08/07/2026
From Fax Machines to AI: What Technology Still Can't Replace
A blog, or Rant, whatever you'd like to call it. 🙂
For 10+ years I have been working as a realtor and during my time I have seen many changes. I may be dating myself a bit but I got into this industry when we were not allowed to use e-signatures and all signatures needed to be done in person, or via fax. I would often show up at my clients' home with printed offers and bring the fax machine I stole from my parents' home office so I could set up a pseudo "away office" in my clients' home so we could respond to offers in "real time."
Things were slower then, but much more personal. Given the time between offers, I often remember telling stories with the buyer or seller, sharing a drink (never an alcoholic beverage because that wasn't allowed... although sometimes one slipped in to calm the nerves), and riding the emotional rollercoaster together through the highs and lows of negotiations. I was "green," so to speak, and I loved every minute of it.
Fast forward to today and you could never imagine the old way of doing things working in our current instant atmosphere, although I look back on those days with a great deal of fondness.
The technical aspects of submitting an offer, making amendments, and responding are infinitely easier now. Many times this is done in the comfort of our own homes, often in pajamas, at all hours of the day and night. Real estate today is a 24/7 commitment. There really isn't an "off switch" because real estate doesn't operate within the typical 9-5 seen in many other industries. Have you ever seen a realtor put their phone down for more than a few minutes? Call it conditioning, but I get the shakes if mine isn't within three feet of me.
Although today it has never been quicker or easier to get information into the hands of the right people, what has changed is how that information is being consumed.
We now live in a world where AI and rapidly evolving technology have found their way into almost every aspect of daily life. Things have become "easy" and we are drowning in information. You can ask a question and receive an answer in seconds, making things quick, easy, but somewhat soulless.
But there is a difference between having information and understanding it.
Case in point, I can give you access to the very same real estate platform that I use. You could spend hours reviewing listings, looking at comparable sales, studying days on market, price histories, and neighbourhood trends. You would have access to much of the same raw data sitting in front of me but what you wouldn't have are the thousands of conversations and lived experiences that give that data context and meaning.
Data might tell me a property sold under asking, but it doesn't tell me the sellers had already purchased another home and simply wanted certainty. Data might tell me a house has been sitting on the market for 60 days, but it doesn't tell me the first deal fell apart because of financing, the second because of a home inspection, and that by the third attempt the sellers are simply exhausted and willing to negotiate. Data can tell me what happened, but experience helps explain why it happened.
That "why" is often where the opportunity exists. One of the biggest misconceptions I see today is the belief that because information is more accessible, experience has somehow become less valuable. I actually think the opposite is true. As more information becomes available, knowing what matters (how to synthesize information) becomes even more valuable.
Real estate has never simply been about houses. It's entirely about people, and people are dynamic. Motivations can rarely be "predicted" as everyone lives a unique life and often no two situations are exactly the same. Real estate is more about families trying to fit into a school district before September, or someone relocating across the country for a new opportunity. It's about a young couple buying their first home, cautious that they're making the biggest financial decision of their lives. Real estate is about parents selling the family home after their children have grown, often an emotional decision. Every property has a story, and every buyer and seller has motivations that rarely appear on a spreadsheet or datasets.
Technology/AI has made my job faster, don't get me wrong, I am no luddite. But after all these years, the part of my job that matters most hasn't changed at all. Listening, understanding, recognizing the things that aren't said out loud.
Technology will continue to evolve, and I have no doubt it will become an even bigger part of our everyday lives. I welcome that. It allows me to spend less time pushing paper and more time focusing on the people sitting across the table.
Looking back, I don't miss waiting for a fax to go through or driving across town for one signature but, I do miss the extra conversations those moments created and I feel that's the lesson in all of this.
Technology should help us become more efficient, but it should never replace the human connection that made the experience worthwhile in the first place.
Need a place? , Christopher LaFace, Broker.
Christopher LaFace | Broker
HomeLife Excelsior Realty Inc., Brokerage.
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