10 real estate website examples: search, listings, and inquiries
A real estate website supports a long journey: choosing an area and budget, filtering unsuitable properties, comparing details, and arranging a viewing. A useful design reference should therefore show how people search and evaluate a listing, beyond the visual impact of the homepage.
This selection covers ten examples: seven live international property platforms and three NBM-IT projects. We looked at how they serve different visitor goals, present property details, and guide people to the next step. We reviewed the examples on September 28, 2026; external interfaces may change. These are design references, not a ranking by traffic, conversion, or property quality.
If your goal is the search visibility of the agency, read separately SEO analysis for real estate. Here we consider the design and structure of the interface: what the buyer, tenant or owner should be able to do at each step.
How we chose examples
A portal with millions of advertisements and a small agency have different scales. It is pointless to compare them by the number of filters. For each example we used the same questions:
| Criterion | What to see on the site | Why is this for business? |
|---|---|---|
| Login to search | Is it clear how to start with a city, region, type of deal or task? | A person gets to the right part of the catalog faster |
| Narrowing down your choices | Is it possible to select important options without overloading the form? | Fewer irrelevant cards and random requests |
| Object card | Are there photos, parameters, location, status and conditions? | The visitor can compare the option and decide whether viewing is necessary |
| Trust | Is it clear who posted the item, how to contact it, and what happens after the application? | The agency appears verifiable and the appeal predictable. |
| Process connection | Is there a convenient step after interest: save, ask, sign up, discuss financing? | Interest is not lost between viewing and contact |
We describe visible website solutions and published cards of our projects. This selection does not evaluate closed analytics, actual conversion and the work of integrations on the companies’ side.
Quick reference selection
| What kind of site are you planning? | Examples | What to include in the brief |
|---|---|---|
| Large catalog of housing | Zillow, Rightmove, idealista | Search by location and deal, clear categories, saving selection context |
| Agency with personal support | Compass, MH Estate | Connection of the object with a specific specialist and a transparent path to viewing |
| Commercial real estate | Rightmove, Office Scanner | Separate types of premises, area, class, conditions and cost calculation |
| New buildings and several purchase scenarios | Bayut, Property Finder | Separation of finished and under construction objects, areas, consultations and financial instruments |
| Premium properties | Compass, “Everything on Rublyovka” | High-quality presentation of the object, precise parameters and personal contact |
10 examples: what is useful to transfer to your project
1. Zillow - Search Starts From Place
On Zillow main entrance - address, district, city or zip code. Various tasks are visible nearby: renting, buying a house, finding an agent, getting a loan. This is a good guide for a wide catalog: the visitor comes with a geographical idea, and the site already helps clarify the type of object and transaction.
What to take: auto-suggestions for addresses and areas, separate routes for purchase and rental, clear links to further actions. A small agency doesn't need a directory the size of Zillow. It is enough to process your locations efficiently and not show empty results as full-fledged sections.
2. Redfin - separation of tasks before searching for an object
Redfin takes buying, renting, selling and mortgage issues in different directions. Inside the purchase there is a search for houses, apartments and open showings; Calculators and agent search are available nearby. The interface recognizes that the visitor may not yet know the specific address, but already understand his task.
What to take: do not mix the requests of the owner, buyer and tenant in one universal form. If the business has a mortgage calculation or property appraisal, place the tool where it helps make the decision and explain the underlying terms of the calculation.
3. Rightmove - different catalogs for different deals
U Rightmove Home purchase, rental, commercial real estate, prices of sold properties and agency search are presented separately. For the visitor, this is a clear menu of intentions; for the team - a reminder that categories should answer different questions.
What to take: highlight commercial premises and new buildings when their parameters and circulation path differ from secondary housing. Do not copy all sections of a large portal: an empty “commerce” section will only complicate the navigation of an agency that does not deal with it.
4. idealista - object type as a working filter
idealista separates purchase, rental, agencies and types of objects: apartments, houses, offices, premises, plots and other categories. This breakdown helps start the selection down to detailed filters. The visitor does not have to look for an office among residential advertisements.
What to take: agree on the classification of objects before development. For each type, define your own required fields and filters. Area and floor matter differently for different properties; a single card with many empty fields will worsen the perception.
5. Compass - the object is associated with the agent’s work
On Compass Next to the object search there is a separate search for a specialist, new buildings and sections of objects at different stages of publication. For an agency, this is a useful example of how a catalog and expert service can live in one product.
What to take: show who is responsible for the object and how to arrange a viewing. If there is a pre-publication or closed collection, its status should be clear. Do not promise access to an item that cannot yet be shown or for which there are no confirmed conditions.
6. Bayut - choose between regular filters and a new search method
Bayut leaves the usual fields for purchase and rental, location, type of property, number of rooms and price. Additionally, the site offers search by map, by travel time and query in free language via AI. The user can choose a convenient method, and the basic filter remains available.
What to take: start with a reliable search using verified data. Add a map or free input if there is a sufficient base of objects, correct coordinates and a way to explain the result. You should not replace the filter with one AI field, the quality of which cannot be controlled.
7. Property Finder - area and deal as part of the selection
Property Finder separates rent, purchase, sale, new projects, deals and agents. In addition to the facility, the site provides entry through neighborhoods and tools for estimating available budget. This shows that the decision is often made at the location and conditions level, and the card appears later.
What to take: neighborhood pages with real information about location and types of offerings. If there is data on completed transactions, indicate the source and date. For a Russian project, you cannot mechanically transfer the instruments and financial conditions of another market.
8. Office Scanner - directory of offices with calculation of conditions
In the NBM-IT case Office Scanner describes an office property catalog with filters for location, area, building class, and cost, plus rent and purchase calculators. For business buyers, price per square meter is only part of the decision: they also need to estimate monthly costs and compare spaces.
What to take: In the office card, keep together the area, class of the building, location, parking and terms of the transaction. A calculator is useful if its formula and assumptions are visible to the user; the outcome should not look like a guaranteed offer from the landlord or bank.
9. MH Estate - the path from the card to working with the application
Case MH Estate combines an agency website, a catalog of objects and CRM. The project description includes filters by location and parameters, a detailed card, a personal account and a viewing request. This is an example of an architecture where a form is associated with a specific object, and the manager receives the context of the request.
What to take: When a visitor sends an inquiry, retain the property ID, chosen scenario, and preferred contact channel.
10. “Everything on Rublevka” - presentation of an expensive object and selection
In the published case "Everything is on Rublyovka" the site and CRM are described as a single system for the catalog, selection and communication with the agent. For an expensive property, photos, layout, features, location and a clear way to request details or viewings are important.
What to take: check that the media helps to understand the object, and does not hide the facts behind a long gallery. If part of the address or terms are revealed after contact, be honest about it. Personal consultation should be tied to a specific selection, and not to an impersonal button on every page.
What to include in your website brief
Before designing, fix three main paths: a new visitor is looking for an object, a returning visitor is comparing options, the owner wants to sell or rent out the property. For each path, write down the entry point, required filters, required card fields and the moment of contact.
Then check the data that the interface depends on:
- Catalog. What types of objects and transactions are there really? Who is responsible for keeping status and prices up to date?
- Geography. Are there verified addresses and coordinates? Which areas deserve their own page?
- Card. What photos, plans, parameters and documents can be shown publicly? What should be visible before applying?
- Appeal. Who does the viewing request go to, how is the selected object saved, who responds and when?
- Mobile version. Is it possible to change the filter, view the layout and contact an agent without losing the selected property?
- Measurement. Are searches without results, card openings, saves, requests, and successful submissions tracked?
This brief allows the design to be discussed alongside the agency's data model and process. If you need a site related to the selection of objects, applications and the work of realtors, look at what tasks it covers CRM for real estate.
FAQ
How many filters does a small agency website need?
Start with the parameters by which visitors actually screen properties: deal, location, budget, type, area, and a few industry characteristics. The remaining fields can be expanded after the first result. The list should be clarified based on actual customer requests and the quality of data in the catalogue.
Do I need to copy the map and AI search from large portals?
The map is useful if the coordinates are accurate and there are a sufficient number of objects. Free AI search requires checking the quality of answers and clear handling of empty results. For a small agency, well-performing filters and complete cards usually provide a stronger foundation for the project.
Sources
- Zillow
- Redfin
- Rightmove
- idealista
- Compass
- Bayut
- Property Finder
- Cards of three NBM-IT projects: Office Scanner, MH Estate, "Everything is on Rublyovka".