Zillow Changed Real Estate Once. AI May Be About to Change It Again.

By TW Shortt, CRS™, CRB™, Broker at REALTY WORLD Knox Realty Group, The Fort Knox Office™

More than four years ago, I wrote a Focus on Finance article asking why Zillow had become such a dominant force in residential real estate.

At the time, the answer was fairly simple. Zillow did something the traditional real estate industry had been slow to do: it created a place where consumers could easily search for homes, review property information, compare neighborhoods, and begin the buying process before ever calling a real estate agent.

That changed consumer behavior.

Now, artificial intelligence may be preparing to change it again.

The newest generation of real estate technology is moving beyond simply showing consumers which homes are available. AI-powered tools are increasingly being designed to help buyers think through affordability, compare properties, explore neighborhoods, narrow search criteria, ask detailed questions, and decide what to do next.

That is a much bigger development than another improved property-search website.

For most of my career, real estate agents controlled access to much of the information consumers needed. Before the internet, buyers depended heavily on an agent to identify available properties. Then websites such as Realtor.com and Zillow placed much of that information directly into the consumer’s hands.

The industry survived that change because information was never the only value a competent real estate professional provided.

Artificial intelligence will test that proposition again.

If a prospective buyer can tell an AI system, “I need a three-bedroom home within 30 minutes of Fort Knox, under a certain monthly payment, with a garage and good resale potential,” the technology may eventually do much of the initial sorting that once required several conversations with an agent.

That does not necessarily eliminate the real estate agent.

It changes the job.

The professional value of an agent will increasingly depend less upon possessing information and more upon knowing what to do with it.

A computer can identify houses. It may even become very good at comparing prices and predicting expenses. But residential real estate remains a complicated human transaction.

Someone still has to evaluate the property in the context of the local market. Someone must help structure an offer, negotiate repairs, understand inspections, monitor financing, spot title problems, coordinate deadlines, handle appraisal issues, and keep a transaction together when something unexpected happens.

And something unexpected frequently happens.

A residential closing can involve dozens of individual tasks and several independent professionals, including lenders, inspectors, appraisers, insurance agents, title companies, attorneys, contractors, brokers, and government agencies.

AI may improve that process tremendously, but technology does not eliminate the need for judgment.

In fact, it may make professional judgment more valuable.

The real estate agent of the future may spend less time searching databases and preparing routine paperwork and more time acting as an adviser, negotiator, problem solver, and transaction manager.

That should be good news for strong agents and uncomfortable news for agents whose primary value has been access to information.

Zillow’s first disruption was giving consumers access to the housing market.

Artificial intelligence may be the next disruption, helping consumers interpret that market before they ever contact an agent.

The question is no longer whether AI is coming to residential real estate.

It is already here.

The more important question is whether real estate professionals will use it merely to work faster—or use the time it saves to become better advisers to the people they represent.

The technology will continue to change.

The responsibility to protect the client’s interests should not.

Before you list, learn your options and potential costs with our Free Kentucky Home Seller Guide.

Thinking about selling your Kentucky home?