The UK estate agency sector is facing significant disruption as artificial intelligence and changing consumer behaviours exert unprecedented pressure on traditional business models. Delegates at the Propertymark One conference heard that the industry must fundamentally adapt to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market.
Dr. Neil Cobbold, Commercial Director at Reapit, highlighted that the increasing influence of property portals, the rapid adoption of AI by consumers for property searches, and a growing demand for instant access to information and services are all challenging established agency practices. He explained that customers are now able to search, connect, and transact in novel ways, potentially diminishing the traditional role of an estate agent.
Cobbold argued that many agencies currently operate with systems built around isolated transactions, leading to fragmented workflows, duplicated data, and a lack of continuity as customer circumstances change. He stressed that as individuals rent for longer, move more frequently, and agents manage more complex property portfolios, a single, connected system is essential to support this broader range of customer demands. Property, he noted, is one of the last major life categories still reliant on disconnected tools.
To navigate this shift, Cobbold outlined three crucial capabilities agencies will need to develop: owning the lifetime relationship with clients (from renting to buying, selling, and investing), operating from a single data model to provide a unified view of all customer and property data, and applying intelligence to that data using AI to understand behaviour, identify opportunities, and guide decision-making. He emphasised that without these elements, agencies risk losing customer visibility and missing valuable opportunities.
The integration of AI is expected to be pivotal in this transformation. Rather than agents manually working through CRM systems, Cobbold suggested that successful agencies will increasingly delegate tasks to AI tools. These AI agents, which can be tailored to specific businesses or operate across various property technology tools, will free up human teams to focus on relationship management, effective data handling, and acting on strategic insights. This shift promises to transform CRM from a system of record into a dynamic system of action.