HOME.CY real estate app for property search

HOME.CY is a property portal for Cyprus that connects people looking for a home, land or commercial space with real estate agencies. Techcelerant designed and built its app for iOS and Android. The app includes property search for buying and renting, a property locator, agency accounts for posting listings, and a section of real estate articles.

The client

HOME.CY lists houses, apartments, land and commercial property across Cyprus. Its users include local buyers and renters, people relocating to the island and overseas investors. On the other side are the agencies that list property and want those buyers to find them.

The problem

Property searches start broad and narrow fast. A user might begin with "a house to buy" and end up comparing a handful of villas in one town. The client's team needed an app that made the first search simple and then helped people narrow it down by location. Agencies needed their own accounts to manage listings without going through the HOME.CY team. And many users, especially people new to Cyprus, wanted guidance on the buying and renting process.

The app had to:

• Start a search in as few taps as possible.
• Cover homes, land and commercial property, for sale and to rent.
• Let users explore listings by location.
• Give agencies tools to post and manage listings.
• Offer helpful reading for buyers and renters.

What we built

The home screen leads with search:

• A header with the HOME.CY logo and a menu.
• A hero banner with an illustrated blue city skyline and the line "The home of real estate."
• Search tabs for Home, Land and Commercial. Under Home, users choose between House and Apartment.
• A location field that asks "Where would you like to live?"
• Two large buttons, Buy and Rent, that run the search.
• A "Latest real estate for sale" section with photo cards of recent listings and a "Show all" link.

Beyond the home screen:

• Property listings with photos, price, size, rooms, location and the listing agency.
• A property locator that shows listings on a map, so users can explore by area.
• Agency accounts, where agencies sign in to add, edit and manage their listings and see enquiries.
• An articles section with guides and news on buying, renting and the property market in Cyprus.

Design decisions

We built the app around a bright, clear blue that matches the HOME.CY logo. The skyline illustration in the hero uses several shades of the same blue, which gives the top of the screen some character without photos competing with the listings below.

Search sits right under the hero, in a white card with tabs. The tabs follow how people think about property: first the type, then the kind of building, then where, then buy or rent. Each step is one tap.

Buy and Rent are two separate solid buttons. Most users know which they want, and one tap both picks the option and starts the search.

Listings use large photo cards in a two-column grid. Property is a visual decision, and big images let users rule places in or out quickly.

We gave each agency its own account. Each agency controls its listings, and HOME.CY doesn't have to post on their behalf.

The result

HOME.CY users can search for homes, land and commercial property in Cyprus, buy or rent, browse listings on a map, and read guides on the process, all from one app on the App Store and Google Play. Agencies can post and manage their own listings. The client's team runs one platform that serves both sides of the market.

Our post on mobile-first design explains why search-heavy apps like this start with the small screen.

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