What a real estate agent website needs

Portals bring traffic, but they bring it for the whole market: your listing sits next to ten similar ones, and the portal sells the buyer's enquiry to whoever pays for it. Your own website does something else. It shows only your listings, brings in sellers who want to list, and builds your name instead of the portal's. Below is what it needs and how it connects to your MLS.

What your website does that the portals don't

It isn't a choice between them. Your listings appear in both places; the website does what the portals won't.

Listings: IDX from your MLS

In the US, listings reach your website through IDX (Internet Data Exchange), the MLS feed and rules that let you show the local market on your site. A good IDX setup:

• updates on its own when a price changes or a home goes under contract;
• gives each listing its own address (/123-oak-street-austin-tx), not a search widget in a frame, so Google can index it;
• shows the listing brokerage where your MLS requires it;
• loads large, fast photos with descriptive alt text;
• puts the key facts in a table: beds, baths, square footage, lot, year built, HOA, taxes;
• has a showing request form with preferred times.

Search, area pages and saved searches

Visitors arrive looking for something specific. Help them with:

• simple filters: price, beds, baths, area, property type; on phones, in a panel that slides open;
• map search, for people who choose the area first;
• neighbourhood pages ("Homes for sale in Hyde Park") with a short local guide and the current listings; worth it only where you actually work;
• saved searches and alerts: the buyer saves a search and gets new matching listings by email.

Alerts keep the buyer with you instead of on the portal, where every alert comes with someone else's ad.

The seller page: where listings come from

For an agent, a seller is worth more than a buyer, and portals don't send you sellers for free. A "Thinking of selling?" page explains:

• what you do for sellers: pricing, photography, video and 3D tours, marketing, showings, negotiation, closing;
• how you're paid and what the listing agreement covers;
• what you've sold recently nearby and how fast;
• a home valuation form: address, property type, size, timeline, phone.

Recent sales, marked as sold for a few weeks, are the best proof this page can show.

Rules for real estate advertising

Your website is advertising, and real estate ads have rules.

The NAR settlement. Since 17 August 2024, offers of compensation to buyer agents can't be made on the MLS, and agents working with buyers need a written agreement before touring a home. A page explaining how you work with buyers, what the agreement covers and how you're paid answers the questions buyers now ask on the first call.

Fair housing. The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to publish ads that state a preference or limitation based on race, colour, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin. Describe the property, not who should live in it: "three bedrooms near two parks", not "perfect for a young couple".

State rules. States add their own. In Texas, for example, TREC rules require a link on your website to the Consumer Protection Notice and the Information About Brokerage Services form. Ask your broker or state commission for the list that applies to you.

Agent profiles and reviews

People choose an agent, not just a brokerage. Give every agent a page with a real photo, the areas they cover, their listings and recent sales, and direct contact details. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey, 97% of consumers said they read reviews before choosing a local business; ask for a Google review after every closing. How to do it properly is in how to get Google reviews.

Forms collect personal data, so your privacy policy should say who receives showing requests and valuation details and how long you keep them.

Checklist

1. Listings arrive through IDX and update themselves, each on its own indexable page.
2. Your own listings have descriptions that aren't copied to every portal.
3. Filters, map search and saved searches work well on a phone.
4. A seller page with a home valuation form.
5. A page on how you work with buyers, the agreement and your fees.
6. Agent profiles, a review link, and ad copy that follows fair housing rules.

We build real estate websites connected to your MLS feed or CRM, with listings that update themselves, map search and forms that reach the right agent. Details are on our web design page.