New York does not run on a standard MLS and buyers face approval processes that exist almost nowhere else. A generic real estate site is wrong here from the first page.
Real estate websites in New York cost $4,000 to $18,000 for most agents and small brokerages. The city is structurally different from the rest of the US: listings flow through REBNY's RLS rather than a conventional MLS, and buyers face co-op board approval, which is the single most misunderstood part of the process and the biggest content opportunity available to an agent.
New York runs on REBNY's Residential Listing Service, and syndication rules differ from a conventional MLS. What matters technically is the same either way: listings must render server-side as indexable pages, because widget-loaded listings are invisible to search.
Co-ops are a large share of New York inventory and the board approval process baffles buyers, particularly from out of state. Explaining it properly, with the package, timelines and what gets rejected, is the most useful content an NYC agent can publish and almost nobody does it well.
You will not outrank StreetEasy on listings and should stop trying. What you can win is neighborhood depth, building-specific pages and process education, where they publish little of substance.
New York buyers search by building. A page per notable building you have transacted in, with the amenities, board reputation and typical carrying costs, ranks for searches no portal bothers with.
A meaningful share of NYC enquiries come from buyers who cannot view in person. That changes what the site must answer: the remote process, attorney involvement, financing and what happens if they cannot attend the closing.
New York City and State fair housing rules are stricter than federal, and describing neighborhoods carelessly creates exposure. We write about property and place rather than about who lives there, and your broker should review neighborhood copy before it goes live.
| Project | Range (USD) | Timeline | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual agent site | $4,000 to $9,000 | 3 to 5 weeks | Brand, listing search, neighborhood pages, lead capture |
| Small brokerage or team | $9,000 to $18,000 | 5 to 8 weeks | Above plus agent profiles, CRM integration, seller journey |
| Larger brokerage | $18,000 to $45,000 | 3 to 6 months | Full architecture, per-agent pages, integrations, migration |
| Neighborhood or building page | $400 to $900 each | 1 week each | Research, copy, listings feed, schema |
| Retainer | $800 to $4,000 per month | Ongoing | New pages, content, performance, CRM tuning |
RLS access and any syndication fees are set by REBNY and your brokerage rather than by us. We confirm what your membership permits before building.
| Ask them | A good answer sounds like | Walk away if |
|---|---|---|
| What does this actually cost? | A range, and what moves it, before a call | You must book a call to learn the ballpark |
| Who owns the code and design files? | You do, unconditionally, in the contract | Ownership depends on staying on a retainer |
| Can I see Core Web Vitals on three live sites? | URLs, and an honest word about the slowest | They show you portfolio shots instead |
| What happens to rankings in a rebuild? | Redirect mapping, raised unprompted | They say the new site will just rank better |
The pricing question separates most of the New York field, because publishing numbers commits you to them.
| You will not win | You can win |
|---|---|
| Listing search against StreetEasy | A specific building you know well |
| Generic Manhattan searches | A named neighborhood with real detail |
| Portal-scale inventory | Co-op board process explained properly |
| Paid placement on portals | Out-of-state buyer education |
| Broad rental searches | Your own sold history, kept and archived |
Every row on the right is content a portal has no incentive to produce. That asymmetry is the whole strategy for an individual agent or small brokerage.
An individual agent site runs $4,000 to $9,000. A small brokerage or team site with agent profiles and CRM integration runs $9,000 to $18,000. Larger brokerages run $18,000 to $45,000. RLS and syndication fees are separate and set by REBNY and your brokerage.
Not in the conventional sense. Residential listings largely flow through REBNY's RLS, and the rules around syndication and display differ from a standard MLS. We confirm what your membership permits before building the listing integration.
Almost always because listings load through a JavaScript widget from a third-party domain, so search engines never see them. Server-rendered listing and neighborhood pages on your own domain are the difference between a site with hundreds of listings and no traffic and one that ranks.
Not on listings. On neighborhood depth, building-specific pages and process education, particularly co-op board approval, where portals publish very little of substance. A page about one building you have transacted in beats their generic city page for that search.
It is the strongest content opportunity available to a New York agent. The process confuses buyers, especially from out of state, and a genuinely useful explanation of the board package, timelines and common rejection reasons attracts exactly the buyers you want.
New York City and State rules are stricter than federal, and neighborhood descriptions can create exposure without anyone intending it. We write about property and place rather than the people who live there, and your broker should sign off neighborhood copy. We are not your compliance advisor.
Archive them, clearly marked as sold. They accumulate ranking over time and demonstrate transaction history in specific buildings, and deleting them throws away pages that took months to gain traction.
Yes, with the platforms NYC agents commonly use including Follow Up Boss, kvCORE and HubSpot, so enquiries arrive where you already work rather than in a separate inbox.
Send us what you are trying to fix and we will tell you what it takes, what it costs, and whether we are the right people for it. If we are not, we will say so.