Are you into convincing people they need something? Or how about looking after, for, and working with beautiful homes and properties? Or are you the type to be really cheerful, accommodating, love working with people but with a sharp business acumen? Then you very well might be cut out to be a star spangled real estate agent. Well, if you were reading this I'm going to, at the very least, assume you're a realtor or looking to get into the world of real estate agents. What I've described is but a fraction of what a day in the life of real estate agents looks like, and there's way more to it than first meets the eye.
With that in mind, most real estate agents are probably going to need some of the very best laptops for realtors to step up their game. These days, a laptop is a one stop shop for many different types of users, and if you think about, most jobs do need some knowledge and usage of a laptop. Be it a writer, doctor, lawyer, realtors, engineers, graphic designers, and so much more need the handy tool known as a laptop. And for realtors, even more so with how many things are digital these days. I'm sure that for many new realtors, some may be accustomed to fully online listings, dealings and negotiations. It's a departure from when realtors worked fully with physical newspaper ads, listings, and numbers on billboards.
There's still a space for that, but come on, the first thing you'd do if you were looking for a house is Googling it. If that still hasn't convinced you, let's get a little more in depth on why exactly real estate agents need the best laptop for realtors.
Do Relators Need A Laptop?
The easiest answer is going to be yes, realtors need a laptop. Any real estate business in this day and age is going to need to adapt to a number of online platforms, programs, and software to stay ahead of the rest. Not only do you need to deal with clients and listings online, but now there are a number of tools that makes a lot of the more mundane tasks in a real estate business, easier. While the software market for a real estate agent isn't exactly popping right now, more and more programs and apps are coming out to make your lives easier.
Some of these programs include Follow Up Boss to centralize communication with both buyers and sellers, Cloud Attract to manage real estate websites and landing pages for the properties, Spacio to create and easily manage open house sign in forms, and a bunch more. More often than not, you're going to be running multiple apps at the same time so the best laptop for realtors will more than likely be a pretty high-end laptop.
But you may be thinking you'd be able to get away with using just a tablet for your day-to-day real estate agent activities. While it is a solid option to get a very portable, reliable realtor companion, there are some downfalls.
Tablet vs Laptops
Technically, you could get away with just a tablet to get your daily work done. It's a matter of efficiency, because in my experience, unless you invest in a really high-end tablet with all the bells and whistles (keyboard, digital pen, etc.). This will more than likely cost you quite a fair bit more than even the best affordable laptops for realtors that still comes with a great spec sheet. Tablets like the iPad are great for casual use, but for more intensive work like typing, managing datasets and other laptop tasks, it's almost always a better experience on a traditional computer.
Unless you have a Windows 10 enabled 2-in-1 convertible laptop, you're not going to be satisfied with the drawbacks and lesser versatility of a tablet device. Not to mention support for some important programs you might need for real estate agents may not be available on a tablet. There are a bunch of questions you need to find the answer for if you choose to rely on a tablet.
To simplify things, I would whole heartedly recommend finding the best laptop for realtors to ensure your workflow isn't compromised. If you were still keen on using a tablet for some day-to-day tasks, I'd recommend finding one as a secondary device, alongside a reliable laptop.
Now that we've disseminated why you should be looking for the best laptops for realtors, let's take a look at some of the specs we'd recommend you look for.
Recommended System Specs
These recommendations are going to be just that, recommendations. Depending on the price and overall setup of some of the best laptops for realtors and real estate agents on this list, you may find some specs missing. Not to worry though, we're going to ensure each and every one of the laptops for realtors we feature on the list is going to be very capable in their own rights. It's just a matter of slight tweaks and added features which some may or may not need.
Operating System
Our very first consideration that we're going to need to clarify before anything is; what operating system are the best laptops for real estate agents going to be running? Now, for the most part, this is purely up to your own personal preferences and laptop history. Some users may be accustomed to the impressive, pricey Apple experience with macOS and the yearly Apple MacBook Pro, while some may prefer the familiarity and customizability Windows. Whichever you choose, you're going to be well-equipped with a great UI, OS specific feature sets, and functionality.
The only other differentiator (besides the obvious design choices), is how many options you have to choose from. For the more sequestered lineup of Apple laptops, you've only got two choices really. Either an Apple MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air. There are different versions, as well as older variants, but they're pretty similar. Whereas with the Windows operating system, you're more likely to find a whole world of laptops ranging in price, functionality, sizes, and niches. You just don't have that range with Apple's laptop lineup.
Either way, the operating system is just a first step in our search for the best laptop for a real estate agent. There are a few more specs that determine the overall value and performance your best laptop for realtors.
Display
The display and screen size is one of the more important differentiators between laptop budgets and ranges. There are plethora of screen size and resolutions to choose from, but for our purposes here, we're going to find a laptop with at least a Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution. The screen size ranges from 15.6-inch, 14-inch and 13.3-inch screen size but for the most part, this is up to you. The more pressing spec to worry about is the display resolution. As I mentioned, you're going to want a laptop with at least a Full HD display.
More specifically, a Full HD display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution as this is the industry standard and frankly, any less than this, like a HD display will not give you enough value for your money.
Unless the laptop is dirt cheap with decent specs, I'd wholly recommend avoiding HD resolution displays. A Full HD display is a great standard since you get great clarity and sharpness, color vibrancy and accuracy. Better colors and deeper blacks is important when you work with anything visual. For realtors, I can see how this important as you want to display the home you're selling as accurately as possible. Not to mention making the property look that much more attractive which you may miss on with lower resolutions. If you had enough money in the budget, you could even opt for even better resolutions such as Full HD+ or 4K like on the Dell XPS 15 flagship laptop. But as you can tell, it's a pretty pricey upgrade.
Processor
Next up, we're going to be talking about one of the most important parts of any laptop, especially so for the best laptop for realtors; the processor. Think of the processor as the brain of your laptop that handles every task, program, and application you run on the laptop. Better processors would equate to faster, more reliable performance. With that in mind, I'd recommend you find at least a quad-core, 8th Gen Intel i5 processor as the base for our search for the best laptops for realtors. This is because any lesser than the 8th Gen Intel processors or something like a dual-core processor is pretty outdated. An 8th Gen Intel Core i5 processor like the Intel Core i5-8265U is the best way to ensure your laptop performance for more than a few years.
In most cases, I'd actually recommend even better than an Intel Core i5 with numerous options from the Intel Core i7 lineup becoming more accessible and affordable.
If you find a laptop with an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 for example, it's the best way to ensure consistent, up-to-date performance in the fast paced processor industry. Finding a capable processor does a lot to just how smooth your laptop operates as you're juggling multiple tabs in a web browser, Word docs, Excel spreadsheets and much more. If you worked with images or image editing, it'll be useful to lessen lag as well as avoid crashes and freezing.
It all depends on how much you're willing to spend on your dedicated laptop for realtors, but I always recommend getting the best you can afford.
RAM/Storage
Your processor isn't the only spec that affects performance, with your RAM and storage capabilities being equally as important. Having a recently released quad-core processor is important, but if the supporting RAM and storage specs wasn't up to par, you can't really do much. With that in mind, I'm going to recommend finding at least 8GB RAM to ensure your performance on your dedicated realtor companion. You could go for less if the price tag is an issue, but for most cases, it's ideal to have at least 8 gigs of RAM.
You'll be able to multitask smoothly with less load times and more reliable overall performance with 8GB RAM capacities.
In regards to the storage space, I'm going to recommend finding at least a 256GB SSD storage. 256GB is the minimum storage space you should look for as over time, storage will be very important. If you were the type to keep a lot on your laptop storage space like large files, posters, documents, photos, videos, etc. Then you're going to need that extra storage space. If your budget allows, getting a little more storage like a 512GB SSD storage or 1TB SSD storage will ensure you have enough space for years to come.
Getting SSD storage rather than the antiquated HDD will also get things loaded up on your laptop much faster, as well as faster start up times. It's a win all around honestly.
Graphics Card
The last spec I'm going to talk about is going to be the graphics card the laptop for realtors is equipped with. This spec is more so dependent on what you're going to need out of your laptop than any other spec we've featured so far. Like I mentioned in the processor recommendation, if you needed to do photo editing or working with graphics and designs, you're going to need to pay attention to both these specs. A graphics card is needed to execute any task related to images on your display. This means things like gaming, graphic design software, image/video editing, CAD software, etc. will need a powerful graphics card to function efficiently.
With that in mind, if you know you're going to be running graphically intensive tasks, it's best to find a dedicated graphics card like from the NVIDIA GeForce GTX or NVIDIA GeForce RTX lineups. The best laptop for real estate photography will more than likely come with a dedicated GPU. If not, you can opt for the cheaper options, integrated graphics card which directly share the CPU's resources. The more recently released integrated GPUs like the Intel Iris Plus graphics are pretty capable.
These are all the specs you're going to need to look for in the best laptops for realtors. They're not all of them as there's too many to go over, but we're going to highlight a few more features that aren't necessary, but are a great value add to the package.
Other Features To Look For
Portability
First up we're going to be talking about the portability aspects the best laptop for realtors should have. The things you're going to need to look for includes how thin it is, how big the display is, how much it weighs and how long the battery lasts. Most of the features directly relate to one another so let's just say the thinner a laptop is, the more portable it is. With that ultra slim form factor, the laptop instantly becomes easy to carry around on your day-to-day excursions.
For real estate agents, I can see how the portability aspects of a laptop directly co-relate to your daily lives. Packing the laptop in your bag, bringing it on your commute, to the office, to lunch, to meet clients at different locations and properties, and back home again. Having a portable laptop makes all this much easier, with a lesser weight on your back with the added advantage of being easy to carry around.
Having a long battery life also dictates how portable your laptop as the longer your battery lasts, the longer you can remain portable without needing to top off with a charger. Pretty self explanatory really.
Sleek Design
An eye for design is an important ability to have for most realtors. If you pulled up to meet a client with a clunky, outdated laptop, what kind of image would that exude? For that, we're going to recommend you find a laptop with a sleek, ultra-slim design to really cement the image. Plus, why wouldn't you want your laptop to look its best, am I right? A great design can relate to many things but mostly how thin it is, the materials used and how it all comes together with the design patterns and color scheme. Most laptops on our list will fit the description well, but I figured we'd highlight why it's important.
Reliable Keyboard
The last additional feature we're going to highlight is going to be the keyboard. A keyboard is one of the most used pieces of hardware on our laptop and is one of the things we interact with most in our daily lives. Knowing that, we're going to recommend finding a great, reliable keyboard you're comfortable with to get you working at your best. This relates to a few things, but most notably will be the keyboard layout. Most laptops these days opt for an island-style chiclet keyboard which I've come to find the most comfortable out of all laptop keyboards I've tested so far.
The layout isn't the only thing important for keyboards however, with the backlit capabilities being equally as important. A backlit keyboard will change the way you work especially if you were a nocturnal type who just works better at night. It adds a great aesthetic value as well as being functional, making your laptop more versatile in various scenarios.
Now that we've gone through everything you should be on the look for, let's get straight into the list to find the best laptops for realtors available!
The 6 Best Laptops For Realtors
1. Microsoft Surface Pro 7
The first laptop we're featuring is a popular option due to how portable it is without compromising on the performance all thanks to the 2-in-1 convertible laptop form factor. Yep, it's none other than the Microsoft Surface Pro 7, the tool of choice for many working professionals. Even though it's 'technically' a tablet, add on the Surface Type Cover and/or Surface Pen, you're well equipped to do pretty much anything you need to. This is partially thanks to the 12.3-inch PixelSense touch display on the Microsoft Surface Pro 7.
For its performance, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is powered by a 10th Generation Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM and a humble 256GB SSD. It also comes with a pretty decent integrated graphics card, the Iris Plus GPU which should let you get some work done in image editing programs. Considering the price tag and the overall dimensions of the Surface Pro 7 it's a pretty good deal all together.
A few extras you'll find on this laptop includes front and rear cameras, Windows Hello sign in, USB ports including 1x USB-A, 1x USB Type-C and SD card reader, built in kickstand and up to 10.5 hours of battery life. Overall, this convertible tablet/laptop combo is a great option with formidable specs, a super small footprint, and great battery life.
2. HP Spectre x360 GEM Cut
Our next featured laptop is going to be one from the premium lineup of laptops, and based on its specs, on paper, might be the most powerful in terms of raw performance. Keeping in line with the 2-in-1 laptop genre, the HP Spectre x360 is one of the latest in HP's premium category and it shows. Starting things off, the 13.3" Full HD touch display and features razor thin bezels around all four corners of the display makes for quite a looker. Definitely one of the more attractive displays in the laptop market right now.
Where the HP Spectre x360 truly starts to shine is with the internal performance this laptop is capable of. The HP Spectre x360 comes with a 10th Generation Intel Core i7 processor and solid supporting specs with 16GB of RAM and a generous 512GB SSD. This laptop in particular is also the only one on the list that features an Intel Core i7 processor. So if you wanted some of the very best performance out of your realtor optimized laptop, this might be the right one.
To supplement the impressive performance and design, the laptop comes with a few great extras too. Some of these include a fingerprint reader, B&O speakers, backlit keyboard, webcam kill switch, mic mute key, 1x USB 3.0 Type-A, 2x USB Type-C ports and up to 18 hours of battery life.
3. ASUS ZenBook 13
Taking things down a notch in terms of price, we're featuring a more wallet friendly laptop while retaining the 'premium' aesthetic. The ASUS ZenBook 13 is here to impress with an impressive design with pretty great specs for the price. The first feature you'll see on the laptop is the 13.3" Full HD NanoEdge display which as the name suggests, gets you super slim bezels. This results in a 88% screen-to-body ratio which makes it a solid display for realtors to work on.
The ASUS ZenBook 13 also has some dependable internal specs to back up the pretty look. Powering the laptop is an Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor, 8 gigs of RAM and a 256GB SSD. For the graphical performance, the laptop relies on the Intel UHD graphics GPU. In terms of the internal specs, yes they're not the best around but are still very capable for moderate-high usage patterns. For graphically intensive programs or gaming however, you should look elsewhere.
The ASUS ZenBook 13 comes with a few more great extras including a backlit keyboard, built-in NumberPad, ErgoLife hinge, 1x HDMI port, 2x USB Type-C ports, Micro SD card reader, and up to 22 hours of battery life. The laptop also weighs in at just 2.62lbs, making it pretty easy to carry around.
4. MacBook Air
For the users more inclined to Apple's hardware and software offerings, our next laptop on the list is going to be the right choice for you. This time around, we're featuring the lesser powered Apple MacBook Air in comparison to the pricier, feature rich MacBook Pro. But just because it's called 'Air', doesn't mean it's lacking. The laptop features a 13.3" Retina display at 2560 x 1600 native resolution and some solid display tech on board. This includes a P3 wide color gamut and True Tone technology built-in on the display.
For the performance, the MacBook Air comes with the same processor on the latest Pro laptop lineup. The laptop comes with the Apple M1 chip, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD storage. So far, reviews have all but praised Apple's latest attempt at a processor, so you can be sure of its performance for daily use as a real estate agent.
Of course, being an Apple product, the MacBook air also comes with an impressive feature set to complete the package. Some of this features include a Scissor backlit keyboard, Touch ID, Wi-Fi 6, HD webcam, and up to 18 hours battery life. There really is a lot to like in the MacBook Air from its performance, design and build quality. If you had more devices in the Apple ecosystem, it's a great addition to complete the package.
5. Lenovo Flex 5
The next laptop on our list is a more affordable, budget laptop with a solid spec sheet focused on the bare minimums of a 'laptop'. The Lenovo Flex 5 has a lot to offer even with the cheaper price tag compared to some of the other laptops on the list. However, to make up for the pretty standard specs, the Lenovo Flex 5 is a convertible laptop capable of changing into tablet - laptop modes easily. For this, the laptop relies on its 14-inch FHD touch display with great bezels on the sides and top, but a noticeable chin at the bottom.
For its performance, the Lenovo Flex 5 comes with an AMD Ryzen 3 4300U processor, 4GB RAM and a 128GB SSD storage capacity. The GPU performance, the laptop comes with an AMD Radeon integrated graphics card. If you were unfamiliar with the AMD processor lineup, I'd say this performance is comparable to those of the latest Core i5 processors available. Just a tip to help you compare some of the laptops on the list.
A few extras the laptop comes with includes Dolby Audio speakers, 1x HDMI port, 1x USB-Type C, 2x USB 3.1 Type-A ports, weighs 3.3lbs and comes with up to 10 hours battery life. Overall, I'd say the Lenovo Flex 5 does a lot for the money without sacrificing much in terms of performance. You won't find the typical bells and whistles of a premium laptop, but it'll work just fine.
6. ASUS VivoBook
Last up on the list we're going to feature another stellar mid-range laptop with a solid spec sheet and attractive design. The ASUS VivoBook may not be as well known as some of the other laptops on the list, but it's got an impressive spec sheet especially considering how much you have to pay for it. The laptop comes with a 14" Full HD NanoEdge display with anti-glare built-in. Contrasted by the dark grey color scheme, I think this laptop ranges up there in terms of minimal, attractive aesthetics.
For the performance, the ASUS VivoBook is hiding some pretty powerful performers. Starting off with the AMD Ryzen 7 3700U which has a base frequency of 2.3GHz, capable of upping things to 4.00 GHz when necessary. This is comparable to some Intel Core i5 and Intel Core i7 processors, so it should be more than capable for daily use. The laptop also comes with 12GB RAM, 512GB SSD storage, and AMD Radeon RX Vega 10 for the graphical performance.
The ASUS VivoBook comes with a few more great features including a fingerprint reader, backlit keyboard, HD webcam, Windows Hello sign in, ASUS SonicMaster stereo speakers and up to 11 hours battery life. A stacked laptop with great performance, an eye-catching minimalist design and plentiful of extra features to round out the deal.
The Winner
After going through all these laptops, I'm sure you've found your pick out of the best laptops for realtors we've shown thus far. But to finish up the list, we're going to pick just one as the ultimate best real estate agent companion.
Today, our winner is going to be the Lenovo Flex 5!
This laptop encompasses just what a laptop should be; the right spec sheet with a minimalist, simple design. It doesn't do too much when it comes to anything 'unique' but it's got the fundamentals right. Adding in the 2-in-1 capability and affordable price tag, this is the most cost effective option without losing out on anything important.
