Most Potential:

Others’ strategy for entering the market and going up against the prominent applications is to focus on particular niches. One such is Movebubble, which specializes only in the UK rental sector. However, apps that unite people and property are more specialized than Movebubble. Currently, it requires users to live in either London or Manchester, but concerning the mobile applications, it stands pretty well.

Thus, through the Movebubble app, users search for a space for rent, view virtual tours, calculate the distance of the listed home from some amenities, and even pay through the App.

Utilizing the website and, especially, the App (which is quite similar in design to the website), users can give some agents they have dealt with a rating. In addition, the seekers have an opportunity to look at the lists of properties that are in Movebubble only. This is one of the features giving Movebubble an advantage over the rent-focused applications existing in the same market, developed in Great Britain.

To visit and download the App from the site’s desktop version, the most straightforward action is to take a picture of the QR Code on the website’s homepage.

What Apple Users Say:

It has few text remarks; however, those negative remarks with low scores are usually situational, and the occurrence of bugs after updates is typical. This writer said they did not like the rotating image feature, while the second writer found it excellent. Movebubble is targeting a fresher demographic, and now, the oldest members of Generation Z are also starting to search for accommodation. Apps should be on top of the current trends, especially the trend of the event, to get the maximum number of people. 

What Android Users Say:

Several people commended the simplicity of the App. They responded affirmatively to some questions by saying they would gladly pay more for the friendly nature of the agents and the ease of customer service. The only reviewer who pointed out one of the updated features was the rotating images feature; this reviewer compared the App to TikTok and gave it a low rating. As for the design, it is very up-to-date and has the functionality of social media apps because Movebubble targets a younger audience.

OnlineMarketplaces’ View:

Movebubble is hip. An aspect that may be much more apparent to the target group is that its interface looks and feels more like an entertaining novelty app rather than a strictly business property portal app. And that is necessarily so. This is precisely the case. The desktop version is self-serving in promoting the App before its services, directing users to its App to increase its mobile user base.

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Sum up Whole

The downside, however, is that the App is only offered in two markets. Hence, it is more or less what this review refers to as the left-fielder. Well, at least for this foreigner, the UK market needs help finding many of its property portal apps in the store for those with non-UK phones. Or else, they may have yet to develop an app for the product or not have an app in the market at all. Modern-day trending technology, however, offers nothing of the kind, and this is a splendid opportunity that Movebubble is capitalizing on, overemphasizing even the basic features of its App.

Get in touch with our experts at Techugo to learn more and start your app development process!