The latest AI offering for homebuyers promises to guide buyers through the process without the assistance of an agent. iStock image
As developments in artificial intelligence continue, including tools that claim they can usurp the role of a human agent, the residential real estate industry isn’t concerned about losing jobs to AI; rather, agents say it can improve the job performance of existing agents.
The latest product to foray into human replacement, Homa is an artificial intelligence homebuying platform currently being trialed in Florida. The venture-backed company is based in Texas. The AI-powered alternative would replace the role of a buyers’ agent in the purchase process. It does not claim to replace a seller’s agent.
Homa says that its AI tools can provide buyers with the equivalent of a comparative market analysis. Additionally, buyers can use the platform to schedule home tours, and once an offer is accepted, Homa guides them through closing.
Similar to the panic caused by the rise in automation in the late 19th century, individuals have concerns that AI will endanger human jobs – but industry experts in Massachusetts believe that won’t be the case. Most agents currently using AI utilize it for content creation for social media, ad copy or blog posts.
Ryan Glass, a Gibson Sotheby’s agent in Boston, also uses ChatGPT for its data analysis capabilities. He uploads MLS data into ChatGPT and has it analyze certain characteristics, such as whether a property has parking, or identify properties that have two bedrooms.
Proprietary data can also be analyzed in-house and automated to assist realtors with customer interactions. The CRM used by Today Real Estate in Barnstable provides the information clients most want to see.
For example, “if they like kitchens, it will realign photos so those are the first photos they’re seeing of a house, which has been helpful,” said Todd Machnik, president and owner of Sandwich-based Today Real Estate and president of the Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors. “It also can help an agent craft better emails or craft better texts, based upon what data is available in our CRM.”
While agents are allowed to use these tools, Massachusetts Association of Realtors CEO Theresa Hatton stressed that they need to ensure they don’t violate the organization’s code of ethics.
“You need to make sure that the agents are truthful,” she said. “You can enhance and Photoshop anything, but you can’t Photoshop things to the point of where they don’t resemble the actual dwelling, house, land, that is being offered.”
For example, she said using AI photo editing tools to enhance the sky on a cloudy day might be acceptable, but making a hilly front yard with gravel look like a pristine, well-cut section of grass would cross the line.
National Association of Realtors Director of Innovation Strategy Dan Weisman also stressed caution when using AI tools.
“You have to assume that information is public and is being used to train other data,” he said. “So we just warn our members, to be very cautious in how they go about using certain tools. I know you can pay for higher levels of different versions, but most aren’t using that. So just being smart about anything creating data and then not just letting it spit out an answer and assuming it’s correct.”
‘As Big As the Internet’
While those in the real estate industry don’t believe that artificial intelligence is coming for agents’ jobs, they do believe that AI will become as ubiquitous as owning a cell phone.
“It’s as big as the internet, where we’re going with AI,” Weisman said. “You think about smartphones, I can’t imagine living in this day and age, especially as an agent or broker, not having a smartphone. So I think similar to how we utilize that as a tool for quick communication, to call people, to email, to text, AI is going to be part of what every agent and broker uses in the future. I’m not saying you have to use it to be successful, but I think, very similar to other industries, it’s important to keep up with technology to allow us to be better and more efficient at what we do.”
Glass also believes that AI usage will be a differentiating factor between agents. He believes it will create a bigger gap between high-performing agents and agents who are left to the wayside.
“I think if you learn to use the tools, it’s going to make you a really efficient agent, which will allow the already successful agent to take on more business,” Glass said. “That leaves less business for the average agents who may be struggling a little bit. It’s definitely a great way that agents are able to differentiate themselves, especially with something like data. I think a lot of people value a really strong data analysis when they’re spending high dollar values. So it’s definitely a tool that agents should be using to strengthen their value proposition to a client.”
Experts also believe the industry is protected from threats from automation and AI development due to how emotional a real estate transaction can be. Whether it’s a life event driving a transaction or sentimental value when selling a home, AI can’t measure or analyze these data points.
“A home is not a transactional commodity to purchase,” Hatton said. “It’s a significant investment. For many people, it’s the most significant investment purchase that they’ll make, and they really need somebody who can understand the overall aspect of not just buying a home, but of creating a home.”
Additionally, AI may not be able to account for a buyer or seller’s stage of life, Machnik said.
“It’s not just a number on a piece of paper and what someone’s willing to pay for it,” he said. “It could be the first-time homebuyers. It could be people that are selling a home, that have lived in it for the past 40 years, and it’s the next step of their lives. They need help and direction and guidance and just comfort and support, or just to be heard.”
