AI and Realtors: Why technology won’t replace the human touch

Over Labor Day Weekend, my cellphone slid over some real estate documents and fell to the bottom of the lake. It has been three days without my cellphone until my replacement arrives, and it has given me a new perspective on how dependent we are on our smartphones. It's so easy to look up information on Google Gemini or ChatGPT. Over 97% of home buyers use the internet to search for homes. Today at Roche Realty Group, we were talking about how much the real estate industry has changed over the past 49 years and what role technology has played. 

I look back; it was 1976 when I entered the real estate profession in the Lakes Region. When I joined the Lakes Region Board of Realtors, there were 75 Realtors in the entire membership, and we knew the majority by name. Most of our monthly meetings were at the Pheasant Ridge Country Club, and our MLS system back then was archaic. Basically, every two weeks, the board office would forward each Realtors member a packet of 5.5 by 11.5 sheets with a black and white photo of the new listings and pertinent listing information. A summary sheet would list pending sales, closed sales, withdrawns, and new listings. The agents were obligated to insert the sheets in a three-ring binder with tabs for waterfront, beach rights, residential, land, and commercial. Pretty simple system back in those days.

Yes, we had control of the listings, and consumers had to contact us for all related information, available properties, and all showings. Back then, you could form a close relationship with your clients. We would spend hours and weekends driving our customers all over the Lakes Region with kids in tow. There were no cellphones, no faxes, no email, no high-speed color copiers, no computers, no Dotloop, DocuSign, Zipforms, toolkit CMAs, and no social media. We used basic typewriters, and our best friends were payphones in a few scattered locations. We were always running late in those days because of so many showings, only to be disappointed when the phone booths had a coin jam in the insert slots. I can remember handwriting many offers on the hood of a car and then hand-delivering them. Needless to say, I was always late for supper.

We always treated our fellow

Realtors and clients with utmost professional respect. The majority of offices were small independent real estate companies with lots of for-sale yard signs dotting the countryside. Our advertising programs were basically print media, local papers, the home guide, Boston Globe, and Wall Street Journal classified ads. Realtors were like poets. They would describe a “babbling brook running through the property” in the Boston Globe, only to learn at the showing that it was actually a stream runoff from the industrial park up the road.

Since those primitive years, I’ve seen the real estate industry undergo a number of substantial changes. The internet has had the most significant impact and has revolutionized the entire industry. The internet basically surpassed the yard sign as the most important tool to reach consumers. There was no looking back once Realtor.com, Zillow, and other real estate websites were established. Our industry has experienced trends like so many others. The travel industry is one good example. There were travel agencies on every corner. Today, the big names are Booking.com, Expedia, Tripadvisor.com, Airbnb, VRBO, etc.

The transfer of information onto so many accessible and user-friendly sites has transformed the way we do business. Back in the mid-1970s and ‘80s, the majority of communication was by telephone and letters. In 1995, only 2% of prospective buyers utilized the internet in their home search, according to Housewire. By 2005, the number had jumped to 75%, and today a stunning 97% of prospective buyers go to the internet while searching for the perfect home. However, the vast majority of consumers still enlist the services of a Realtors to help them make an informed real estate decision.

Today, there are 809 Realtors in the Lakes Region Board of Realtors, compared to 75 when I started, and there are over 6,571 Realtors in New Hampshire. Nationwide, there are over 1.5 million members of the National Association of Realtors. Today, more than 65% are women, the median age is 52, and the median experience level is five years.

Today, we have so many technological advancements that have brought the process of selling a home on a fast-forward pace. Today, we use HDR, or flash ambient photography, compared to Polaroid cameras back in the day. Digital and drone photography would have been considered science fiction in the 1970s, and so would Matterport 3D tours and professional video tours of each property we use at Roche Realty Group. Today, we promote listing on over 80 sites, including our social media marketing on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky, and Lemon8. Back in the 1970s, even popular science magazines would not have dreamed of these names or new technologies. 

So what’s next on the horizon for change in the real estate industry: 

We are already seeing ChatGPT, Jasper, and other AI programs being used on a daily basis. We have seen the ability of a chatbot to generate informed responses to complex inputs. AI will become much more advanced and play a vital role in our industry. Look how fast Google Gemini has advanced.

Here are a few changes that will likely be implemented: 

• Virtual staging and photo editing

• Property prices and value estimates: If you think Zillow or Redfin provides decent property value estimates, wait until you see what AI’s advanced algorithms and analytics do to improve the accuracy of valuation estimates. CMAs that utilize AI will make more precisely evaluated properties.

• AI chat voice and chatbots: AI voice and email assistants indistinguishable from agents will start popping up in the real estate industry, answering calls whenever an agent is unable to do so.

• Predicting market trends: AI’s capabilities will help buyers and sellers make more informed decisions about market trends with its sophisticated algorithms.

• Lending and mortgage advancements

• Social media advertising: While this is already being used, this will become a more advanced tool where AI can analyze users’ behavior and preferences on various social media platforms, enabling Realtors to target potential buyers.

• Enhanced property searches: Buyers will be able to input images of homes or architectural features they like, and AI will assess the data and find matches easily.

• Property descriptions: ChatGPT already provides this feature, helping write highly effective property descriptions. 

• Virtual assistants: These AI assistants will improve efficiency and enhance business, and improve customer service. 

• Office and administrative support: AI-driven automation will transform tasks like data entry, document management, and scheduling. 

• Real estate leads: Some of the new platforms leverage machine learning algorithms that get smarter over time as new data is added. 

• AI-generated 3D models: At Roche Realty Group, we have been utilizing Matterport 3D technology for years. This allows prospective buyers to tour a property without leaving the comfort of their home. New AI technology is in the works to make this process even more efficient. 

You can see how AI will impact the real estate industry from the above. It will become a game-changer as the technology evolves further. However, like many market sectors, AI is unlikely ever to replace the need for Realtors to interact with consumers and provide that personal human touch and guidance to make an informed decision in real estate. Yes, our smartphones today are so much better than those old pay phone booths that were always jammed with nickels when you went to use them. But hold onto your seatbelt as AI infiltrates our world.

•••

This article was written by Frank Roche, president of Roche Realty Group with offices in Meredith and Laconia, and can be reached at 603-279-7046. Visit

rocherealty.com to learn more about the Lakes Region and its real estate market.