Real estate agents across the nation are utilizing ChatGPT, an AI chatbot tool that can generate detailed descriptions based on prompts given by the user.
Real estate agents have begun embracing a new AI chatbot tool known as ChatGPT to assist them in generating listings for properties on the market. JJ Johannes is a realtor who recently spoke to CNN about the benefits of ChatGPT and how it can be utilized to generate listings and useful property information using short prompts given by the user.
ChatGPT was initially released to the public in November, and has been used by residential and commercial agents throughout the nation ever since. Agents have been able to use the tool to write property listings, create social media posts, and even draft legal documents.
ChatGPT is able to create a multitude of responses to user prompts, beyond the real estate world as well. It has been used to write essays and other written mediums, as well as emails and accounting work. Johannes claimed for real estate, it made the process of getting a listing to the public much more efficient.
“It saved me so much time. It’s not perfect but it was a great starting point. My background is in technology and writing something eloquent takes time. This made it so much easier.”
Andres Asion, a Miami Real Estate Group broker, also recently spoke to CNN about the positive impact ChatGPT has created for him. “I’ve been using it for more than a month, and I can’t remember the last time something has wowed me this much.”
A lot of the written work completed by real estate agents is similar and form, but can be very time consuming for the agent themselves. Now, agents have the ability to create informative and detailed listings with minimal writing on their end, allowing them to post listings more quickly and efficiently.
Asion discussed how he’s even been able to use ChatGPT to draft legal documents for his firm as well: “ I fine-tune all kinds of drafts with ChatGPT. Sometimes I’ll tell it to make it shorter or funnier, and it gives you so many samples to pick and edit from.”
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is considering charging $42 a month for the service, but for now it’s completely free to use. Asion and other agents, however, are already prepared to pay for the service because of how beneficial it’s been for them. Frank Trelles is a commercial real estate agent with State Street Realty in Miami, who also has been reaping the benefits of the service.
“I can be in a car with a client when they ask me what their mortgage payments might be, and I can ask ChatGPT what a mortgage payment would be on a $14 million purchase at a 7.2% interest rate amortized over 25 years, for example, and in two seconds it gives me that information, and also explains how it got the answer. It’s amazing.”
Trelles continued to explain how he uses ChatGPT to also look up the permitted uses for certain land and zones in his county, and also calculate return on investment and mortgage rates for his clients, which normally would involve using mortgage calculators and specific formulas.
Serge Reda, a commercial real estate executive and adjunct professor at the Fordham Real Estate Institute, said to CNN “some use cases for ChatGPT are better than others. ChatGPT may help save brokers time when writing listings or responses, but automating client responses may not be the best tactic because generating leads and closing transactions typically requires a personalized approach.”
“It’s accessible to everyone right now because it’s free and they can get a taste of how this powerful tool can work. But there are definitely significant limitations,” he said.
Matt Kreamer, a spokesperson for Zillow, said the “real estate industry has been slower to innovate, but I think we’ll be seeing much bigger strides very soon. Zillow sees no clear concerns with agents using ChatGPT to help streamline the work they already do and save time. We aren’t promoting or wary of ChatGPT but are interested in how it’s being used and watching it,” he said.
Johannes believes “some form of artificial intelligence like this will become a big part of how we work and live our lives.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
