Development of an Adaptive Marketplace Management System for Real-Time Real Estate Business Models in Nigeria

Abstract

The real estate sector in Nigeria is rapidly changing, and there is a growing demand for efficient marketplace management systems. These systems play a crucial role in connecting buyers and sellers, ensuring a smooth and positive user experience. However, traditional marketplace management systems often struggle to keep up with the dynamics of the real estate market, leading to inefficiencies and suboptimal outcomes for all stakeholders. Hence, this project introduces an adaptive model designed to manage the real estate market in Nigeria, employing real-time data analysis to dynamically respond to changing market conditions and user preferences. The adopted methodology involves a waterfall model for the development process of the adaptive model for managing the real estate marketplace in Nigeria. To facilitate the development of a user-friendly mobile application, a UI/UX was designed and implemented using a Figma framework plus data that was gathered from sources, such as real estate websites, user inputs and social media platforms. The mobile application and its backend were developed using Flutter and Firebase frameworks respectively. The implemented features include property listing, search properties, user registration, Google authentication, regular app updates, feedback and iteration unit, performance monitoring and optimization, payment processing, data security and privacy compliance. Analytic tools to track user behaviour, and app performance, and generate reports to acquire insights into user engagement and conversion rates were also implemented. A secure payment gateway, Paystack, was integrated to facilitate commission collection from real estate agents. The application was deployed to the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store for Android and iOS devices respectively. Three test models were adopted encompassing functionality, usability (register page, log in, main, edit profile, store registration, add product), and security testing. A pilot test of 10 users was also carried out and tested the app on a range of devices. Based on testing results, 70% of successful users were realized while the unsuccessful users were as a result of inappropriate inputs from users. Bugs or issues identified during testing were addressed and resolved. The application is working successfully.