Frontstead Kit

Frontstead Kit is an open-source foundation for branded real-estate portals, including specialist sites for golf, waterfront, and other lifestyle markets. It is aimed at developers and agencies serving brokerages that want to run their own stack. The trade-off is clear: you get defined portal and MLS building blocks, but deployment and operations remain your responsibility.

Overview

Frontstead Kit packages a public-facing property portal, a REST API, and a dedicated MLS synchronization worker rather than presenting a finished hosted marketplace. That makes it a sensible starting point for teams with engineering capability, custom branding needs, or unusual market requirements. It is a weaker fit for a brokerage seeking an immediately managed website with vendor-operated infrastructure.

The project is community-supported. Reproducible defects and feature requests are directed to public repository issues, so organizations that require a contractual support channel should account for that limitation before adopting it.

Key features

The Next.js portal covers property search, listing pages, inquiries, consumer accounts, and favorites. Listing import and custom-domain support help turn the kit into a branded, populated destination rather than a static demonstration. The Express 5 and Prisma REST API provides the application layer, while a separate RESO Web API worker handles synchronization.

MLS connectivity includes MLS Grid, Trestle (CoreLogic/Cotality), Bridge Interactive, and Spark API (FBS). Display controls are off by default, and configuration fails when an MLS board is unregistered instead of silently omitting attribution. Those defaults reduce the risk of an improperly configured feed, although teams still have to complete board onboarding, paperwork, and day-to-day compliance work.

Typesense is optional when typo-tolerant search is important; without it, searches use PostgreSQL. Redis is likewise optional. The documented portable deployment baseline is Docker Compose, and the kit does not assume a particular hosting platform. Node.js 22.12 and PostgreSQL are required. The agent API is disabled by default, a practical boundary for installations that do not need those routes. Agent HQ is separate and adds contacts, transactions, tasks, campaigns, market reports, AI chat, CMA report generation, and Gmail and Google Calendar integration.

Pricing

The free Frontstead Kit is the right choice for teams able to install and operate the required stack. It has no free trial because the core plan is already free, and there is no recurring hosted allowance to compare. Frontstead Pro suits organizations that want implementation and hosting assistance; its custom price means budgeting must be handled case by case. Agent HQ is for a production client that needs the additional CRM and reporting functions, not merely the portal foundation.

Platforms

Frontstead Kit supports API, self-hosted, and web deployments. Node.js 22.12 and PostgreSQL are mandatory; Docker Compose is the portable deployment baseline. Redis and Typesense remain optional components, allowing a leaner installation at the cost of PostgreSQL-only search when Typesense is omitted.

Who it's for

Choose it if you are a developer or agency building a brokerage portal, a branded niche-market site, or a deployment where MLS synchronization and infrastructure control matter. The component separation is useful when you need to tailor the public experience and data services independently.

Look elsewhere if you want a consumer app with no self-hosting, a bundled CRM without another license, or vendor-managed MLS administration as part of a transparent subscription. Frontstead Pro addresses some of that work, but its pricing is custom.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Clear architecture: A Next.js portal, Express 5/Prisma API, and separate RESO worker give implementation teams distinct pieces to adapt.
• Broad named MLS coverage: Support for MLS Grid, Trestle, Bridge Interactive, and Spark API provides several established integration paths.
• Compliance-conscious defaults: Unregistered boards stop configuration, and display controls begin disabled.
• Flexible search and deployment: Typesense and Redis are optional, while Docker Compose supplies a portable baseline.
• No core license fee: The Apache-2.0 Frontstead Kit plan is free for self-hosted portal, API, and worker use.

Cons

• Operational responsibility: Required Node.js and PostgreSQL, plus self-hosting, put installation, maintenance, and reliability on the adopting team.
• Community support: Assistance centers on public issue reports rather than a stated enterprise support arrangement.
• CRM is extra: Contacts, transactions, campaigns, AI chat, CMA generation, and Google integrations require the separately licensed Agent HQ.
• Search enhancement is optional: Installations without Typesense rely on PostgreSQL search instead of typo-tolerant search.

Alternatives

Real Estate Marketplace Software is the broader category guide for comparing marketplace products.

PadMapper is a free Android, iOS, and web option focused on apartment search and listings, making it preferable when you want a ready consumer service rather than a self-hosted development kit.

WREX offers free buyer-and-seller listings plus a $19.99 USD-per-month Individual plan for one user and 1–4 agent or broker licenses; choose it when a freemium, cross-platform product is a closer fit than assembling infrastructure.

ConnectLinx provides API and web access, including a free tier for one agent, one active listing, and up to four units or spaces, with an Agent plan at $59 a month; it suits smaller, quota-defined deployments.

Investra has free developer and agent starter plans for project, unit, listing, and lead workflows; consider it when those packaged real-estate tools matter more than MLS-kit extensibility.

Openfront Law Firm is another freemium API, self-hosted, and web product.

Myly offers a free web plan with 25 insight credits per day and unlimited property browsing, better suited to property discovery than portal engineering.

RSMS and The Real Estate Platform (REP) are paid Android, iOS, and web alternatives.

Verdict

Frontstead Kit is a strong choice for developers and agencies building a branded brokerage or niche-market portal that needs named RESO integrations, self-hosting, and explicit MLS safeguards without a core license charge. Choose it for control and a solid set of building blocks. Look elsewhere if your priority is turnkey hosting, bundled CRM operations, or support and pricing that are standardized from day one.