how much a website for a real estate developer costs and what drives the price

the short answer

my project budgets start at $2,000. the most common ranges: $2–5k for one project with a clear structure, $5–10k for sites with a catalog, an admin panel and more complex logic, $10k+ for several projects, configurators, integrations and large volumes. i put the exact amount and timeline in the proposal after the brief, and the brief is free.

what you actually pay for

design and development are only part of the work. a site that sells starts long before figma:

• product breakdown: what you sell, to whom, through which ads, what questions buyers ask.
• competitor analysis: what works for them, where they fail and how you can stand out.
• structure and copy: which blocks are needed and in what order to lead a person to a request.
• prototype and design: desktop and mobile.
• development: a fast responsive site, a form, analytics, the pixel and lead events.
• if needed: an admin panel for prices and availability, a catalog, a map, sending leads to a crm or telegram.

what makes a site more expensive

• a catalog with filters and statuses of apartments or houses.
• an admin panel, so a manager can change prices, availability, photos and construction news.
• interactive features: an infrastructure map, choosing an apartment on the facade, a house configurator like in the forma case.
• several languages or several projects on one site.
• integrations with a crm and telephony.

why a cheap site often ends up costing more

a template site can be made quickly and cheaply. but if it doesn't answer the buyer's questions, you pay for ads that bring people to a page they leave. the traffic money is lost every month, not once. that's why i treat a site not as a design expense but as part of the sales funnel.

an example to show the logic (the numbers are hypothetical, plug in yours): say ads bring 1,000 people a month to the site. if the site turns 1% of them into requests, that's 10 requests. if after a rework it turns 2%, that's 20 requests from the same ad budget. one extra apartment or cottage deal usually covers the cost of the site.

my goal isn't just to build you a site, but for it to bring in leads. that's why i start not with figma but with your product, your ads and your funnel.

how long development takes

usually a few weeks. the stages: interview and brief (1–2 calls), research and competitor analysis (1–2 days), structure (1–2 days), prototype (1–2 days), moodboard (1–2 days), design (1–2 days), development (2–4 days). the longest wait is usually for materials from the developer: renders, floor plans, the price list.

when you don't need a website

if you sell 2 houses, an expensive site most likely won't pay off: a social media page and an agency will do. and i'm not the right fit if you're looking for hands to do everything strictly by the spec, without a product breakdown. my job is exactly to figure out what to sell and how.