Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of real estate. The real question isn’t whether we use it. It’s how we control what it does.
I’m not going to resolve the controversies surrounding artificial intelligence in a blog post. What I can offer is a practical approach to using it today. My conclusion is simple:
AI Is Already Here
Among respondents who use AI, 75% use it for listing descriptions, 56% for social media posts and 52% for emails and follow-up communications. Thirty percent use it for market summaries, while 23% use it for pricing insights or comparable-sales support.[1]
I use AI for many of these purposes and to research properties, test ideas and examine alternatives. Through DHG Realty Group, I take a strategic, hands-on advisory approach to helping owners, investors, buyers and sellers evaluate properties and opportunities. My licensed brokerage services are provided through eXp Realty.
We’ve gained access to one of the most powerful information-processing technologies ever created, and one of our first ideas was:
Let’s have it write the listing description.
Useful? Certainly. But we’re only scratching the surface.
I recently completed a four-hour course in Advanced Topics in Financial Literacy for Commercial Real Estate. It covered calculations used to evaluate investment returns, including an Excel-based model. AI can help perform and analyze many of those calculations extraordinarily quickly. But speed doesn’t tell us whether the assumptions going into the model make sense.
Real Estate Is an Information Business
Evaluating a commercial or investment property can involve zoning, rents, expenses, taxes, financing, comparable sales and leases, development potential, building condition, demographics, transportation, regulations, ownership history, nearby development, deeds, titles and certificates of occupancy.
Gathering that information once could take days, weeks or months. Much of it is now available electronically. AI can help organize it, compare alternatives and identify relationships we might otherwise miss. It also helps us ask better questions:
What happens if the property is sold as-is, repositioned or used differently? What if it needs refinancing? Which income assumptions are realistic? What happens if interest rates change? Which comparable properties really matter—and why?
And perhaps the most valuable question:
Is there something about this property we’re not considering?
Sometimes AI’s greatest value is helping to discover a better question.
A Confident Answer Still Needs Checking
A client of mine needed larger space for his business. Our initial reading of the zoning regulations suggested the proposed location would work. Further research revealed a critical distinction: although the property was in an industrial development district, the business was classified as “indoor recreation.” The relevant provision permitted outdoor recreation, not indoor recreation.
AI missed that distinction. It took an experienced attorney familiar with the city’s codes to identify the provision buried in the regulations. An apparently straightforward answer changed once the right professional examined the details.
Comparable-sales analysis raises similar questions. Are the properties truly comparable? Was one substantially renovated? Did unusual circumstances affect a sale? Is there a local issue missing from the data? Does the physical property tell us something the spreadsheet doesn’t?
A separate RPR survey of 225 NAR-member real estate professionals found that 63% cited accuracy of AI output as their top concern.[2] AI should make investigating a property easier. It shouldn’t make us less inclined to verify what we find.
Recently, I asked an AI system for updates on two projects I was working on. It produced extensive reports on their status and relevance to my business—research I estimate would otherwise have taken me weeks or possibly months.
The reports were impressive, but I asked for sources, questioned how the information had been verified and spot-checked the underlying material myself. That checking made them useful working analyses.
Using AI does not eliminate the need to check the work. It makes checking the work part of the process.
The Broker’s Role Is Changing
If access to information is no longer the broker’s primary value, what is? I believe the answer is knowledge, perspective, experience, relationships and judgment.
In New York, where I am licensed, real estate professionals must meet continuing education requirements, subject to applicable exemptions. REALTORS® also commit to NAR’s Code of Ethics.[3][4] Practical experience adds the lessons of changing markets, negotiations and actual transactions.
Our professional relationships matter, too. Attorneys, lenders, inspectors, appraisers, architects, engineers, contractors, municipal officials and other brokers can help solve a client’s particular problem. Those relationships can also bring access to off-market opportunities that don’t appear in a public listing search.
The value is knowing how to interpret information, recognize what may be missing and bring in the right resources. Sometimes that means saying:
“That’s what the computer says. Now let’s determine whether it makes sense.”
That is the role of a trusted advisor.
Human + AI
AI brings speed and the ability to process enormous amounts of information. Humans bring experience, context, relationships, judgment, ethics and responsibility. Those capabilities can complement one another.
AI can help me research a property and challenge my assumptions. It doesn’t share the history and trust I develop with a client. Walking a property together, I can see enthusiasm when something connects, sense hesitation and discuss what those reactions mean. The recommendation remains my responsibility; ultimately, the decision belongs to the client.
NAR’s 2026 report found that 81% of respondents cited saving time as a reason for adopting technology, while 71% cited improving the client experience.[1] Those may be two sides of the same equation. Time saved on routine work can become time spent understanding clients, walking properties, negotiating and developing strategies.
At DHG Realty Group, that is the opportunity I see:
Better information. Better questions. More informed decisions. More personal service.
AI may help us get there faster. But somebody still has to understand the property, understand the client and take responsibility for the advice being given.
For now, I’m perfectly comfortable leaving that part to the humans.
— Dennis H. Goodhart
Associate Real Estate Broker, eXp Realty
Principal, DHG Realty Group LLC
Real Estate for the Perplexed
Sources
· 2026 REALTORS® Technology Report
· REALTORS® Adopt Technology to Save Time and Improve the Client Experience, NAR Report Finds
· The Tech Real Estate Agents Rely on Most in 2026
Copyright ©2026 National Association of REALTORS®. All rights reserved. Statistics summarized from the sources linked above.
[2] “You’ve Tried AI, But Can You Trust It?”, NAR REALTOR® News, February 12, 2026. Reports an RPR survey of 225 NAR-member real estate agents. Realtors Property Resource® is a wholly owned subsidiary of NAR.
[3] New York State Department of State, Real Estate Broker—Frequently Asked Questions, continuing education requirements; and Real Estate License Law. License renewal generally requires 22.5 hours of approved continuing education in the preceding two-year period, subject to applicable exemptions. Attorneys admitted to the New York State Bar are exempt from the real estate continuing education requirement, according to the Department of State.
[4] National Association of REALTORS®, 2026 Code of Ethics & Standards of Practice. Abiding by the Code is a duty of REALTOR® membership.