I’ve relocated far more frequently in recent years than I’d prefer to recall, but every move was made less daunting by a knowledgeable and reliable realtor. Even with personal recommendations, I still went online to verify their credentials, browsing profiles, scrutinizing reviews, and naturally, exploring their websites. My immediate impressions were often influenced by the design, and I know I’m not alone. It takes merely 0.05 seconds to develop an opinion about a website, with 94% of those initial judgments shaped by design.

Think of your real estate website as your online storefront; its look significantly influences your success. In this article, we’ll examine 11 real estate websites, pinpointing their strengths, explaining their effectiveness, and illustrating how you can adapt those tactics to enhance your own platform. Before delving into examples, let’s establish why your website is so crucial.

Why is your website a marketing powerhouse?

Your real estate website is a valuable tool for attracting prospective clients, converting referrals into customers, and showcasing your property listings. Not entirely sold? Let’s examine some data from the National Association of Realtors:

• As of 2021, 81% of National Association of Realtors members featured their listings on their websites.
• Websites were owned by 70% of broker/broker associates and 69% of sales agents.
• 69% of members provided information on both buying and selling properties on their websites.
• Last year, 51% of buyers discovered the home they eventually bought online. These figures are hard to ignore, especially considering that younger generations are even more prone to searching for properties and agents online. The significance of your website is only going to escalate.

Image source The message is clear: Online is where people search for homes. Since that’s where their search begins, ensure they can easily find you. With the importance of a website established, let’s explore some real estate website examples.

11 Outstanding Real Estate Website Designs

Let these examples inspire your website design, offering insights into trends, tips, and techniques to elevate your marketing.

1. The New England Real Estate Company: Streamline Navigation

Anyone who has moved knows the inherent stress involved. Whether you’re seeking a larger space, relocating for work, or buying your first home, the process can feel overwhelming. Your website should alleviate this stress by ensuring effortless navigation, which New England Real Estate Company achieves exceptionally well.

The prominent search bar in the hero section features a dropdown menu allowing searches by zip code, city, school district, neighborhood, and an array of location specifics. Three clear calls to action simplify the process of finding additional assistance. And that bright, welcoming, aspirational background image? The perfect finishing touch. Our website header examples roundup offers further navigation tips.

2. Beach & Bartolo: Showcase Local Expertise

Location reigns supreme in real estate and, by extension, its marketing. When seeking an agent, clients value expertise in real estate generally but also in-depth knowledge of a specific area. Showcasing this on your website can attract clients and benefit your local SEO. Consider Beach & Bartolo, an agency based in Columbia County, New York.

“Best of Columbia County” badges, earned by Beach & Bartolo over the past five years, flank the navigation bar. The team photo puts friendly faces to those achievements. Furthermore, the agent bio highlighted in the hero gallery emphasizes long-standing community ties. Their message is unmistakable: Beach & Bartolo are Columbia County specialists.

3. NEREN: Prioritize Accessibility

Website accessibility isn’t simply good practice; it’s crucial for inclusive marketing. Beyond adhering to best practices, many businesses are incorporating accessibility widgets that empower users to tailor their experience to their specific needs. NEREN, or the New England Real Estate Network, exemplifies this. On the bottom right of their site, you’ll find an “Accessibility” button:

This button allows adjustments to contrast, text size, and spacing, highlighting links, pausing animations, and making content dyslexia-friendly. This specific widget is powered by UserWay.

NEREN also excels at information organization. Catering to various regions, the homepage lists top cities with homes in a median price range, waterfront listings, and the most popular searches in different states.

This offers those searching broadly in New England multiple starting points. And that serene background image of a classic New England lake scene through bay windows? A beautiful touch. Our business website examples roundup has more great imagery.

4. Long and Foster: Evoke Emotion Through Video

The house hunt isn’t just about logistics; it’s deeply emotional. It can signify an exciting relationship milestone, or conversely, involve leaving a cherished home filled with memories, comfort, and family. An agent who understands these emotional nuances is invaluable, so convey this understanding through your website. Video is an effective medium for genuine emotional connection. Long and Foster features an excellent video showcasing heartwarming moments: a family preparing a meal together, a woman relaxing in her living room, and more.

In case the message wasn’t already clear, their tagline spells it out: Search. See. Love.

5. Dawn McKenna: Cater to Your Target Audience

While most potential clients will experience stress, emotional considerations, and the value of local expertise, your website should resonate with the specific experiences of your target demographic. For instance, B2B websites cater to decision-makers and executives, while family-oriented sites highlight school districts and suburbs. Firms specializing in waterfront properties, likely dealing with second-home buyers, should reflect this in their marketing. Dawn McKenna provides a great example of targeting a specific audience.

Note the sleek Montserrat font, dramatic visuals, grayscale palette, chef’s kitchen with an integrated refrigerator, and the double oven. The high-end aesthetic clearly targets a luxury clientele, not budget buyers.

6. Compass: Align Online and Offline Design

As a realtor, your marketing efforts span in-person interactions at open houses, broker events, or a physical office, along with your online presence. Your website should harmonize with these real-world strategies to provide a cohesive and memorable brand experience. Compass exemplifies this beautifully. Observe their yard sign.

Now, compare it to their website.

You’ll notice the same font, black and white color scheme, and emphasis on geometric design. Adopt a similar approach, ensuring anyone who encounters your signage, attends your open houses, or visits your office recognizes those elements across your marketing materials.

7. Sotheby’s: Simplify Contact

Making it effortless for potential clients to reach you is crucial. This could involve a straightforward contact form or a chatbot on your website. Sotheby’s employs a chatbot when a visitor is browsing a property and interacting with photos. The timing is crucial; introducing the chatbot too early can be intrusive rather than helpful. Sotheby’s targets engaged users, prompting them to schedule a viewing of the property they’re interested in.

8. Richard Blanco: Spotlight Your Content and Credentials

On slow weekend mornings, I enjoy watching House Hunters International. The clients’ demands and budgets are often outlandish, the reasons for moving abroad are fascinating, and the repetition is perfect for easing brain fog. The best episodes feature Richard Blanco, a London-based real estate agent. Naturally, I visited Richard Blanco’s website and found his television appearances (and other credentials) prominently featured.

If you have a robust content strategy with a blog, podcast, gallery, guide library, or guest content, highlight those links. Showcase your experience serving on zoning boards, city councils, or appearing in news segments or television shows. These all demonstrate your expertise, which is compelling to potential clients.

9. McEnearney Associates: Showcase Impressive Statistics

Your website should emphasize your experience, outline your approach, and feature property listings. Images, videos, and compelling copy are vital, but don’t underestimate the power of numbers. Consider this section from the about page on the McEnearney Associates website.

The numbers are visually engaging, breaking up the other website elements. These stats are also impressive—a lower average days-on-market than the benchmark and a substantial number of transactions.

10. Sweet Living Realty: Feature Testimonials

Client reviews hold immense weight, so showcase testimonials on your website. Sweet Living Realty, a Seattle-based agency, understands this, peppering testimonials throughout their homepage. Here’s an example:

Kristen And Her Team At Sweet Living Are So Amazing.

I cannot recommend them highly enough! Kristen helped us sell our first home and she was incredible. She was so supportive, informative, and responsive and she really helped us navigate the whole process with confidence. I trusted her to have our back and she exceeded our expectations. Kristen is a gem of a person, she’s funny, fun to work with, and helps bring levity to what can be a really stressful process. We moved out of the Seattle area and I really wish they covered the area we moved so we could work with them again. Sweet Living officially set the standard I will hold all realtors to.

This is a fantastic review. It’s personal, specific, includes a picture, and provides a button leading to more testimonials. The message is clear: start requesting reviews if you haven’t already.

11. Zillow: Prioritize User-Friendliness

While Zillow isn’t a perfect real estate website example (it’s a listing platform, not run by an agent or firm), it’s arguably the most engaging real estate website, boasting 36 million visitors monthly visitors. There’s valuable insight to be gleaned here. Zillow’s appeal lies partly in its user-friendly interface, allowing searches by city, map view, price, and more. Their website copy emphasizes this by simplifying the home buying or renting process.

Find it. Tour it. Own it. The reality might be more nuanced, but Zillow can streamline the process by helping you identify listings and desired areas. Another Zillow strength is its branding. Their colors and tone are consistent across platforms, as seen in their Twitter bio.

The row of houses in their signature blue and the tagline “Home, tweet home” are delightful and memorable.

Key Real Estate Website Design Takeaways

Given the many websites we’ve explored, let’s recap the key takeaways for real estate marketing:

• Simplicity is key. Moving is stressful enough; navigating your website shouldn’t be.
• Emphasize local knowledge. Focus on a specific region, city, or property type, like waterfront or mountain homes.
• Target your ideal client. Your website should resonate with their specific needs and preferences.
• Build trust. Showcase awards, memberships, partnerships, and other trust signals.
• Leverage numbers. Utilize relevant data to impress potential clients.
• Display customer testimonials. These recommendations are invaluable.
• Maintain consistency. Ensure your brand is easily recognizable across online and offline channels. Use these examples to revitalize your website, integrate compelling elements, and grow your business. For more website tips, explore our free Small business Websites Marketing Lab Course. Best of luck!