NAR’s director of emerging technology just told a room full of real estate professionals: “Pick up the phone.”
This, at a session dedicated entirely to the rise of agentic AI in real estate, covered in NAR’s latest article “From Chatbots to Collaborators: AI’s Next Era.“
Here is what NAR is seeing: AI is no longer just chatbots and auto-generated content. It is evolving into systems that can autonomously manage entire transaction workflows. We are talking about tools that can analyze pricing, review documents for compliance, evaluate loan options, monitor market trends, and coordinate transaction timelines, all without a human initiating each step. NAR even highlighted startups using AI to automate transaction processing, compliance reviews, and document management end to end.
The technology is genuinely impressive. And the efficiency gains are real.
But here is what NAR was equally clear about: AI cannot be the full product of a real estate or property management company that actually cares about its clients.The numbers an algorithm produces still need a real person to check them, question them, and find the more probable outcome for the family on the other end of the deal.
We lived this exact scenario recently. A homeowner came to us already holding an offer from a competitor. Fast. Reasonable. Algorithm-generated. Our team— Elizabeth Kemsuzian, Division President and Solutions Specialist; Tyler Barry, Acquisitions Analyst; and Elliott Dyer, Director of Acquisitions—jumped in, ran the numbers, and competed on price.
But that is not the only reason why we gained the client.
We gained the client because Elizabeth called. She walked through every question, lowered the stress in the room, and made a person feel like their decision actually mattered to someone.
NAR said it best: “Success depends on trust. Show the clear value of AI, and explain what it’s doing.”
At Marketplace Homes, AI can be a tool. Human judgment, real conversations, and genuine care for the outcome are the product.
When in doubt, pick up the phone.
NAR Article: From Chatbots to Collaborators: AI’s Next Era