Consumer test: Appraising the apps

FT Money’s Tanya Powley tested four iPhone apps for homebuyers, awarding them points out of five.

Rightmove

The original iPhone app for property searches has a good layout and is simple and easy to understand. With more than 1m properties for sale or to rent on its database, it came up with the longest list of properties in any location compared with its rivals. A couple of gripes:
it did not offer floor plans and its search results included commercial property. 4/5

Findaproperty.com

This app took longer to load up its list of properties compared with others – and it did crash twice. Otherwise, it was easy to use and I liked the fact that it allows you to search for specific properties, such as waterside houses, new homes and properties up for auction. 3/5

Hamptons International

I like how different images of a property were easy to view on this app – you just flick through the photos once you’ve clicked through to the property’s listing. Hamptons also offers an overseas section, useful for people looking to buy abroad – although it does not include France or Spain. 3/5

Knight Frank

This app caters for the more wealthy homebuyer. The search by lifestyle feature of the app was very creative – users can search for waterviews, vineyards, ski chalets or golfing facilities across the globe by clicking on these icons on the home page. But you can’t search for properties by price –
only by the number of bedrooms and bathrooms! 3/5