Every ‘hype cycle’ has that moment when the novelty fades and reality moves in. With AI in real estate, I’d say we’ve officially reached it.
So here’s what’s going on this week, no matter where you are in the world, real progress, a few bumps, and some fresh regulatory headaches thrown in for good measure.
1. Europe’s First AI Law
Whether you’re listing a pied-à-terre in Paris or emailing a British buyer with an AI-generated description of a Gold Coast penthouse, the EU’s new AI Act might affect you.
Passed in May 2024, it’s the first law of its kind globally and introduces a risk-based framework that regulates how AI is used in everything from tenant screening to mortgage approvals.
The implementation period is now actively underway.
Three things to note if you’re in or touching Europe:
- It has a ‘risk-based’ approach, which means the higher the risk of causing harm to society, the stricter the rules
- AI-generated content (like listing copy) will need disclosure.
- Tools used for rental decisions (think tenant selection) or pricing models will face high compliance standards (Australia’s AI Ethics Guidelines say you should keep a record of important decisions that AI had a hand in and prove there was a human in the loop)
It’s a little GDPR déjà vu. If you have clients or listings in Europe—or if you’re using a platform that does—it’s time to start asking questions about compliance.
As it’s the first of its kind, it could set a benchmark global standard for AI regulation.
2. Block Renovation and the “Vision Board” Effect
This one’s for the fixer-upper fans. Block Renovation’s new AI tool just launched in Chicago. It uses GPT-4 and Gemini to give homeowners a personalised design-and-budget “vision board” — and it even matches them to vetted contractors (which was Block Renovations’ original purpose).
For agents, imagine being able to say, “Sure, the bathroom’s dated, but here’s a report showing what a remodel would look like and cost—and who could do it.”
This can reduce buyer hesitation and help sellers showcase their potential.
Closer to home: You might have used Chatgpt to turn yourself into a Barbie doll last month. If you did, it’s time to give that same image generator a crack at staging and virtual renovations. Here’s how.
3. Find Somewhere To Live On Chatgpt
Remember when Chatgpt could browse real estate listings? You probably can’t because it was right at the beginning when we were talking about ‘plugins’ and not GPTs or native search.
Also, it was only available for a fleeting moment because OpenAI pulled the plug on it (literally) after concerns about fair housing violations — things like steering or filtering neighbourhoods based on sensitive attributes.
Today, tools like Redfin’s “Ask Redfin” are back, albeit with guardrails.
They filter out questions that risk legal trouble, and they’ve trained the AI to adhere to the US Fair Housing Act.
For agents, it’s a reminder that AI was trained by humans and can return the same biases as humans. As we all start rolling out our own chatbots, it’s a reminder to have appropriate safety checks in place.
4. Screen appeal is the new curb appeal?
CoStar bought Matterport, and now Zillow Showcase is live. They say agents using it are reporting better engagement across the board: more views, more shares, and more saves.
The tool takes standard listing photos and turns them into immersive 3D tours with clickable rooms and floor plans.
It’s built with computer vision and large language models, so you might not need to hire that photographer with a drone.
Short term: If this becomes the default consumer expectation, your 2D photo carousel might start looking a bit flat.
This means competing listings platforms may accelerate their AI initiatives to keep up—we’ve yet to see what that means for Australia, New Zealand, or the UK. Still, I’m sure CoStar coming to Australia will shake things up.
Longer term: It makes me wonder what might happen if AI 3D tours become standard. The need for in-person open houses might decrease, particularly in the early stages of “just looking.”
Agents might need to make more effort in curating the digital presentation of the home, just as much as the staged home.
And… if a lot of seller leads come from open homes, we might need to consider other methods of building the database – for example, curating a local newsletter.
5. VCs might be making a comeback…
Did you feel the earth tremble again? That’s because Venture capital is waking back up after a lull in proptech funding, and investors might once again cautiously ramp up bets on startups that blend AI and real estate.
Over $200 million has already gone into AI-for-real-estate startups so far this year.
The focus? Tools that handle admin work (leasing, inspections, energy modelling) instead of the usual moonshot iBuying type of scenario.
Standouts according to CrunchBase:
- EliseAI (New York) – Think automated leasing agent that handles tenant enquiries and tour scheduling (raised $75M)
- Zeitview (California) – AI + drones for property inspections (raised $60M)
- Dcbel (Montreal) – Smart home energy modelling and management (raised $55M)
If these AI startups deliver on their promises, the industry’s workflow could really be transformed.
Routine tasks (from initial client contact to document prep) might be more automated, allowing humans to focus on relationship-building and high-level strategy.
This could have the advantage of shrinking operational costs for business owners.
On the flip side, these tools will raise new considerations around data privacy (they use a lot of personal details) and liability (who is responsible if the AI makes an error….).
Global Events I’m Keeping an Eye On…
If you think that was a lot, there is more happening next week, which might give us a better idea of what we may see “coming soon”…
- Google I/O (May 20–21): Expect updates to Search and Maps. If Google makes neighbourhood search conversational, that might also change how buyers start their home hunt
- Computex Taipei (May 20–23): Hardware-focused, but keep an eye on Nvidia’s AI chip announcements. This affects data centre costs — and yes, that affects your cloud-based CRM and AI subscriptions.
- Microsoft Build (May 27–29): Look for deeper AI integrations in Dynamics CRM and Microsoft 365. This is the event to watch for agents using Outlook, Teams, or Excel (I’m a Mac, but if something truly exciting happens, I will let you know.
*This story was first published by AI Powered Agents.
