Build A Real Estate App Like Zoopla: Key Features, Cost & UK Market Guide

With the digital age moving at breakneck speed, property seekers, and indeed the real estate business itself, are adopting more streamlined, convenient workflows, leading to the increasing popularity of accessibility-led real estate apps like Zoopla in the UK. Whether you are looking to buy, sell, or rent a home, Zoopla has fundamentally changed the way we interact with property listings through advanced filters, seamless browsing, and robust market insights.  If you are a startup or an established real estate company looking to capitalize on the UK property boom, providing users with a real estate app experience similar to Zoopla will open up a world of opportunities. In this Blog, we will run you through the step-by-step process of designing a complex, accessible, user-friendly, and scalable real estate app for the UK market, which will keep your real estate production company competitive and innovative in a digital-first world.  

What is Zoopla? 

It is a UK-based online property platform that launched in 2007 and provides property listings for buying, selling, and renting homes. Zoopla gives its users property information, price history, neighborhood insights, and valuation tools. Zoopla extracts data from estate agents, developers, and property owners, making it a prominent platform for property seekers across the UK. With more than 10 million downloads and millions of users visiting their website each month, Zoopla has gone on to become one of the most trusted property search platforms in the UK. 

Also Read - How To Build A Real Estate App Like Redfin

Must-Have Features Of A Real Estate App Like Zoopla

Look at these amazing Zoopla London app features if you want to know about an incredible replica. 

Advanced Property Search

Allows users to filter listings by location, price, size, amenities, and property type for a highly personalized and efficient home search experience suitable for an individual user's needs. 

Interactive Map Integration

Displays property listings over an interactive map with live location data so that users can investigate nearby amenities, schools, and transport to make a more informed decision about a property. 

Virtual Property Tours

Provides users with video walkthroughs or VR tours of properties, allowing them to explore homes virtually and make confident decisions before in-person visits are required.

AI-Powered Recommendations

Instead of simply showing properties that match a user's criteria, the Zoopla mobile app will utilize machine learning to suggest properties based on user behavior, preferences, and search history, potentially enhancing the intuitiveness of the App and increasing the likelihood of user engagement, leading to conversions. 

In-App Messaging & Contact

Connects buyers or renters directly with agents or property owners through secure in-app messaging or calling features to facilitate communication without needing to go through third-party platforms. 

Saved Searches & Alerts

It lets users save custom search filters and receive alerts when new listings come up, or price changes occur so that users never miss out the next time their dream opportunity becomes available. 

Mortgage Calculator

Allows users to estimate monthly payments, interest rates, and affordability to help provide clarity around finances and help guide the user to make smarter budget-friendly decisions throughout the process of purchasing property.

Neighborhood Insights

Showcases crime statistics, school ratings, public transportation, and local attractions to provide more context and an image of the characteristics of the surrounding area ahead of a decision.

Property Valuation Tool

Assesses the property's current market value based on historical trends and real-time indicators to fairly judge selling prices or plan investments.

User Reviews & Ratings

Provide a means of rating and reviewing properties, agents, or neighborhoods and build social validation for new users who may be examining neighborhoods they don't know much about.

How to Build an App Similar to Zoopla?

If you want to build a real estate app like Zillow and Zoopla, you must follow this amazing guide developed by experts in this industry. 

1. Market Research and Idea Validation

To Develop a real estate app like Zoopla, you will want to do some in-depth market research to determine and analyze where your users will require the most assistance, what your competitors are doing well, and current trends in UK real estate. You will also need to decide on your Real estate apps, like Property Finder unique selling point (USP), and define your target market. Then, work with the developers to validate your idea to ensure the Zoopla app android meets user expectations and solves market pain points, just like Zoopla did when they entered the real estate sector.

2. Project Planning and Requirements Analysis

You and the app development will work to understand the technical requirements for your Zoopla UK App to get buy-in for the core functionality, user flows, and timelines. You will work through wireframes and define aspects such as project scope, tech stack, and budget. If this documentation is clear and the goals are mutually understood at this stage, it can help avoid ambiguity and allow the final product to stay as close to your vision and expectations as possible.

3. UI/UX Design

This is the third stage to build a real estate app in which you must work on an engaging, intuitive, and easy-to-use interface is critical. Designers built interactive prototypes and high-fidelity UI screens to ensure flow and usability, branding, and an enjoyable user experience. The focus for a Zoopla property finder is on property visualizations, location-based tools, and a clean layout that enhances trust and is easy to navigate. 

4. Development (Frontend & Backend).

Developers begin coding the application, Addressing the client-side interface and also the server-side properties (databases, APIs, and third-party integrations) that all work together to serve the users. Real estate app development companies work together on establishing a scalable, secure architecture to ensure the application can efficiently handle a growing user base, increasing listings, and real-time data. Using agile methodology enables testing and development in iterations throughout the lifecycle.

5. Testing & Quality Assurance. 

Testing of the application takes place over many testing phases: functional, usability, performance, quality assurance, and so on. These phases ensure a smooth, bug-free experience for your users. Zoopla, like app development, needs to be very reliable, especially when it involves location-based searches, financial tools, and communications with users. Testing will provide constructive feedback from users to help with fine-tuning certain elements of the application prior to the release of the application. 

6. Launch & Post-Launch Support. 

When testing has been satisfactorily completed, the App will be launched on its designated platform(s) (iOS/Android). The Real estate app development company will provide maintenance and updates after launch, plus ongoing performance monitoring. Post-launch support can also include fixing bugs, rolling out new releases with features based on what your users/clients are requesting, and scaling the platform so it remains competitive and ready for the future over the coming months and years ahead.

How Much Does Zoopla Like App Development Cost?

Depending on a number of attributes or features with ease of development, a real estate app such as Zoopla can cost anywhere between $25,000 and 150,000+, depending on the conditions. The cost to Build an app like Zoopla, more or less than the other, depends on whether you're building a basic MVP versus a fully nuanced app with AI, real data, marking analytics, and variations of branches to your App. The things that can really affect your Real estate app development cost can be broken down as follows:

1. Features & Functionality

Depending on how customized the features of the App are and how many features this will determine the Real estate app development cost. For example, virtual property tours, mortgage calculators, AI recommendations based on the properties viewed, interactive maps, etc. While your base price of the App may be lower than other basic apps, the advanced features will go towards matching the performance, usability, and professionalism of the Zoopla app.

2. Platform (iOS, Android or Both)

If you build only for one platform, your outlay cost will be lower than if the developer builds for iOS App and Android App. Developing in a cross-platform tech stack may be the financially prudent route; however, if not done with expertise, it can lower the capability of having full native functionality.

3. UI/UX design

If you want users to engage and adopt the Zoopla-like app development, the Design and navigational features should be seamless and visually appealing. Typically, customized features or animations, responsive designs, and auditable and intuitive features will raise the cost of building an app like Zoopla but will also make your App competitive, relevant, and engaging.

4. Development Team and Location

Generally, hiring a developer in North America and Western Europe costs more than hiring a Real estate app development company in Asia and Eastern Europe. A credible app developer with experience in real estate should deliver a final product of quality that will increase the cost of building an app like Zoopla

5. Third Party Integrations

Those inevitably include integrations like Google Maps, property listing integration, payment gateways, and CRM systems, and they may also include licensing or parts of the integration or actual development time and will add to the Real estate app development cost.

6. Maintenance & Updates

Launch support, debug fixes, performance monitoring, and new features all have maintenance costs, and the overall cost of maintaining your App will help you keep it successful and competitive in the marketplace through its lifecycle, whether it's for 1 or 10 years.

Investing in building a high-quality real estate app like Zoopla balances cost with value and long-term user satisfaction.

Also Read - Top 10 Real Estate App Development Companies In India 2025

Reasons to Invest in Real Estate App Development in the UK

The UK property market is one of the most enterprising in the world, and there has been a drive for tech-enabled, seamless real estate operational solutions. In the UK, there are many benefits of investing in Zoopla app development UK, whether you are new to it or have an established business. Here are five compelling reasons to consider investing in real estate app development.  

1. High Smartphone & Internet Penetration

With over 90% smartphone use in the UK, we have a huge opportunity to engage property buyers, sellers, and renters directly through mobile apps. A Zoopla app development UK provides the ideal means for users to browse, search, and connect whilst on the move and has been shown to speed up transactions.

2. Rising Demand for Digital Property Solutions

Users in the UK are increasingly looking to use modern methods like digital technology to find property whilst running their transactions - the pandemic drove property users to expect faster and more efficient methods, such as no-contact property viewings, valuations, and more. Developing a quality property app will meet these needs, while it will also assist in reducing reliance on a traditional property agent during this process.

3. Competitive Advantage and Brand Visibility

Creating a property app like Zoopla also positions you and your business as a modern and technologically savvy brand, which helps build trust and loyalty but also sets you apart from your competitors who will rely heavily on websites or 3rd party portals.

4. Revenue and Monetization Potential

Opportunities for monetization with a real estate app are plentiful. You can charge listing fees, feature advertisements, license subscriptions, and gain revenue from partnerships with 3rd parties. Plus, Zoopla Android app models are highly scalable, so you have plenty of opportunity to take advantage of the institutional practices within the real estate industry and build reliable and steady income as your users and number of properties grow inside your Zoopla app development UK.

5. Real-Time Data and Customer Insights 

A custom-made property app allows you access to all the data and analytics on usage and trends within the App to quantify user behavior, property trends, most searched areas, and more to make educated business decisions while shaping your services to cater to what the demand is within the market.

How can IMG Global Infotech Can Help?

If you want to build an app like Zoopla, you must require a lot of planning, branding, and high-end user experience features, amongst other things, to build a property app that competes with Zoopla in the UK. However, if you are aware of the use further listed in this blog, if chosen correctly, you will be able to collaborate with your development partner to build a high-performing and usable app that will stand out from the crowd of competitive property space. IMG Global Infotech specializes in custom Mobile App Development in the UK. Our App, like the Zoopla development company, will create a scalable mobile solution that is intuitive and packed with features, bringing your idea to life.