When it comes to real estate brokerage software, the choices are endless and confusing. This is because many of the software providers are trying to bridge the gap between one category (like CRMs) and another (brokerage financial management). Even worse, the real estate tech space moves insanely fast these days.
To make your decision-making process easier, we put together this guide to the best real estate brokerage software of 2022.
Essential Real Estate Broker Software & Pricing for 2022
Digital & Print Marketing Suites
Unless you plan on hiring a Marketing Manager, you will need to provide a way for your agents to create their own professional-looking presentations, postcards, newsletters, fliers, and social media marketing. A robust digital and print marketing suite can do all of this as well as help maintain your brokerage’s brand and quality standards.
Since branding matters more than ever in 2022, software that lets your agents create beautiful, on-brand marketing materials quickly and easily is no longer optional.
Digital & Print Marketing Suite Features to Consider
- Branded custom templates
- Fliers
- Just sold
- Just listed
- Feature cards
- Postcards
- Printed listing presentations
- Digital listing presentations
- Facebook banners
- Email newsletters
- Door hangers
- Letterhead
- Thank-you cards
- Open house materials
- Social media templates
- Share to social media
- Online modifiable
- Printable
- Direct mail
- Direct-to-printer
No matter what features you prioritize, a general rule of thumb to follow is that real estate-specific marketing software and apps generally offer a better return on investment (ROI) than general software and apps. Sure, you can make Canva work for your agents, but you’re going to have to work at it.
Best Digital Marketing Suite Options for Brokerages in 2022
Maxa Designs
Pricing: Contact for pricing
Ease of use: Easy
If you want your agents’ marketing to succeed on social media and print, Maxa is a must for your brokerage. It’s the first easy-to-use design app with custom branded marketing templates. They offer beautiful real estate-specific templates for social media, open house flyers, open house signs, letters, business cards, and much more. It’s like Canva on steroids.
Essential for any brokerage that wants its agents to look great in 2022.
Breakthrough Broker
Pricing: $13.95 per agent, per month
Ease of use: Easy
Many of you are already familiar with Breakthrough Broker, but you may not know that they offer a Custom Marketing Center for brokerages. Their custom solution allows your brokerage to offer its agents a full marketing suite that will rival any Fortune 500 competitor’s for less than the cost of hiring a college graduate.
CORE Listing Machine
Pricing: Contact for pricing
Ease of use: Easy
CORE Listing Machine (formerly CirclePix) takes the time and hassle out of promoting your listings with a fully automated print and digital marketing suite. Connected CORE Listing Machine pulls details directly from your MLS and creates a complete marketing campaign for each stage of your listing’s life cycle, including just listed, open house, price improvement, and just sold.
Financial Management Software
One of the most difficult challenges with running a real estate brokerage is managing the finances. Tracking agent splits, CAPS, and agent billing can quickly become a full-time job. Add in the fact that you may have tens, if not hundreds of agents with splits and fees, and without powerful software, this task becomes impossible.
Brokerage financial management software not only tracks agent splits and fees, but it can also create trending reports, profit and loss statements, and prepare annual 1099 statements. Integration with tax software, credit card servicer, and transaction management software is an absolute must-have feature that will prevent you or your staff from having to waste time doing double-entry.
Financial Management Software Features to Consider
- Trust and escrow account management
- Agent commission tracking
- Team commission tracking
- Agent on- and off-boarding
- Multi-office functionality
- Recurring billing
- Agent monthly fee
- Agent E&O fee
- Additional services
- Reports
- Agent commissions and caps
- P&L
- Cash flow
- Pending transactions
- Accounts receivable
- Year-over-year
- 1099s and tax reports
- Integrations
- Transaction management software
- Customer relationship management (CRM)
- Credit card provider
- QuickBooks
- Email provider
The Best Financial Management Software Options for Brokerages in 2022
Brokermint
Pricing: $59 per month for up to three users
Ease of use: Moderate
While the basic Brokermint solution may be good enough for a small team or brokerage, you will want to upgrade to the standard ($99 per month) option to have the integration features. Brokermint also offers a white label option, multiple office functionality, and single sign-on with their enterprise package.
Lone Wolf Back Office
Pricing: Contact for brokerage pricing
Ease of use: Moderate
Formerly known as brokerWOLF, Lone Wolf has been providing real estate brokerage management software for over 30 years. While Lone Wolf Back Office is a full-featured brokerage management solution, it does lack polish when it comes to their useability, and they are not compatible with Apple.
iBroker
Pricing: $7 per agent
Ease of use: Moderate
iBroker has a simple and clean interface for tracking and managing your brokerage’s finances. Better yet, their software is optimized for mobile, so you can manage your financials from a phone or tablet. iBroker also integrates with iFranchise software (same company) if you decide to franchise your brokerage in the future.
Realty Broker Office
Pricing: $98 per month (unlimited agents)
Ease of use: Moderate
If you are looking for a lower-cost solution to assist with managing your larger brokerage, then the Realty Broker Office software might just work for you. This solution is packed full of the same features of the higher-cost providers. My only concern is that despite my online investigations, I wasn’t able to find any reviews or recommendations from actual users … good or bad.
All-in-One Website/CRM Real Estate Broker Software
Today, nearly every national real estate brokerage offers some type all-in-one website/CRM. Whether it is kvCORE (EXP), Command (Keller Williams), or booj (RE/MAX), these systems all have one thing in common: They combine IDX-capable agent websites, CRM, lead management, and online lead generation systems together into one solution.
All-in-one website/CRM solutions were originally designed to support top-producing agents and teams that specialize with online lead generation. These systems have the unique capability to place ads on Facebook and Google as well as to capture leads through landing pages and nurture leads with an integrated CRM.
So, if you are planning for your brokerage to go head-to-head with the national real estate brokerages in your area, then you may need to consider one of these top-of-the-line systems.
Real Estate Brokerage All-in-One Website/CRM Features to Consider
- SEO-optimized
- Optimized for mobile
- MLS home search (IDX integration)
- Agent search
- Map home search
- Property valuation tool
- Neighborhood and school data
- Mortgage calculator
- Lead capture capabilities
- CRM integration
- Featured listings
- Individual agent sites with IDX
- Blog or vlog
- RSS fees
- Social media links
- Agent recruiting page
- Chat feature
- Artificial intelligence auto-responder
- Agent performance and conversion tracking
Real Estate Brokerage All-in-One Website/CRM Challenges
The biggest challenge with these solutions is keeping costs within your budget. The costs of these all-in-one solutions start at a few hundred dollars a month and can quickly grow to thousands a month—before spending any money on paid advertising.
Another point is that since most of these solutions were built for teams and not for brokerages, they don’t allow for agents to have standalone webpages with their own IDX.
Best All-in-One Website/CRM Options for Brokerages in 2022
Real Geeks
Pricing: Contact for brokerage pricing
Ease of use: Moderate
Real Geeks offers an all-in-one solution for agents, teams, and brokerages alike. What I personally like about Real Geeks is their willingness to customize your brokerage website to your specifications, including standalone agent websites. The trade-off is that the customized version can become expensive compared to less optioned solutions.
kvCORE
Pricing: Contact for brokerage pricing
Ease of use: Moderate
kvCORE is another early mover in all-in-one website/CRM solutions for brokerages. kvCORE has the distinct advantage of already being used by large franchises. It’s a solid system, but might not work for every budget. You can learn more in my dedicated kvCORE review.
Propertybase GO
Pricing: Contact for brokerage pricing
Ease of use: Moderate
Propertybase is a complete all-in-one CRM and marketing solution. What separates them from some of their competitors is the ability for your ad campaigns to be managed by their professional marketing team, removing the learning curve of Facebook and Google Ad management.
Chime
Pricing: $499 per month
Ease of use: Moderate
Chime combines ease of use with artificial intelligence (AI) technology. They use proprietary AI to help users create an effective marketing campaign and respond to potential customers 24/7. One negative I found with Chime is that it is geared more for team-style brokerages than for brokerages with independent agents. This is because their brokerage site doesn’t include individual agent websites with IDX.
Market Leader
Pricing: Contact for brokerage pricing
Ease of use: Moderate
Market Leader was once the leader in all-in-one solutions, with many of the top-producing agents throughout the country using it to generate and manage real estate leads. Today, with many competitors like kvCORE and Boomtown, Market Leader stands out because it provides similar features to the others for about half the price. Like Chime, Market Leader doesn’t offer separate agent websites.
Standalone Real Estate Brokerage Websites
The main benefit of having a standalone website is the low cost to get it up and running. The main features you want to consider is the ability for your website to support IDX integration, search engine optimization (SEO), and that it is optimized for mobile. You can add other features as you grow your brokerage.
Standalone Real Estate Brokerage Website Features to Consider
Must-have Brokerage Website Features
- SEO-optimized
- Optimized for mobile
- MLS home search (IDX integration)
- Agent search
Optional Broker Website Features
- Map home search
- Neighborhood and school data
- Mortgage calculator
- Featured listings
- Blog or Vlog
- RSS fees
- Social media links
- Agent recruiting page
- Chat feature
- Artificial intelligence auto-responder
Is a Standalone Website Right for Your Brokerage?
A standalone website may be the right fit for your brokerage if you’re not planning on providing and managing leads or if your brokerage focuses on attracting seasoned agents and teams that prefer to have their own website and CRM.
If I was to start a boutique real estate brokerage today, and not planning on growing past one location or to compete directly with the national real estate brokerages, this is definitely the way I would go.
Best Standalone Real Estate Website Options for Brokerages in 2022
Custom WordPress Site
Pricing: $50 to $5,000
Ease of use: Moderate to difficult
WordPress has come a long way over the years and now powers many real estate websites, this one included. IDX integration is easier than ever, and there are a ton of amazing themes that offer agent pages, listings pages, and pretty much anything else you’d need for running a brokerage.
You can try your hand at building your own WordPress site, or hire a professional to get you up and running. If you want to build your own, we have an in-depth guide to building a real estate WordPress site here.
Placester
Pricing: $200+ per month
Ease of use: Easy
Great for smaller brokerages, Placester is one of the only affordable brokerage website providers that offers both broker and individual agent websites with individual agent IDX integration. This is important if your agents wish to have their own website as a lead capture tool.
Placester is simple enough to use that an agent with average technical skills can build a nice website that integrates with most CRMs in just a few minutes. The main complaint I have heard from agents is that the Placester website templates are limited and don’t allow for much customization.
Squarespace
Pricing: $12 per month
Ease of use: Very easy
If you are looking to get your brokerage site up quickly and you don’t need all the features of a real estate-specific website, then Squarespace may be the right solution. It also supports IDX integration through IDX providers such as Ultimate IDX.
Squarespace is a do-it-yourself solution where you can create and edit your website yourself or, if you are not tech-savvy, you can find several Squarespace developers on freelance websites like Upwork. The overall benefit is you can have your website up quickly for just a few hundred dollars.
Standalone CRM Solutions
CRMs are no longer a nice perk to offer agents. They are now essential. If you don’t offer a CRM solution to your agents, you’re going to have a very difficult time recruiting.
The problem, of course, is that there are dozens of CRMs on the market these days, and most have almost identical features for agents.
Yet, when it comes to a CRM, your real estate brokerage may have different needs than a real estate agent. So, take some time here to prioritize which features are a must for your real estate brokerage, and which are nice to have in order to make an informed decision.
Real Estate Brokerage CRM Features & Description
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Lead Capture | Capture seller and buyer leads |
| Lead Automation | Create automated responses to lead inquiries |
| Lead Routing | Direct your leads to the right agents at the right time |
| Email Campaign Builder | Create email campaigns within the system |
| Email Blast | Send a mass email to a large number of contacts |
| SMS Capabilities | Send and track SMS texts through the system |
| Auto-dialer | Make and track calls through the system |
| Voicemail Drop | Send and track a voicemail drop to multiple contacts |
| Print Mail Capabilities | Send postcards and mailers through the system |
| Facebook and Google Ads | Place Facebook and Google Ads within the system |
| Video Email | Send video within an email |
| Agent App | Agent-facing app to access CRM and features |
| Agent Training | Training provided directly to agents |
| Live Support | Live support for agent questions and problem solving |
| Analytics | Tracking agent and brokerage performance |
Standalone CRMs Can Keep Your Startup Costs Low
You may not want to offer a CRM to save costs and so your agents can select the CRM of their choice. The challenge with this is providing training support and tracking agent productivity if all your agents are using different CRMs.
The challenge that I’ve found when starting a real estate brokerage is keeping the monthly costs of premium CRMs within the operational budget. A standalone CRM may not have as many features, but they may fit within a smaller budget.
Only Pay for What Your Agents Use
Try starting your real estate brokerage with a CRM provider that offers a per-user fee plan. This is because only about 25% of your agents will actually use the CRM you provide. Many seasoned agents may have their own CRM or one that they prefer more than the one you provide with your brokerage.
A per-user plan will allow you to keep your CRM costs low when your brokerage is small and you need the savings the most.
Best Standalone CRM Options for Brokerages in 2022
LionDesk
Pricing: $25 per month
Ease of use: Easy
(Best Overall) LionDesk is my favorite not only because of the low monthly fee, but because it offers many of the same features as CRMs that cost hundreds of dollars a month. Your agents will be able to coordinate email campaigns, send SMS texting, and follow up with leads using the AI-driven text responder, known as Gabby.
RealtyJuggler
Pricing: $15 per agent, per month
Ease of use: Easy
If you are looking for a great “no-frills,” entry-level CRM, RealtyJuggler may be the right option. While it doesn’t offer the visual user experience of some of the other more expensive options, it does check nearly every box of the features listed above. RealtyJuggler offers a 90-day free trial and a prorated refund guarantee.
Contactually
Pricing: $69 per agent, per month
Ease of use: Easy
If higher costs aren’t a concern for your brokerage startup, and you are looking for a standalone CRM that actually produces measurable results, then Contactually may be a match. Contactually’s interface is easy to use, and the automations and workflows are outstanding. These features allow for a higher agent adoption rate than its competitors.
Contactually has multiple payment plans from individual agents to large brokerages, so you may need to contact them about pricing for your specific situation.
Agent Recruiting Software
If you are going to dominate your market with your new real estate brokerage, then you are going to need to recruit producing agents. Identifying the right agents by production and getting the correct contact information isn’t as easy as it sounds. This is where powerful recruiting software comes in.
Once you have identified your target agents, a CRM with proven email templates and the ability to text and drop voicemails will quickly become your best friend.
Agent Recruiting Software Features to Consider
- Voicemail drop
- SMS texting
- CRM
- Recruiting campaign templates
- MLS agent production reports
- Data import
- Automated social media profile lookup
- Training and coaching
- Integration
- Broker metrics
- Market view
- MLS
- Calendar
- Lead forms
- API
Best Agent Recruiting Software Options for Brokerages in 2022
ZipRecruiter
Pricing: Contact for pricing
Ease of use: Easy
While recruiting top producers is always a smart move, there’s also something to be said for bringing brand new agents under your wing. ZipRecruiter makes it easy with an all-in-one app for recruiting agents and hiring staff for your team. It’s the #1 rated job search app on both Apple and Android, which means you’ll cast the widest net possible for new talent.
Brokerkit
Pricing: Contact for pricing
Ease of use: Easy
Brokerkit combines a powerful CRM with email templates and integrates (SMS) texting directly from the system. This allows you to quickly contact more agents, build relationships faster, and recruit more agents.
Seize the Market
Pricing: $299 per month for two users
Ease of use: Easy
Seize the Market is a complete recruiting solution. With built-in marketing plans, agent production data, and delegated recruiting tasks, it would be difficult not to reach your brokerage agent goals.
BrokerMetrics
Pricing: Contact for pricing
Ease of use: Easy
BrokerMetrics is not recruiting software but an MLS data provider that allows you to quickly analyze and download the necessary agent data from your MLS. You can quickly view agent production, company comparison, and contact information. An MLS subscription is required.
Real Estate Showing Software
One main service a real estate brokerage provides is managing showings and feedback on the agents’ listings. Sure you can do this manually, but managing showings after hours and on weekends is not worth the effort.
Therefore, real estate showing software is a must for any brokerage. These solutions allow agents to schedule and provide feedback 24/7 and sellers to instantly accept showings and view feedback.
Real Estate Showing Software Features to Consider
- Mobile-friendly
- Agent app
- Online scheduler
- Calendar
- Mac and PC compatible
- In-app messaging
- Manage feedback
- Seller login
- Text (SMS) notifications
- Integrations
- MLS
- Calendar
Best Real Estate Showing Software Options for Brokerages in 2022
ShowingTime
Pricing: Starting at $45 per agent
Ease of use: Easy
If you have used ShowingTime’s App, you already know it is simple to use, and it will save your brokerage the trouble of having to manage all the showing details. But, with the recent announcement that ShowingTime has been purchased by Zillow, this may not be your first choice.
Schedulock
Pricing: Starting at $30 per agent
Ease of use: Easy
Schedulock offers email and text notifications along with a mobile-friendly app. Keep your agents informed with in-app agent paging to your entire brokerage.
Transaction Management Software
Transaction management software will keep your agents organized and your office compliant from a regulatory perspective by collecting and categorizing all the required disclosures and contracts, as well as managing deadlines.
Transaction management software can also notify the agent, lender, transaction coordinator (TC), and broker if there are items missing or deadlines approaching. Best of all, it will ensure that the files are complete so the agents can be paid quicker or even at closing!
Transaction Management Software Features to Consider
- File audit
- Compliance tracking
- E-signature
- Document sharing
- Form integration
- Document storage
- Contract workflows
- Mobile app
- Integration
- MLS
- CRM
- Financial software
Best Transaction Management Software Options for Brokerages in 2022
Skyslope
Pricing: $7 per agent, per month
Ease of use: Moderate
Ease of use and the ability to integrate with both the MLS and your financial management software make Skyslope a leader in real estate transaction management software.
Dotloop
Pricing: Contact for brokerage pricing
Ease of use: Moderate
Dotloop offers a very similar platform to Skyslope, so make sure to call both to get the best pricing for your brokerage.
Form Simplicity
Pricing: Contact for pricing
Ease of use: Easy
Form Simplicity is owned by the Florida Association of REALTORS, but is available to agents and brokers nationwide. Form Simplicity offers fillable PDFs as well as agent transaction management and broker compliance review, all from an easy-to-use interface.
Paperless Contracts & E-signature Software
Gone are the days of NCR paper. Today, real estate contract software is a must for any professional real estate agent. As a real estate broker, you may wish to provide your agents with real estate contract software. It will not only help you maintain standards, but it will make your agents more efficient.
Many Boards of Realtors support a specific paperless contract software, and in some cities, it has become customary for agents to use the same software for ease of use. If your area or Board doesn’t support a paperless contract solution, you may want to provide one for your agents.
Real Estate Paperless Contract & E-signature Software Features to Consider
- Interactive contracts
- Web signatures
- PDF conversion
- Sign PDF documents
- Client access
- Calendar
- Deadline monitor
- Branded contracts
- Custom clauses and addendums
- Mac and PC
- Mobile-friendly
- File backup
- Integrations
- Calendar
- MLS
- Transaction management
Best Paperless Contract & E-signature Software Options for Brokerages in 2022
DocuSign
Pricing: Starts at $10 per agent
Ease of use: Easy
DocuSign is an end-to-end, cloud-based paperless contract software solution. While the app is nice, I personally like the ability to communicate and share documents in the DocuSign Digital Rooms.
DocuSign is also one of the first companies to integrate blockchain technology onto their platform. That makes them an early mover into the consumer-facing blockchain smart contracts space. This is technology that will revolutionize the real estate industry since contracts can be created and signed instantly with no intermediary.
Bottom Line for Broker Owners
For those who are ready to jump into the competitive game of real estate brokerage, you must be prepared to win. To win at your brokerage, you must recruit and support your agents by providing them the necessary tools to succeed. The best way to do this is to have the right real estate broker software that supports the type of brokerage you are building.
Knowing this, take the time to review the real estate software options that are available and pick the best software solutions for your brokerage. The time you spend here will save you tens of thousands of dollars later.
Further Reading for Aspiring Broker Owners
If you are building or considering starting your own real estate brokerage, check out our growing list of industry insider articles on starting, running, and growing your brokerage.
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