For a long while now, mobile technologies have been transforming the real estate industry globally. Be it property valuation, renting, property management, leasing, selling, or maintenance – everything can be carried through mobile apps. 

With the help of algorithms, apps offer a more personalised experience to users and provide them with real-time information and filtered deals. They are also faster, more convenient, and easily accessible than websites. In an age when speed corresponds to better customer service, this presents a highly valuable feature.

In addition to this, artificial intelligence and machine learning are opening new paths to provide exceptional service to customers through apps. An example of this is the Realise app which was first released in 2020.

Realiste, a leading AI developer in the real estate market, launched in the Middle East, this year. The company hopes to change the real estate and housing landscape using the latest advanced technologies within all operations.

Realiste’s app is capable of monitoring the market round-the-clock and displaying the true value of the real estate, as well as predicting price movements of properties for the next 6 to 12 months.

Artificial Intelligence in mobile apps uses the machine's ability to respond to stimulation to deliver an improved user experience.

According to a press release, the app hopes to save buyers from having to navigate the real estate market in the dark. The advent of functional and versatile Artificial Intelligence constructs, or AI, can open immense opportunities for transparent property search with minimal loss of capital. 

Alex Galtsev, CEO and Founder of Realiste, gives details on the app’s AI feature, “Realiste operates in twenty cities around the world, and we are planning to introduce it to another seven cities in Asia and the Middle East. We classify our AI by five stages. When the program launches - it’s in stage one. The most developed AI is currently in Moscow, which is stage four. The stages calculate the range of AI development and its ability to forecast. Dubai is currently on stage two, but in three to four months, it will be on stage three. Our AI technology is constantly developing and can be self taught without programmers due to the new technology No code XAI (no code explainable AI). Stage five is the future prediction based on all available knowledge, for example, how much the flat will cost in two to three years and many other forecasts.” 

SmartCrowd, Abu Dhabi’s innovative real estate crowdfunding platform, is another prime example of an app making waves in the real estate sector. "SmartCrowd is MENA's first and largest regulated digital crowdfunding platform for real estate investments, allowing users to purchase income generating property shares with as low as AED500 from the comfort of their home." 

The SmartCrowd app was released in May 2022. Siddiq Farid, CEO and Co-founder of SmartCrowd, says that the majority of SmartCrowd’s traffic is through mobile devices, “Even before our mobile app was released, we made sure our web app is mobile friendly and responsive as we noticed that about 70% of our users visit our web app using a mobile device. In addition, we are seeing that users prefer browsing our opportunities and making their investments over the mobile app at the moment. However, they can always go back to the web app in order to look at more in-depth details of their portfolios, as the mobile app is more of a “lite” version of our platform at this stage.” 

The SmartCrowd app currently allows people to invest in prime real estate properties “on the go”.“This means that people can literally buy a rental property while riding the metro,” says Farid. 

SmartCrowd has also noticed a growing use of WhatsApp in its customer service process. “Our users rely heavily on using our WhatsApp service to reach our support and client relations team for any inquiries they have, as opposed to writing us an email or submitting a support ticket, for example. This proves how users are thinking mobile first when it comes to using disruptive technologies and platforms, like SmartCrowd,” says Farid. 

In addition to these benefits, some mobile apps also make it possible to be accessed offline, proving further advantage over traditional websites. The availability of push notifications helps convert users to customers and keep them engaged. Apps also encourage better and more direct communication between the user and the service provider.

“The Realiste app provides personalised search, as well as fast and accurate appraisals of any property. It protects clients from miss-selling and mispricing and saves months to find the best offer. The app creates property selections according to parameters one specifies. It can show the most expensive luxury suite and the most profitable apartments in Dubai with accurately calculated ROI. The Realiste plugin, which seamlessly integrates with most bank and developer websites, increases our site’s conversion rates since the user immediately receives valuable information, such as a selection of suitable properties, according to the parameters they set, that are available at a discount from the market price (no more than 1% of the best offers). A user can also check the cost of any property: the AI gives objective housing appraisals in just ten seconds. And since the user independently receives this information (e.g., housing appraisals, a selection of suitable properties, and even calculations of investment gains for each property) at such a rapid pace, their decision making is much quicker, simplifying and speeding up transactions,” says Galtsev.