Real estate agencies have a 45-55% no-website rate — lower than most industries on this list — because many agents already list properties on portals like PropertyPro.ng, Nigeria Property Centre, or (in Western markets) Zillow and Rightmove. The pitch has to position an owned site as separate from and better than a portal listing, not a replacement for it, or agents will assume you're pitching something redundant.
This is one of the higher-value verticals to specialize in, because a real estate site rarely stays static — new listings, sold properties, and price updates create a natural reason for ongoing paid updates, turning a one-off project into recurring revenue if you pitch it that way from the start.
The Real Objection: "I Already List Everything on Property Portals"
This is accurate and worth acknowledging directly, not arguing against. Property portals genuinely drive buyer traffic and most agents correctly treat them as a required channel. The mistake would be pitching a website as an alternative to the portal — it isn't, and framing it that way loses credibility immediately.
The actual gap is control and cost. Portals charge per-listing fees or subscription tiers, cap how many properties an agent can showcase without paying more, bury an agent's listings among hundreds of competitors on the same page, and own the buyer's contact details rather than routing them directly to the agent. A dedicated agency website solves all four: unlimited listings at no per-property fee, a page that shows only that agency's inventory (not competitors' listings a buyer might click instead), and every inquiry going straight to the agent's own inbox or WhatsApp, not filtered through a portal's lead-gen funnel. Frame it as: "The portal gets you found. Your own site is where you close — it's the page you send a serious buyer to, and it's the one place your full inventory lives without a competitor's listing next to it."
The second objection is time: agents worry about updating a site every time a property sells or a new one is listed. This is exactly the retainer conversation — position ongoing listing updates as a paid monthly service from the outset, not a favor you'll do for free later.
What Real Estate Agencies Actually Pay for a Website
Budgets are meaningfully higher than most local-service verticals because a real estate site does real commercial work (showcasing high-value inventory) and because agencies are used to portal subscription costs already, which sets a higher price anchor than a barbershop or restaurant would accept.
| Package | What's Included | Typical Price (Nigeria) | |---|---|---| | Basic | Listings page, agent bio, contact form, WhatsApp inquiry button | ₦300,000-₦500,000 | | Standard | Basic + property filtering (price/location/type), photo galleries per listing, virtual tour embeds | ₦500,000-₦800,000 | | Full | Standard + CRM integration for inquiries, SEO for "[property type] [city]" searches | ₦800,000-₦1,200,000+ |
The real value here is the retainer add-on: ₦20,000-₦60,000/month for ongoing listing updates. This is the single strongest recurring-revenue play across all 22 industries — see the web design retainer model for how to structure and price it so agents see it as a service, not an upsell.
What the Website Actually Needs to Include
- Listings with filtering (price range, location, property type, bedrooms) — buyers expect to filter, not scroll
- High-quality photos per listing, ideally with a virtual tour or video walkthrough — the single biggest driver of buyer inquiries
- Agent bios and direct contact per listing — buyers want to know who to call about a specific property, not a general office line
- A clear "sold" or "under offer" status — signals an active, trustworthy agency rather than a stale listing page
- Lead capture forms per property — "I'm interested in this listing" converts better than a general contact page
- Mobile-first layout — the majority of property searches happen on a phone during commutes or evening browsing
Where to Find Real Estate Agencies With No Website
- Google Maps — search "real estate agency [city]" or "property agent [city]"
- Property portals themselves — ironically the best source: browse PropertyPro.ng or Nigeria Property Centre listings and check which agent names/agencies advertising there have no independent website — they're already proven active in the market
- LinkedIn — many individual agents list active listings on LinkedIn with no website link, especially those building a personal brand alongside their agency
- Runvax — filter "Real Estate Agencies" by city for a flagged list with contact details pulled automatically
The Pitch
Lead with the control-and-cost angle, and mention the retainer early so the agent understands this isn't a one-time cost with hidden future asks: "I noticed [Agency Name] is active on [portal] but doesn't have its own website. A dedicated site would show your full inventory without competitors' listings next to it, and every inquiry would come straight to you instead of through the portal. I can also handle monthly listing updates for a flat fee so you're not managing it yourself. Want to see a sample layout?"
Runvax searches real estate agencies in any city and flags which ones have no website, helping you find agents who are already active and proven in the market but haven't invested in their own site yet.