Flourishing new technology and generative AI looks to offer professionals plenty of tools for success. Perhaps most paramount, however, is access to information and the ability to analyze that data, in order to make informed decisions. 

In real estate, with buyers and sellers seeking an edge to get the most value, those who are better equipped at data aggregation and analysis are poised to succeed, especially in times like now when markets are tense and chaotic.

As Jeremy Dawn, founder and CEO of SNFLWR Investment Corp. attests, technology and apps have revolutionized the real estate investor game, enabling investors to find properties that cash flow even in tough markets.

“One of the most significant shifts has been the availability of data. In the past, investors had to rely on traditional sources such as real estate agents and property managers for information about potential investments,” he notes. “Today, a wealth of data is available online, including property listings, rental rates and market trends. This data can be used to identify properties that are likely to generate positive cash flow.”

A desire for better information access and analysis methods to make sound investment decisions

When investor Liz Macey couldn’t find an ideal tool to identify money-generating properties based on her needs and parameters, she set out to create one.

Macey founded UnitIQ and explains the platform helps investors find and invest in properties that cash flow. “We’re able to take data from a whole bunch of different sources and make this search process a whole lot easier. We have active listings in the country with vacancy rates and rental prices, and we use financial analysis tools to find cash flow.”

Macey, whose diverse professional background includes an MBA and a pilot’s license, developed the platform after realizing how overwhelming it can be to know how and where to level up her investing. She wanted better access to information and improved ways to analyze what’s available to make savvy choices.

“(This) is a pain point for investors and realtors, especially when you’re looking at multiple communities. It’s a lot of data when you’re trying to find good opportunities.” She explains with UnitIQ, users can input their different parameters, such as budget or downpayment.

The tool will offer both a free model that allows for a basic search as well as a paid subscription tier aiming to serve agents. The latter option will incorporate advanced analytical tools: agents can create multiple profiles and specific searches for clients and have the ability to export data with custom branding.

Analytical systems and generative AI: Promising, useful tools to help clients

Eva Landreth champions such newfound tools as essential to success. A realtor with Century 21 Millennium Inc., Landreth has found success using analytical systems such as HouseSigma and AirDNA to connect clients with investment properties and secondary chalets in Ontario, with a focus on short-term rentals.

“It’s amazing,” she says of what’s possible. “Before you buy a property, you can see revenue, trends, occupancy and price strategy. You can compare similar properties on a street, look at property manager companies and really get to know the historical data, seeing if certain properties aren’t performing well,” she explains. 

Generative AI proves a promising tool as well, one that Landreth is also leveraging. “I think people are using the basics,” she says. “I don’t think people have unlocked all its potential. You have to feed it smart information to get out what you want. I think it’s just going to help our job, make things go a lot quicker — the mundane tasks, it will make easier.”

Dawn concurs, noting that tools and technologies have made it easier for investors to find and analyze potential investments, manage their properties and communicate with tenants. “They’ve also helped to level the playing field, giving (investors) access to the same data and tools that professional investors use,” he points out.

Tools and tech will never replace the human touch

Dawn feels that as technology continues to evolve, investors can expect to see even more innovation that makes it easier to find properties that cash flow and aid in decision making, saving time and money and ultimately achieving financial goals.

Still, Landreth believes you need that lived experience, wisdom and connection with clients in order to provide the best guidance. “The tools will help you get the market trends and find the hidden opportunities, but you still need that human touch. If you’re just looking at the data, you don’t have the human interaction and expertise in the local market.”

While a more diverse tool kit may prove useful for investors, there is concern about its effects on renters and those seeking to buy their first home. Macey notes some of UnitIQ’s users are prospective first-time homebuyers, and that potentially more data about property management companies will help improve the rental market.

“Investing in real estate is a tricky conversation to have when you’re considering everyone in the economy,” she says. “My hope is that we’re able to end up having more rental properties on the market, helping increase the supply so that hopefully you can find a home more easily.”

If you think AI begins and ends with ChatGPT, you’re missing out on a universe of possibilities. While OpenAI’s chatbot took the world by storm, it’s just one star in an ever-expanding galaxy of AI models. Relying solely on ChatGPT is like trying to build a house with only a hammer — you’re limiting your potential and possibly compromising your results.

This principle applies across industries like Canadian real estate. Realtors in this field wear many hats, requiring skills in negotiation, social media, content creation and more. By exploring AI tools beyond ChatGPT, realtors can leverage diverse AI capabilities to enhance various aspects of their business, rather than limiting themselves to a single tool.

Risks of relying on a single AI system

• Missed opportunities. Using a single AI system can lead to missed opportunities and biased results.
• Limited perspectives. A single model can only provide a narrow view of a problem or solution.
• Stagnation. Relying on a single AI system can lead to stagnation, as you miss out on innovations from other models.
• Vulnerability to outages or updates. Dependence on a single system leaves you exposed if it experiences downtime or significant changes.

My experience using various AI models over the past four years has reinforced these risks. The quality of outputs can change dramatically, sometimes on a weekly basis. This volatility underscores the danger of stagnation when relying on a single system.

For instance, if one AI model consistently produces poor social media posts for first-time homebuyers, exploring alternative models could yield better results rather than waiting for improvements in a single system. 

Benefits of AI diversification

• Comprehensive insights. Multiple AI models provide a more comprehensive understanding of a problem or solution.
• Innovative solutions. AI diversification can lead to innovative solutions and new ideas.
• Adaptability. By using multiple AI models, you can adapt quickly to changing circumstances.
• Enhanced problem-solving. Different AI models approach problems in unique ways, leading to more robust solutions.

Diversify your AI arsenal — at no cost

Imagine having unrestricted access to the internet in its early days — you would have seized the opportunity!

Today, top tech companies worldwide are offering their cutting-edge AI language models for free. However, unlike the internet’s early days, we now have multiple AI models in an intense arms race, with innovations emerging every week.

Compare AI responses: One prompt, multiple platforms

One of the most effective ways to harness the power of AI diversity is to use identical prompts across different AI platforms. This approach allows you to directly compare outputs, highlighting each model’s unique strengths and perspectives. By using it, you can identify which AI excels at specific tasks, uncover nuanced differences in language understanding and even spot potential biases.

The method not only enhances the quality of your final output but also deepens your understanding of each AI’s capabilities, enabling you to make more informed decisions about which tool to use for future tasks.

Top alternative AI tools

In the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence world, several powerful alternatives to mainstream AI models have emerged, each offering unique strengths and capabilities.

For example, Claude by Anthropic excels in nuanced conversations and ethical reasoning, while Google’s Gemini brings multimodal capabilities and up-to-date information to the table. Perplexity AI stands out with its real-time information synthesis and source citation (very important), offering an interactive search experience. For those seeking open-source solutions, Meta’s Llama 2 provides flexibility and customizability.

By exploring and leveraging these diverse AI tools, users can tap into a rich ecosystem of capabilities, each suited to different tasks and requirements.

1. Claude by Anthropic — known for nuanced conversations, ethical reasoning, detailed explanations

2. Gemini by Google — known for multimodal capabilities, up-to-date information, integrated search

3. Perplexity AI — known for real-time information synthesis, citation of sources, interactive search

4. Llama 2 by Meta — known for open-source flexibility, customizability, strong performance on various tasks

Stay diverse to stay ahead

The AI landscape is evolving rapidly, and relying on a single AI system can lead to missed opportunities and biased results. By embracing AI diversification and exploring multiple models, you can gain comprehensive insights, innovative solutions and adaptability.

Stay ahead of the curve in your real estate business by harnessing the power of AI diversification.

You don’t need to worry about artificial intelligence taking over your job, but the realtor using AI down the hallway can potentially take your business.

This technology is the single most powerful tool that humans have ever had. The AI locomotive left the station on November 30, 2022. Now, it’s a bullet train hurtling down the tracks and can’t be stopped.

What’s important to understand about artificial intelligence and being in real estate is that AI will take over your remedial tasks such as social media posts, marketing, identifying real estate trends and creating newsletters. The result for you as a realtor is spending less time on the computer and more time with clients or finding new clients to grow your sphere.

How realtors are using AI

Currently, most realtors are using AI for their property descriptions and email responses. But AI goes way beyond simple language output. It’s now generating lyrical songs for your social media posts about your properties and creating AI videos about the local real estate market. 

With OpenAI dropping a bomb on the entertainment industry by introducing us to SORA, an AI system that can create 60-second videos from a simple one-line command, you can create real estate videos completely generated by AI. What’s more impressive is the simplicity of using this technology.

Most AI language models are now free

One thing that shocked me about this technology is that some of the most powerful AI language models are free to use. A lot of people missed the announcement by OpenAI (developers of ChatGPT 3.5, 4 and now 4o) that all the versions of ChatGPT will soon be free to everyone. Currently, to get access to ChatGPT 4, you have to pay a subscription every month. Here in Canada, we should see the rollout this summer.

When I’m talking to realtors about artificial intelligence language models, they mainly talk about ChatGPT. The reality is that AI has exploded since late 2022 with close to 12,000 AI tools being developed. In the past 12 months, we’ve seen tools like META AI, Claude, CoPilot, Gemini and more each month. The most amazing part is that all of these AI language models are free to use.

What should I be using AI for in real estate?

The real estate world is constantly changing, and the reality is that we need to upgrade our skills or learn new tools to keep up. This is where AI can help! Here are just a few examples of the ways AI can assist:

Negotiation. When you’re negotiating, whether it’s with your clients or the other agent, you simply prompt the AI by saying:

“I want you to act as a real estate negotiator. I’m representing the buyers in the transaction, and we just received a counter of $20,000 above our initial offer on the property. The counteroffer put the price right at the fair market value. Can you provide me with three different scripts I can use to speak to my buying clients to say this counteroffer is exactly the fair market value of the property?”

Social media posts. It can be challenging to consistently create new and engaging social media content. Try prompting AI with the following:

“I want you to act as a real estate social media marketing expert. Create three social media captions that target first-time homebuyers. I want the captions to be engaging and witty. Also, include in the caption emojis, hashtags and an image prompt that’s related to the caption.”

Real estate coach. Did you know that you can now have a verbal conversation with the ChatGPT app? Now you can ask ChatGPT to be your real estate coach. Here’s a great example of a prompt that I use to coach me:

“I want you to act as a real estate coach. Grade me on the opening of my listing presentation. I want you to listen to the quality of the content for a listing presentation, plus my energy, cadence and anything else. Let me begin…”

Final words about artificial intelligence

Engaging with AI in real estate isn’t optional — it’s essential for staying competitive. By automating tasks, AI empowers agents to focus on relationships and complex decisions. Don’t wait; embrace AI now to streamline operations and enhance client interactions. The future belongs to those who adapt and innovate with this technology.

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more readily available with widespread uses, the housing industry is looking at ways it can help agents and clients alike.

While there has yet to be an industry-wide mandate or initiative when it comes to AI, some agents have begun to embrace the technology, seeking ways to make work more efficient while also testing the limits of what it can currently do.

Cloning tool for lead-response videos

“It’s exciting and scary at the same time,” says Tom Storey, sales representative with Royal LePage Signature Realty, who has been using AI to create and enhance content and advertising materials. He conveniently has it as an app on the main screen of his phone.

Storey sees a lot of potential in using video generators such as HeyGen to connect with potential clients and send updates and timely information throughout the buying process.

“You can automatically have an auto-generated version of yourself reach out and introduce yourself,” he explains, adding that AI allows for personalization so that you can have the right name and phone numbers in the video.

Storey is referring to HeyGen’s cloning tool, in which you can create videos with your likeness and voice without having to actually perform in front of the camera each and every time. He feels the technology is close, but not quite there yet. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable yet sending an AI twin of me as an automation.” 

“That’s where I think it is really going,” he continues. “With a lot of the online leads, just how you can personalize an interaction is going to be mind-blowing.”

ChatGPT for marketing materials and feedback

While video generators look promising, there are plenty of practical AI uses taken up right now. Asif Khan, broker/owner at Re/Max Prime Properties, employs ChatGPT to help hone marketing materials and provide feedback. “A lot of our agents are using it as a ghostwriter and guide,” he says. “They use it for marketing and advertising pieces and virtual assisting, rather than relying on AI to simply replicate or duplicate.”

“Most of our team leaders are using it; they realized it’s something that can assist them and help clients to move forward, like any new technology. “

‘You really have to know what you’re asking for’

Both Storey and Khan admit there is a big learning curve, and most agents are learning on their own or in small groups. “I’ve definitely used it to create marketing pieces based on the web, but you’re going to get out of it what you put in,” says Khan.

“I create graphs or marketing materials, and then tweak results to form more of what the final product will be. You always have to add in the human element, take out stuff that isn’t relevant, make it so that it’s accurate.” But, “You really have to know what you’re asking for,” he cautions.

Like Khan, Storey finds AI useful in making tedious work a lot quicker and easier. ChatGPT, for example, can write video summaries and index longer content to make it more user-friendly. “I use ChatGPT like I used to use Google. I ask questions, and I’m using it a lot to get content ideas. It could write a script for the video.”

The hope: Help prospects better choose the right agent and buyers get insights and stats

While the technology is still relatively new, the hope is that by creating more easily accessible personalized interactions and content, potential clients will be better able to pick the right agent and make more informed choices faster. Prospective buyers can also use AI to find up-to-date market trends, statistics on a particular neighborhood and even predictions.

For pre-construction properties, Khan foresees the ability to create walkthroughs for clients before the finished space is ready.

“It’s so new, we’re still learning where we can use it appropriately,” he says. “We’ll see where it’s going to benefit us most, go through the next year or so, clarify that, and apply it.”

Neither sees any big problems for AI in the market at the moment, though they admit that’s in part because it doesn’t seem too popular right now. Khan also points out that the learning curve helps to differentiate those who have taken the time to understand AI best practices and those who are cutting corners. 

A tool to enhance rather than replace jobs

The pair also sees AI as a tool for assisting positions instead of an entity that will replace positions.

“I think the big fear is that it’s going to replace people,” says Khan. “But we’re finding out now it won’t really eliminate positions, but it will allow people who use it to help with marketing and creating graphics and charts.”

“It won’t replace your admin,” echoes Storey. “It’s a tool. There are some ways you can use it, and for me, it’s very clear. It simplifies my content creation and allows me to meet new buyers and help sellers sell.”

Smart cities are like modern, high-tech communities. They use digital technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and lots of data to make life in the city better. Think of them as using smart tech to make everything work smoothly — from running buses on time to making our air cleaner.

It’s all about cities like Toronto being not just smarter but also friendlier, greener, better, more comfortable places to live for everyone.

Generative AI and its link to housing

In rapidly evolving urban development, the integration of generative AI is reshaping how we approach real estate and housing.

This technological leap is not just a novelty; it’s a transformative tool that’s redefining the interaction between urban planning, architectural design and the real estate market.

Creates a more dynamic, collaborative design process

For realtors, understanding the implications of AI in urban development is critical. Generative AI enables a more dynamic design process, where feedback from a wide array of city residents can be integrated into architectural plans in real time. This participatory approach to design is crucial in developing real estate projects that are not only commercially viable but also deeply aligned with the community’s needs.

Predicts housing market trends, market dynamics and growth areas

In the context of housing, AI makes many impacts. By analyzing extensive data sets, AI can assist in predicting housing market trends, identifying potential growth areas and suggesting optimal types of development for specific locales. For realtors, this means a more nuanced understanding of market dynamics and the ability to anticipate shifts in housing demand.

Helps solve housing shortages and create investment opportunities

AI-driven urban planning tools can help in reimagining underutilized spaces, a critical aspect in densely populated urban areas. The potential to transform vacant office spaces into residential units, for example, is a trend gaining traction in cities like Toronto. This approach not only addresses the issue of housing shortages but also presents new investment opportunities in the real estate market.

A smarter solution for urban mobility

In Toronto, we’ve been expanding our highways to tackle traffic congestion, but the real solution might lie in embracing AI technology. By using AI, we can smartly redirect traffic flows, optimize the use of office spaces and plan subway routes more effectively. This approach promises a more efficient and less congested city, moving us beyond just wider roads and onto smarter urban mobility solutions.

What’s being done now? Where can we learn from?

An innovative partnership between Innisfil and Uber combines ridesharing with public transportation and even school buses. It has been a game-changer, saving millions in taxpayer dollars and reducing traffic congestion.

This example shows how thinking creatively and embracing AI-driven alternatives can lead to effective solutions. With AI providing insightful studies and recommendations, we can explore and adopt similar groundbreaking approaches to enhance urban living in Toronto.

Repurposing vacant office space

In Canada, office vacancies are high, with a rate of over 19 per cent, and in Toronto, it’s around 17 per cent. This situation creates an ideal opportunity to repurpose these empty offices into much-needed residential spaces. By using public algorithms and AI, we can figure out the best and most efficient ways to transform these areas into places where people can both work and live. This approach will help us make the most of the available space in our city.

The Singapore case study

Singapore has been a leader in using smart technology in cities, with its SmartNation initiative that began in 2014. When I visited last year, I saw some amazing projects.

For example, there’s a place like Yorkdale Mall, but with gardens on the rooftops and balconies, and AI-powered public transportation three floors underground. They use sensor technology and self-driving vehicles to help the elderly and disabled. I’m really excited to go back at the end of May this year to see what new advancements they’ve made. 

We’re about nine years behind Singapore in this area, but we can learn a lot from them.

Imagine if the TTC could predict the busiest times and routes, and adjust its service accordingly. No more squeezing onto an overcrowded subway at Yonge and Bloor during rush hour. AI in Toronto might not be able to predict when the Leafs will win the Stanley Cup, but it sure can help us manage our city’s energy use more efficiently!

A guiding report: UN-Habitat and Mila-Québec Institute for Artificial Intelligence

Risks, Applications and Governance, developed by UN-Habitat and the Mila-Québec Institute for Artificial Intelligence, takes a closer look at the use of AI in cities.

Among several other things, the report discusses how AI can be integrated into urban life and environments, its potential risks and management strategies and its use in urban applications and their impact (including energy, mobility, public safety, water and waste management, healthcare, urban planning and city management).

AI’s role in enhancing urban diversity, promoting gender equality and improving public services, as highlighted in the report, underscores its potential as a transformative force in city planning and governance.

The industry’s call to action

The advent of AI in urban planning presents a unique opportunity for the real estate industry. By embracing this technology, realtors can gain deeper insights into market trends, engage more effectively with community needs and explore innovative avenues for development.

The key to leveraging AI effectively in real estate lies in the diversity and richness of data inputs. It’s crucial for both public and private entities to collaborate, ensuring that AI algorithms are trained on comprehensive and varied data sets. This inclusivity in data collection leads to more accurate and representative AI recommendations, benefiting the real estate market and the community at large.

It’s essential to harness AI responsibly, ensuring that it serves as a tool for creating more vibrant, sustainable, efficient and inclusive urban environments. With its integration of diverse approaches for a better urban future, I believe it can address current challenges while paving the way for a more equitable and prosperous Toronto.

So, let’s dive into making our city even smarter with AI and tech. Let’s get inspired by how places like Dubai, Germany and Singapore use it. Stay curious and open to new smart city ideas happening around us. Chat about them, join community meetings and throw in your two cents. Together, we can shape Toronto into a fantastic place to live for all of us. Let’s make it happen!

In an effort to create more conversations between potential sellers and Royal LePage agents, Royal LePage has launched QuickQuote™, an Automated Valuation Model (AVM) that provides Canadians with current market property valuations.

By focusing on providing value to consumers through AVMs, Royal LePage is able to help consumers while simultaneously helping their agents grow their business. It’s a true win-win.

QuickQuote™ is an AI-driven, algorithm-based software program which provides Canadians with current market property valuations. While there are other AVM tools available to Canadians, QuickQuote™ is the first truly national home value estimator on a real estate website.

AVMs generate instant estimates by using advanced analytics and algorithms that analyze data points for a specific property, typically factoring in things like market trends, historical sales data and current listings. The accuracy of AVM technology is largely dependent on the quality of data available for a certain property, with estimates varying depending on the product type or location.

These tools can be effective starting points for prospective sellers trying to estimate the current market value of their home. They also work as a great marketing and lead generation tool, as estimates need insights from a Realtor to help contextualize the valuation, prompting sellers to engage with an agent to better identify a home’s current market value.

In assessing the competitive landscape, the need to create a Canadian-based AVM customized for Canada’s real estate industry became apparent. With QuickQuote™, users can receive estimates for properties across Canada, both on and off the market.

The tool was designed to help generate consumer interest in a property and drive seller leads to sales professionals within the Royal LePage network, giving them an opportunity to strengthen their client relationships and build new ones.

Having accurate data to generate home price estimates is a critical aspect of an AVM’s success. This is why QuickQuote™ is powered by, and leverages, the proprietary real estate data, advanced modeling and AI techniques of RPS Real Property Solutions. QuickQuote™ generates an instant estimate range of a property’s current value, and also provides an opportunity to improve the estimates’ accuracy by entering additional details about the property, including square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, renovations, and more.

Ultimately an AVM generates leads, facilitates conversations and allows agents to build relationships with potential sellers. With QuickQuote™’s unique and truly national data set, Royal LePage agents can take advantage of a new source of seller leads to grow their client database.

But let’s scale back for a moment and think about how AI is poised to change the way the real estate industry works. What does it mean for the average brokerage that wants to help agents provide the best value for their clients? How does AI help a broker who wants to retain their top agents? And most importantly, will AI really change the way real estate operates, or is it just the latest fad? I had the opportunity to sit down with mentor and coach Ron O’Neil, who is also the founder and owner of AI Intelligent Solutions in Barrie, Ont. to learn more about where AI can take real estate and the pros and cons for real estate brokerages.

Think of AI as the newest tool in your toolbox

While automation has been improving for decades, AI as a practical everyday tool exploded in November 2022 when Chat GPT was released to the public. “Within five days, it was the most adopted technology in the world,” O’Neil explains. “Over a million people subscribed to it, and that was with zero marketing. AI is far different than most technologies, and at the end of the day, we have to adopt it. If you’re not going to embrace AI, your competition down the road will, and you’re going to lose agents.”

As daunting as it might seem to learn new technology, Ron assures us that it’s just a matter of starting the journey. Brokers must be the ones to take the plunge, educate themselves on what’s possible, and lead by example. “AI is not complicated, and the best thing you can do is get started and show your agents that you’re using it. They’re not going to run away if you start using AI, but you have to help take the fear out of them with education.”

Think of what AI can actually do for you

Now that you’re thinking about using this great new tool, the next question to ask is: ‘What can this actually do for me?” Luckily, Ron had some great ideas of how brokers and agents can get started, and a lot of them revolve around content creation. “If you talk to a real estate agent, they probably hate having to create writeups for their property descriptions, and that’s where you can go into a tool like Chat GPT, feed it some details about your listing, and let it create a beautiful property description. You could use it to create newsletters to stay in touch with clients, and this is where brokerages have an opportunity to really show value to their agents. By promoting the use of these new AI tools, they’re showing their existing and potential agents that they don’t need to seek out a third party for content help or let creating it take up too much of their own time.”

“The brokerages that are going to come out of this stronger are the ones that will use this tech to streamline their business so that they have more one-on-one time with agents at the end of the day.”

–  Ron O’Neil, founder and owner, AI Intelligent Solutions

Besides content for agents, brokerages stand to gain a lot from AI tools, with marketing being a key factor. Many tools already available could revolutionize the amount of marketing support brokerages provide their agents, a huge asset for smaller brokerages that don’t have the capacity to hire a dedicated team. 

O’Neil also points out that the way finance is handled in a brokerage could be completely overhauled by new tech. “What you’ll be able to do is upload the listing documentation, the purchase of sale documentation, and the AI will automatically transfer that information into the system. Now you’ll still need human eyes on it, but it’s one more thing that allows smaller brokerages to play with the big boys. And the brokerages that are going to come out of this stronger are the ones that will use this tech to streamline their business so that they have more one-on-one time with agents at the end of the day.”

Think about the potential for risk 

But before you jump into the world of AI tools, it is necessary to do the due diligence of thinking through all potential risks. As exciting as any new technology is, it comes with the potential for harm and exploitation, and while AI can do so much for a brokerage, you must protect your people and clients first. “At the end of the day, we have to be careful with this and understand that when we use this technology, especially when it’s free, they’re taking your data,” warns O’Neil. “You shouldn’t be taking confidential information and putting it inside these systems.”

In talking to O’Neil, it’s clear he sees a vast array of possibilities for AI, but as exciting as he finds it, he knows that we have to create rules and boundaries for our brokerages before these new tools become commonplace. “Don’t become over-reliant on AI, be careful about where you’re putting your data, and implement regulations regarding the use of AI,” he suggests. “Brokers should be training their staff on quality checking the content they use AI to create and send out into the world, and emphasize that it’s only a first draft.” 

At the end of the day, this was my biggest takeaway from our conversation. AI can be a guideline, a source of inspiration and a tool, but all content needs to have your personal, human touch. Make the content yours by making sure it’s coming from your voice. 

While it may still take a few years to turn to Chat GPT each time you need to send an email, it’s clear that our industry, like so many others, is just at the beginning of a new chapter in how we do business. It’s exciting to think about what’s possible if brokers are willing to take the plunge, learn more about what’s out there, and make the case to their agents that this is no longer something out of a sci-fi movie but the edge that could get them their next listing.

With an open mind (and appropriate caution), I believe we could see the brokerages and agents who have been struggling to keep up begin to thrive. 

I think AI will provide us with an amazing opportunity — the time for more human connections.

If you’d like to learn more about what AI tools O’Neil suggests, or you want to hear more stories from leaders in our network, you can check out episodes of The Real Estate: Real Success Podcast on your preferred podcast platform.  

Real estate platform Wahi has launched an artificial intelligence-powered realtor recommendation system that aims to provide consumers with top realtors in their areas, and realtors with lead generations for clients.

“It’s meant for consumers to have a better way to find the best realtor for them,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen, “And it’s a great way for great realtors to get new clients.”

AI-powered realtor matching system

Known as Wahi Marketplace, the system launched in parts of Ontario on June 22 after a more than one-month soft launch period.

Katchen says clients usually find realtors through local advertising, online searches or referrals from friends, family or colleagues. According to questions for Wahi included in Sagen’s First-time Homebuyers Survey conducted by Environics, 45 per cent of recent buyers or those intending to buy a home relied on referrals from family, friends or colleagues to find their realtor.

However, an evidence-based measurement of how well the realtor performs for clients was lacking, he says.

“What we’re trying to do is recommend the top 10 per cent realtor for the type of dwelling you’re trying to buy or sell in the area you’re trying to buy or sell in,” on a hyper-local basis, down to postal codes. 

Katchen notes that a realtor who might be great in Mississauga “may not be the best realtor for downtown Toronto.”

Evidence-based realtor ratings

Wahi worked with The Vector Institute, which is dedicated to AI research, to create the system. It considers several factors to match realtors with consumers, including property search location, type and price, realtor experience, expertise, performance and sales history.

Concerning sales, it’s not necessarily a question of who has sold the most. Rather, “We want to know that there’s a minimum transaction going in that area because that’s indicative that you know that area.”

Factors ranging from the syntax and grammar and photo quality of listings to how long it took for listings to sell compared to similar properties in the area are also considered.

“We invite certain realtors that meet our criteria to essentially opt-in,” Katchen says. “It’s entirely at their discretion.”

New realtors will not be invited to apply, he says, noting, “We think the message of getting a top 10 per cent realtor resonates with consumers.”

Realtors get qualified leads “at a level of digital savviness that may be above and beyond the average consumer, as these consumers have found them through a digital portal.”

Commission structure

If a deal closes after a realtor is recommended to a client, Wahi makes a 0.5 per cent commission.

During the first month of the soft launch period, Wahi signed up about 50 realtors and concluded its first deal using the new system with Jack Dyer, broker of record for Dyer Realty in Cambridge, Ont. who made a transaction with a client in Kitchener Waterloo after being matched. 

Dyer says Wahi is choosing its real estate agents not by random but through research. 

“They make sure they have a certain amount of experience. They actually even read reviews and knew a little bit about me and what I had done in the industry,” Dyer says. “As a real estate agent, you get called, at least I do, weekly from lead generation services which I promptly delete or ignore. But with Wahi, because of their research and the fact they know a little bit about you, we had that instantaneous connection. It felt nice to be recognized not necessarily for the volume of work that you do but the quality of work.”

Hyper-local recommendations

Wahi connected Dyer with a young couple seeking a first home in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. The spring market kicked in, and it was “a terrible sellers’ market, so we had a really tough time, but we eventually found them a home that they love,” says Dyer, who has now been given a second referral by Wahi. 

Katchen says the service is just getting going, “But we’re finding there’s a pretty good response — we’re finding clients for (realtors) that they wouldn’t otherwise find. It’s just another source of potential clients for them.”

“We don’t want to just spray leads around. We’d rather have fewer numbers of great agents that we’re working with that we know are going to respond when we send them a lead.”

– Benjy Katchen, CEO, Wahi

There is no specific target number for the number of realtors Katchen hopes will sign with Wahi.