May
11, 2021
5 min read
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There’s no denying that real estate can be a lucrative business, even as a part-time side hustle. But without the best laptop for realtors, you might just be limiting yourself to the sluggish pace of your current devices. The housing market moves quickly, and so should your laptop. As you move from house to house to meet with potential buyers, you’ll need something portable to close sales on the run.
To help you sort through the options, we’ve prepared a list of the best laptops for realtors in 2021. Bear in mind that the prices listed are all starting prices, meaning you’ll have to spend more for premium features, but each model is nevertheless competitive regardless of configuration.
Best Overall: HP Elite Dragonfly ($1,819)
Best Under $500: Acer Aspire 5 ($435)
Best 2-in-1: Microsoft Surface Pro 7 ($583)
Best for Photo Editing: Apple MacBook Air M1 ($944)
Best Touch Screen: Dell XPS 15 ($1,078)
Best for the Money: Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook ($230)
Best Battery Life: Dell Latitude 9510 ($1,319)
Best Overall: HP Elite Dragonfly ($1,819)
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HP
In terms of transportability, the HP Elite Dragonfly remains undefeated. At every price point, you’ll get a 13.3” full HD (1080p) touchscreen display, as well as at least 16GB of RAM, 256GB of fast SSD storage, all packed into a super thin 12 x 7.8 x 0.6-inch chassis weighing just 2.2 pounds. Its slim figure and light weight make it the ideal candidate for nomadic realtors. A full suite of ports including two USB-C, one USB-A, HDMI, and headphone jack connections round out the Elite Dragonfly as the best laptop for realtors bar none.
Acer Aspire 5
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Acer
For agents seeking the best budget laptop to meet your needs, the Acer Aspire 5 is a serviceable choice. An aluminum chassis makes it appear more luxe than it is while a relatively powerful AMD Ryzen 3 3200U processor does all the heavy lifting. The screen is larger than that of most laptops these days at 15.6 inches, and with a full HD resolution, you’ll be able to read and create listings without putting too much strain on your eyes. And though it has all the legacy ports you could ask for, USB-C is noticeably absent from the mix. Oh well.
Best 2-in-1: Microsoft Surface Pro 7 ($583)
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Microsoft
If its recent marketing campaigns are any indication, Microsoft desperately wants you to know that the Surface Pro 7 is a real laptop, unlike the iPad Pro. And as much as it hurts to admit, to some extent the company is right. Part tablet, part laptop, this 1.7-pound 2-in-1 runs Windows 10, making it compatible with the applications you might use on a desktop PC such as the full versions of Microsoft Office 365 and Adobe Photoshop CC. With a high resolution screen that falls somewhere between full HD and 4K, along with a 10th Gen Intel Core processor, the Surface Pro 7 is indeed as ultra-light and versatile as its manufacturer claims.
Best for Photo Editing: Apple MacBook Air M1
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Apple
Think you need a MacBook Pro for pro-level performance? Think again. The latest MacBook Air features the same M1 processor found in the MacBook Pro as well as the same 8GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage, and 13.3-inch Retina display as its “professional-grade” sibling. The only major difference is that instead of the four USB-C ports you’ll find on the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air has only two. As long as you can live with using an adapter to transfer your real estate photos to and from your source camera, the MacBook Air’s powerful new guts combined with its gorgeous screen make for a nice little touch-up station.
Best Touch Screen: Dell XPS 15 ($1,078)
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Dell
While shopping around for laptops, you may find that most of them treat either the touch screen an afterthought. In some cases, the core laptop functionality might even take a backseat to gimmicky touch controls. The Dell XPS 15 bucks this trend by delivering a happy medium: a responsive touch screen on a traditional laptop that won’t interrupt your workflow. The display itself can be customized up to a resolution slightly higher than 4K Dell calls UHD+. If you need the extra pixels to accurately create mockups, develop your website, or create other types of content related to your trade, you can’t go wrong with the XPS 15.
Best for the Money: Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook ($230)
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Lenovo
Considering how little it costs, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is an exceptional, affordable alternative to the Surface Pro 7. Equipped with a 10.1-inch full HD touch screen and a detachable magnetic keyboard, its design is unusually sophisticated for a 2-in-1 at this price. A textured fabric material wraps its aluminum alloy chassis for a striking dual-tone aesthetic that makes the Duet seem more expensive than it is. The only downside is that, despite its improvements in recent years, Chromebooks are still limited to Chrome OS, which has its limitations when compared to Windows 10 or Mac computers.
Best Battery Life: Dell Latitude 9510 ($1,319)
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Dell
Although it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Dell’s 34-hour claim, the Latitude 9510 is still the longest lasting laptop in existence, according to countless reports online from reputable publications. Powered by a 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB of RAM, between 128 and a 256GB SSD, it’s no slouch in the performance department either. You can even tack on 5G capabilities for less than $200 more. A 15-inch InfinityEdge screen squeezed into a 14-inch frame adds a touch of elegance to an already sharp CNC aluminum design, and you can flip it inside out as you would any other convertible notebook.