• When there is a need to make a backup copy to protect your data against loss, corruption or human error.
• When there is a need to move data from one website to another.
• Before any major work of your real estate website.

New features:

• New modern-looking responsive design with calm colors. Now property listing and single property views are more structured and user-friendly. 

• Map with property details and images. An updated map module allows for displaying property details and images as you zoom in. This feature is especially helpful on the ‘desktop’ investigation stage.


Documentation reference: Map module tutorial.

• Front-end manager layout. We have synchronized Front-end manager interface with Back-end interface since a lot of new fields have been added in property settings.

• User pages access via Front-end manager. The layout of the Front-end manager has been substantially reorganized. Now all user pages can be accessed via the front-end manager.

• Background image for Search module styling. Added the ability to style a Trendy search layout with a background image.

• Automatic/manual currency update mode. Now you can specify currency update mode - automatic or manual. If the automatic mode is used, the currency will be automatically calculated once a day with regard to the official exchange rate and specified back-end currency. If the manual update is used, then you have to manually enter an exchange/cross rate into the corresponding fields and the system will calculate the prices with regard to the specified rate and back-end currency.

• Multiple countries/cities/regions on a single page. We have added the ability to display properties from multiple countries/cities/regions for a single menu item. Now the properties from multiple locations can be displayed on a single page.

• Floor/room plans. Now you can provide more specification details about a property for rent/sale. Add detailed floor/room plans - specify sizes, upload images, add descriptions for each floor/room.


Documentation reference: Properties tutorial.

• Specification/description/features display on a single property page. Now specification, description, and features info sections can be displayed one below the other for a single property view, not just as separate tabs. This feature allows to quickly scan through all information in the property add, on a single page. 

• Utility costs for rental functionality. For rental ads, we have added costs section allowing to specify utility costs. 

• Pets for rental functionality. For rental ads, we have added pets section allowing to specify pets friendly/not friendly terms.

• Metadata section. We have added Metadata section to improve SEO ranking of your property listings.

• Payment period field. We have added Payment period field allowing to specify payment period terms.

• Leasing deposit. We have added a Leasing deposit field, allowing to specify a leasing deposit amount.

• Minimum lease term. We have added a Minimum lease term, allowing to specify minimum lease term.

• Dwelling terms. We have provided an ability to specify some specific dwelling terms.

• Measures and sizes fields. We have added an ability to specify measures and sizes for your property ads.

• Search by address in the back-end. We have added the ability to search for properties via the admin panel by address for better usability. 


Updated:

• Inquiry form display. We have changed the inquiry form display. Now the inquiry form is displayed as a separate section, on the single property page. 

• Slideshow module settings in global settings. We have added a section with slideshow settings in global property configuration for better usability. 

• Different price formats for different languages. We have added languages for digits grouping. Now you can set a price format for each particular language. 

• Renamed Custom fields section to Dictionaries for better user usability.

• Separate section for Captcha. We have created a separate Captcha section to make it more user-intuitive.

• Search module layout display. We have updated search module layouts as a result of the template update.

• Agent module layouts display. We have updated Mortgage module layouts as a result of the template update.

• Mortgage calculator display. We have updated Mortgage Calculator display as a result of the template update.

• Slideshow module display. We have updated Slideshow module display as a result of the template update.

• Mobile optimization. Optimized the component for mobile views.


Bugfix:

• Price display in favorites view. Price column in Favorites listing was empty. Fixed property price display in Favorites page. 

• Delete a property from favorites table. Bug resulted in inability to delete a property from the favorites list.

• Agent password confirm. Removed excessive password confirm field from New Agent section.

• Search module display settings. Removed outdated and irrelevant fields from module display settings.

• Category/Type/Status fields in latest module settings. Fixed Category/Type/Status dropdowns. It was impossible to select Category/Type/Status for the properties to be displayed in the Latest module. 

• Change password in Agent profile. Bug resulted in inability to change a password for Agent profile page.

• Layout parameter alignment in Latest module settings. Fixed Layout parameter alignment in Latest module settings.

• Facebook/Twitter display. It was impossible to turn off Facebook/Twitter icons on the front-end.

• Property ID and property update display. Property ID and property update fields didn’t appear on the front-end.

• Lease term display on the single property page. Lease term field didn’t appear on the single property page.

• Open hours display. Bug resulted in poor visibility of open hours details.

• Property price in global settings. Bug caused inability to turn on/off the property price.

• Print button in global settings. Bug caused inability to turn off a print button on a single property page.


In this review, we will consider Joomla extension services. In particular: an extension for the FW Real Estate plugin. Its task is in automation of the import and the real estate objects synchronization using external databases (MLS / IDX) or XML feeds. For this purpose, special settings and fields updates are used.

MLS / IDX / XML Integration service includes:

• Integration of standard FWRE fields with external MLS / IDX / XML source. Any extra fields can be added at additional cost approximately $50 per field. Adding special conditions for the processing of certain fields.
• Existing fields format adaptation to match MLS / IDX / XML source format.
• Cron setup for regular (daily/hourly) one-way MLS/IDX/XML synchronization and the site with FWRE.
• 30 days maintenance support to ensure that synchronization works as expected.

Data exchange with MLS is as follows:

Itegrating systems details

Real estate MLS integration helps real estate brokers share information and deliver a proposal to clients. This is the advantage of agents over private individuals. Multi-listing is an electronic base in which all the objects for sale are located. It is not available to anyone, only market experts can use it. As a rule, the base is collected at the city or regional level.

Real estate IDX integration is necessary to expand the MLS possibilities: properties search in the base, the common network control and more. For example, IDX allows you to configure the receiving data from MLS in XML form.

RETS is a set of standards to simplify software with MLS data. However, not all MLS / IDX providers adhere to RETS standards or do not fully adhere to them. For this, it is important to integrate individually and ensure that all configured fields are synchronized correctly.

Installation and Configuration

Joomla development services integration is a complex process requiring technical skills. Therefore, the module is not obtained out of the box, but is just a custom plugin for FW Real Estate.

During installation, various custom search and filter parameters are added. Everything that is necessary for the client is integrated. When the installation is complete, all functions will be tested to ensure that the components work as expected.

The most important parameters will be configured in the FW Real Estate control panel. The list of important parameters is discussed with each client individually, so as a result, each client receives the product that is necessary for his/her business.

You need to have access to actual MLS / IDX / XML channel or file server so the MLS / IDX database works. An XML news feed or a CSV file of a specified format can be used for this. Your account should be allowed access to current properties of the real estate.

For the work we need:

• Website with the latest version of FW Real Estate, access to the Joomla administrator panel, as well as access to FTP server.
• Integration service payment. You will be sent a link to the transaction upon request. The integration price will be 799 USD.
• MLS / IDX / XML working access to the properties database. This is needed only for testing purposes to configure the integration and make sure that the product work. This can be a test account or a developer account.

Conclusion

FW Real Estate MLS / IDX / XML integration will allow the real estate site to reach a new orbit. The interoperability with a common real estate agents base will favorably highlight the site in front of similar resources, where relevant ads from individuals and organizations are collected. Big win in the plus column would be the constant maintenance of the site in the current status, and to provide visitors with information about off-the-shelf real estate properties.

The help of experts during installation and configuration excludes possible errors, and the 30 days of the support period allow you to make sure that there are no any bugs.