Real estate brokerage software is a stack, not a product. A brokerage needs somewhere for buyers to search, somewhere for agents to work their leads, someone to answer the lead who writes in at 10 p.m., a way to price and win listings, and a way to get offers written and signed. Many brokerages buy those from separate vendors. This guide walks through each piece, what to look for, and who sells it.
We make Kept in Touch, which covers all five, so weigh our view accordingly. Facts about other vendors come from their own pages, with the date we checked.
1. A home search site under your name
Buyers start on a search site. The question is whose. A brokerage site with live listings keeps the buyer's searches, saves and alerts tied to your agents instead of a portal's.
What to look for:
- Your MLS feed. Live listings need an IDX or data feed license from your MLS for your brokerage. Ask early; approval can take days or weeks.
- Saved searches and alerts that send new matches and price drops in your brand, from your own sending address.
- A buyer app or a site that installs to the phone's home screen, so buyers come back without searching for you.
- Your domain and your brand on every page and email, with no vendor name in front of the client.
- Activity on the lead. Every save and alert open should land on the buyer's record in your CRM.
2. A CRM agents actually open
The CRM is where leads are routed, followed up and tracked. The failure mode is not a missing feature; it is agents who never log in. Look for a clear daily list of who to call, follow-up plans that run on their own, texting from registered brokerage numbers, a team inbox, lead routing and reports on response time. Our real estate CRM guide covers this in more detail.
3. Lead response: the first reply
Speed matters more than the script. A 2007 study by James Oldroyd of MIT and InsideSales.com found the odds of contacting a lead drop 100 times when the first attempt comes at 30 minutes instead of 5 (Lead Response Management Study, checked 2026-10-20). Most brokerages cover this with a human ISA, an AI ISA, or agents on rotation. Whatever you choose, it needs consent before the first text, quiet hours, opt-outs honored, and a handoff to a person when the lead is ready. See our AI ISA guide and speed to lead.
4. Pricing and the listing presentation
Listings are won on price. Brokerages need a CMA tool that pulls real comps, lets the agent adjust for condition, and turns the analysis into a presentation the seller can follow. Two things separate the tools: where the data comes from (your MLS, a national dataset, or an export you upload) and whether the seller can see the reasoning or only a number. See what a CMA is and interactive CMAs.
5. Offers, contracts and signatures
The last mile is paperwork. Brokerages need their state or association forms, filled correctly, signed electronically, and stored with an audit trail the broker can review. Check which forms a tool carries for your state, whether clients can sign on a phone without creating an account, and whether the signed copy lands where the rest of the team can see it.
Who sells each piece
These are well-known vendors in each category. It is not a ranking, and many vendors cover more than one row. Prices are what each vendor published when we checked; "not published" means the vendor asks you to request a quote.
| Category | Well-known vendors | Kept in Touch |
|---|---|---|
| Home search site | Real Geeks: $399/mo with 2 users plus $500 setup, site and CRM (pricing). Sierra Interactive: from $299.95/mo billed yearly for 1 user, site and CRM (pricing). Lofty and BoldTrail include IDX websites; pricing not published (Lofty, BoldTrail) | Home Search, on every plan |
| CRM | Follow Up Boss: from $69 per user per month; Pro $499/mo for 10 users (pricing). Wise Agent: $49/mo for up to 5 team members on a shared login (pricing) | CRM on every plan, or keep Follow Up Boss |
| Lead response | Real Geeks Geek AI Text: from $49/mo (details). Sierra Lead Engage: $199/mo add-on (pricing). Structurely and Ylopo AI: pricing not published | Nadia AI ISA, free with the built-in CRM |
| Pricing and CMA | Cloud CMA by Lone Wolf: CMA reports and live presentations; may be included with your MLS (Cloud CMA). RPR: CMAs and a Seller's Report, included in NAR dues (RPR) | ListLogic, $39 per seat |
| Offers and contracts | dotloop: Premium $34.99/mo for agents; teams and brokers by quote (pricing). SkySlope Forms: association and MLS forms with e-signature; pricing not published (SkySlope) | Offers & Contracts, $79 per seat; Colorado forms live today |
| Back office and commissions | BoldTrail BackOffice: agent billing, commissions, QuickBooks integration (BoldTrail) | Not offered |
All vendor facts checked 2026-10-20. Kept in Touch prices are on our plans page.
One platform or best of breed?
There are honest arguments both ways.
Separate tools let you pick the strongest product in each category and swap one without touching the others. The cost is integration: each tool has its own login, its own look in front of the client, and its own copy of the lead. A buyer who saved three homes on your site, got a text from your ISA tool and opened a CMA from a third tool exists in three places. Someone on your team has to stitch that together, or it does not get stitched.
One platform gives each person one record from the first click to the signed contract, one login per agent, and one brand in front of the client. The cost is that no single vendor is the deepest in every category. Check the rows you care about most, and check whether the platform lets you keep a tool you already like.
Kept in Touch is built around the second approach with an exit for the first. Every plan includes Home Search and the CRM. Nadia AI ISA, ListLogic and Offers & Contracts are add-ons you turn on when you want them. If your agents already work in Follow Up Boss, keep it: leads, saved searches and home views flow into it, and Nadia works inside it.
A buying checklist for brokers
- Map what you have. List every tool, its monthly cost, and how many logins each agent carries.
- Find where leads go cold. Pull a week of new leads and time the first reply. That gap is usually worth fixing first.
- Price by the year. Compare annual cost at your real agent count, including setup fees and contract terms. Some vendors require a 12-month agreement; ask.
- Check the texting setup. Businesses texting US numbers from ordinary 10-digit numbers must register a brand and a campaign with the carriers (Twilio on A2P 10DLC, checked 2026-10-20). Ask whose name the numbers are registered under and who owns the consent records.
- Ask about leaving. How do you export contacts, notes and conversation history if you switch?
- Trial with real leads. Two weeks of live leads tells you more than any demo.
Kept in Touch has a 30-day free trial with no card, and your site works on a free address from day one while your MLS approves your feed.
Questions
What software does a real estate brokerage need?
At minimum a home search site with your MLS listings, a CRM, a way to answer new leads fast, a CMA and listing presentation tool, and forms with e-signature. Many brokerages also use back-office software for commissions and accounting.
Is an all-in-one platform better than separate tools?
It depends on where your leads go cold. One platform means one record per person and one login per agent. Separate tools let you pick the deepest product in each category but need someone to connect them.
Do I need MLS approval for a brokerage website?
Yes, for live listings. Ask your MLS for an IDX or data feed license for your brokerage. With Kept in Touch, your site shows sample homes until the feed is approved.
Does Kept in Touch handle commissions and accounting?
No. Kept in Touch covers the home search site, CRM, AI ISA, pricing and offers. Keep your back-office tool for commissions and accounting.