Your lease renewal is coming up. You’re staring at the shopfront, wondering if it’s an asset or a liability.
eXp has built an empire of 80,000-plus agents without a single shopfront. But Sotheby’s just opened 37 new offices, betting on the opposite. Whichever side you’re on, this question affects your next move.
That’s the tension behind this week’s Edge Case debate: “That the traditional real estate office will become extinct in the next five years.”
Arguing for extinction: Jeff Turner – serial real estate tech entrepreneur, co-founder of Real Satisfied, and someone who’s been thinking about AI and trust for nearly a decade.
Arguing against: Peter Brewer – four decades in Australian property, former REIQ chair, and author of Running Out of Saturdays.
These two have known each other since 2009 – and it shows.
Jeff’s argument isn’t anti-office. It’s anti-bad office. He’s seen too many empty storefronts – in Buenos Aires, in California – with papers piled on desks and no human life inside.
“AI is going to own the web. AI is going to own mediated spaces. Realtors need to own the real world spaces. Realtors need to own trust.”
His real question: why can’t the real estate office be a hub for the community rather than just an office for agents?
Peter pushes back hard on the premise itself.
“There are around 30,000 real estate offices in Australia, not 30,000 versions of the same shopfront. AI apparently thinks we all sit behind desks with listings in the window. That’s not insight. That’s ignorance with confidence.”
His point: from capital city offices with 50 staff to rural agencies where the principal is also the receptionist and the cleaner, the “traditional office” isn’t a monolith. It’s 30,000 different businesses with wildly different realities.
“We are baristas. We are social workers. We are counsellors. We are hostage negotiators.”
Peter’s line lands – and Jeff agrees. The human work of real estate has always been more than the space it happens in. As AI gets better at mimicking relationships, the agents who win will be the ones who create irreplaceable human moments. The question is whether your office helps or hinders that.
As for who won the debate? You’ll need to watch or listen to find out.
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