AI transforms industries while replacing many jobs. The tech world calls these innovations “disruptions,” while many workers consider them disasters. Will AI technology replace or aid real estate agents and Realtors? The answer is most likely, “It depends.” While there are large swaths of real estate work that AI can do better and faster, many aspects of home buying and selling will continue to need a human touch.  

A local real estate agents and Realtors knows the market intimately, and ChatGPT can’t compete with that. However, AI can provide ideas for posts and blogs that draw clients to your site. 

AI Real Estate Perspective

Keep in mind that as it pertains to the real estate industry, AI is nothing new. Zillow’s Zestimates, based on AI and machine learning, debuted in 2006. That was the year before the first iPhone hit the market, transforming everything. Back then, those automated home value estimates had a pricing error range of 14 percent, which is pretty significant. Today, the error range is down to 2 percent, making it 98 percent accurate. 

Expect AI to follow the same trajectory. ChatGPT still hallucinates on occasion – making up answers to questions that sound plausible but with no basis in reality – but it has improved immeasurably in a short amount of time, with each iteration becoming more impressive. Instead of location, location, location, AI is transforming the real estate mantra into data, data, data. 

New AI features should make Zestimates and similar tech dated. As an example, these tools will allow a seller to upload photos of a kitchen or bathroom remodel and receive an instant home value recalculation. These features are far more effective than standard appraisal mechanisms. 

While AI can write social media posts and real estate blog articles, the current output is likely to prove somewhat generic. A local real estate agents knows the market intimately, and ChatGPT can’t compete with that. However, AI can provide ideas for posts and blogs that draw clients to your site. 

AI can generate risk estimates on individual properties, so lenders and insurers can customize premiums. 

What AI Can Do Better Than Realtors and Agents?

Business hours for realtors have always differed from other types of employment, but humans can’t work around the clock. Chatbots provide 24/7 services to buyers and sellers. This technology provides specific details regarding a property and answers questions. It can even schedule appointments. 

A buyer simply describes their dream home and, voila, a dwelling matching that description appears on their screen. Maybe it isn’t always that simple, but a client seeking a three-bedroom, two-bathroom waterfront home built in the 1980s with an inground pool and located in a certain area can generally find prospects in seconds using AI. 

In Florida, insurance costs are becoming a bigger issue than property taxes for many buyers, as the former may prove higher than the latter. AI can generate risk estimates on individual properties, so lenders and insurers can customize premiums. 

AI is replacing the most labor-intensive and least interesting or enjoyable tasks in real estate

How AI Assists Realtors & Agents

With the assistance of AI, realtors and agents can up their game significantly. Here are just a few ways AI helps Realtors & agents become more productive and boost sales: 

• Providing accurate pricing and value information.
• Identifying promising leads and investment opportunities.
• Optimizing sales strategies.
• Streamlining property searches.
• Identifying potential risks and possible mitigation.
• Improving communication with clients and other stakeholders.

Does your seller or buyer have questions? AI can answer them. AI can also create floorplans or allow a buyer to see what a room might look like with their furniture or completely different décor. 

An AI chatbot can perform many of the most rudimentary but essential real estate tasks, including:

• Tenant screening
• Payment processing
• Market Analytics 

As a Realtor or Agent, you already know that mortgage lenders are using AI to make mortgage application decisions in seconds. You know your client’s price points instantaneously. 

AI is replacing the most labor-intensive and least interesting or enjoyable tasks in real estate. Creating marketing materials, writing property descriptions, and other necessary but mundane tasks are increasingly being sourced out to AI. That paperwork liberation frees realtors to focus on meeting their clients’ more pressing and personal needs. 

Predictive AI

New proprietary AI can forecast which properties should come on the market within the next four months. Those predictions enable realtors to plan efforts to market such properties before they are listed. Via public and proprietary data, these platforms identify owners likely to sell in the near future. Engage with those sellers before they start formally looking for a broker.   

AI gets it right most but not all of the time. Large language models are incapable of embarrassment, but that’s not the case for realtors who don’t proofread AI-generated content. 

What AI Can’t Replace

AI makes much of the real estate buying and selling process move more smoothly and efficiently. Then, there’s what AI can’t do, which means agents and Realtors will continue to exist. AI will never know the local market the way an experienced realtor does. 

Buying a house is the biggest financial venture most people are ever involved in. It’s an emotional, often stressful, and sometimes complicated proceeding, even when the transaction moves forward relatively smoothly. As the National Association of Realtors points out, home buyers and sellers demand personalized service that AI can’t provide. A human connection is necessary. Many clients need guidance and advice that AI can’t provide, and let’s face it, some need a fair amount of hand-holding. 

3-D virtual tours allow clients to tour homes on their own and understand the layout. That’s a tremendous advantage, but most people want to see a home for themselves before making a purchase decision. As a realtor, you’re aware of the red flags on a property that a 3-D tour isn’t going to capture. Whether it is warped doors, low water pressure, evidence of mold, or some other issue, your expertise can address these red flags, so your client can make an informed offer. 

There’s also the fact that AI is only as good as its data. Large language models don’t actually think. If there are biases in the code, there are biases in the AI results. It’s vital to look over material produced by AI before sending it to clients or putting it on your website. AI makes mistakes, and you want to make sure the content is accurate. That includes property descriptions. AI might describe a home as boasting a fantastic sunroom with breathtaking views, except that there is no such thing on the property in question. AI gets it right most but not all of the time. Large language models are incapable of embarrassment, but that’s not the case for realtors who don’t proofread AI-generated content. 

AI also doesn’t have the ability to verify its information. But if you ask for information the right way, you are more likely to receive accurate replies.

Learning to Use AI

The AI genie isn’t going back into the bottle. The key to your future career as a realtor may depend on how well you use AI professionally. Learn how to use AI so you aren’t replaced by someone who knows how to do so better than you. 

For example, ChatGPT depends on how questions are worded. The secret to success with AI is knowing how to write a query. That’s why “prompt engineer” is a hot new occupation. 

Want to know a neighborhood’s crime statistics? How about its flooding history? All you have to do is ask for this information the right way. AI can misinterpret the context of a question, resulting in an incorrect response. AI also doesn’t have the ability to verify its information. But if you ask for information the right way, you are more likely to receive accurate replies. Learning the best way to prompt ChatGPT is a learning curve, but take heart, it’s a curve we’re all trying to negotiate in this brave new world.