The real estate sector, a significant driver of global economies, stands at a pivotal juncture, particularly in dynamic markets like the UAE.

While early technology advances focused on online property listings or digitizing specific components like mortgage research, future sector opportunities are defined by the strategic application of AI to create efficiencies for all stakeholders.

The traditional transaction processes in real estate remain complex and opaque, due to repetitive tasks, and handoffs between numerous parties. Today’s technology evolution is moving the industry beyond a collection of disconnected apps and fragmented workflows towards intelligent, personalized, and seamless end-to-end user journeys.

AI in real estate: A $4.5b opportunity

AI is uniquely positioned to meet the demand for greater speed, transparency, and efficiency by using vast datasets to predict potential outcomes, and automate complex decision sequences.

Market data underscores the growing commitment to AI within real estate. According to a report by Business Research Insights, the global adoption of AI in the real estate market is estimated to grow to $4.5 billion by 2033.

This growth is mirrored by studies indicating that 62% of real estate professionals plan to integrate generative AI tools in their business and 72% believe generative AI will enhance personalized interactions throughout the transaction process. The launch of specific AI-powered tools - like Simple by Serhant in the US, and in the UAE Huspy launching the GCC’s first mortgage AI chatbot - points to significant movement towards AI adoption in real estate.

In digitally mature markets like the UAE, high technological proliferation rates provide opportunities for the adoption of AI-driven solutions.

Embedding AI across value chain

AI's effectiveness in the real estate sector comes from being embedded across key functions. This revolutionizes property discovery by moving beyond keyword search to understanding customer preferences and financial profiles. The UK based Jitty’s AI search allows customers to find homes using keywords like in a regular conversation.

This provides an intuitive and needs-based property search experience that truly meets customer needs.

AI also automates document processing and identity verification, reducing manual effort and human errors. Conversational AI handles tasks like mortgage qualification and financing queries, enabling predictive insights into market trends and property valuations.

Embedded AI delivers significant benefits across the real estate ecosystem. Buyers enjoy an enhanced journey with speed, transparency, and personalization. They access relevant listings, get instant answers, and navigate the transaction process, guided by intelligent insights tailored to their needs.

Real estate professionals gain leverage by automating tasks like data entry, lead screening, and document preparation. This frees up time for agents and brokers to focus on high-value activities increasing their capacity and enabling them to serve more clients.

For example, at Huspy, we are building in-app AI assistants for property agents and mortgage brokers, which allows them to assign tasks for the AI assistant to handle. This includes creating necessary client proposals, scheduling appointments and keeping their CRM up to date, streamlining and automating communications.

Banks receive pre-qualified applications with verified documentation, accelerating processing times, improving accuracy, and allowing lending officers to focus on credit assessment and relationship management.

Real estate developers benefit from efficient sales processes with intelligent qualification, faster conversion rates, insights into buyer preferences and market demand, enabling them to refine their offerings effectively.

Prioritising use cases

It is crucial to understand that the success of AI in real estate is fundamentally about strategic foresight. Implementing AI without a clear, high-impact use case risks simply creating another siloed tool.

The focus must be on designing better outcomes with AI embedded within existing workflows to support human expertise.

The future of proptech will be defined by the depth of AI integration into core processes, not the number of apps, creating a more efficient, transparent, and customer-centric experience.

Mo Ghahroudi, Special to Gulf News

Articles from the author

Real estate apps are just right for lots of AI