Above: Panelists—Wolfram Gast, Abhii Dabbas and Berry Everitt—discuss “The Digital Edge: How AI and Data Are Transforming Real Estate” at LeadingRE’s Global Symposium, moderated by COO Kate Reisinger.
At Leading Real Estate Companies of the World’s (LeadingRE) Global Symposium in Prague, members from 31 countries explored how global trends are reshaping local markets. Among the topics discussed was the next great shift in real estate, which will see artificial intelligence (AI) and data redefining how business gets done and how relationships are built and sustained.
During “The Digital Edge: How AI and Data Are Transforming Our Business,” four global leaders offered candid perspectives on what AI means for their companies today and how it’s reshaping the competitive landscape of tomorrow.
Moderated by Kate Reisinger, COO of LeadingRE, the panel featured LeadingRE members Berry Everitt, CEO of the Chas Everitt International property group (South Africa); Wolfram Gast, chief digital officer of VON POLL IMMOBILIEN (Germany); and guest speaker Abhii Dabas, proptech and user experience specialist at Intric Technologies Limited (Singapore).
A CEO’s mandate: lead the AI shift from the top
For Everitt, who has been pioneering AI-driven solutions at Chas Everitt International, the message is clear: AI adoption must be driven by leadership, not delegated to IT.
“AI isn’t just a CIO issue,” he said. “It’s a CEO-driven strategy. The companies that don’t use AI will become dinosaurs, and those that do use it will operate on a more level playing field in the future.”
Everitt’s firm has implemented AI tools that manage client communications through WhatsApp and digital agents, ensuring 24/7 engagement. The impact has been tangible: improved lead response times, better client retention and measurable business growth.
Even amid a contracting South African property market, Chas Everitt grew revenue by 23% and rentals by 15% last year—a testament to the power of smart, disciplined innovation.
Still, Everitt warns that the economics of AI must be managed carefully. “It sounds inexpensive because it’s more efficient than a human, but as you scale, costs can rise exponentially, especially with calls, WhatsApps and CRM integrations. You have to model your ROI over three to five years.”
That CEO-level foresight—pairing enthusiasm with operational realism—is becoming a hallmark of successful AI leadership in real estate.
Germany’s digital playbook: AI as the agent’s partner
In Germany, VON POLL IMMOBILIEN is building one of the most advanced AI ecosystems in European real estate. With more than 1,500 real estate experts, the company has embraced automation as a way to improve efficiency and elevate client experience.
“We use AI in two directions,” explained Gast. “First, to make our agents better and faster, and second, to make the customer experience more personal and informed.”
The company uses AI to automatically generate property descriptions, local market insights and video presentations featuring AI-generated avatars—often modeled after the actual listing agent. The result is consistent, professional marketing content produced in minutes rather than hours.
Gast’s team is also developing a hyper-personalized financing assistant that compares more than 700 banks and creates tailored recommendations for each buyer. Behind the scenes, agents use an internal AI tool that connects to the CRM, automatically crafting listing descriptions, micro-location summaries and materials with a single property ID.
But perhaps most notably, VON POLL IMMOBILIEN’s transformation has been cultural as much as technical.
“The average age of our agents is around 50, so not all are digital natives,” Gast said. “We introduced AI step-by-step—starting small, proving the value and letting the results speak. Now, our agents are the ones asking what the next innovation will be.”
That steady evolution has earned VON POLL IMMOBILIEN national recognition as Germany’s most innovative real estate agency.
From Singapore: data as the investor’s co-pilot
From the vantage point of Singapore, Dabas offered a different, more investor-centric perspective. As co-founder of Intric Technologies, a proptech firm developing intelligent platforms for global property investors, Dabas views AI as an analytical assistant that enhances decision-making rather than dictates it.
“Our platform is buyer-driven, community-based and global,” he explained. “Investors in Singapore and beyond are constantly seeking opportunities across borders. AI helps them identify those opportunities efficiently, but it doesn’t replace judgment.”
For Dabas, the role of AI is to assist, not predict. “There’s this temptation to think AI can foresee everything, but markets are unpredictable. The real value is in analysis, pattern recognition and personalized insights that make investors smarter.”
He added that his team learned early on that over-automation can backfire. “When AI tries to do too much, it becomes irritating. AI has to be genuinely useful, not performative.”
That philosophy resonates across the real estate industry, where the challenge is less about capability and more about relevance. The winning platforms, Dabas said, will be those that blend intelligence with empathy, understanding not just data, but human context.
The human element: balancing “tech and touch”
While all panelists championed innovation, they also acknowledged the emotional side of real estate: a business built on relationships, trust and local expertise.
“There’s hesitancy among some brokers,” said Reisinger. “They’re excited by technology but worried about losing the personal touch. The question is: How do you balance tech and touch?”
For Everitt, the answer lies in redefining what AI means to agents. “We tell our team: AI isn’t your enemy, it’s your teammate,” he said. “It helps you write better copy, analyze data and connect faster with clients. It doesn’t replace you; it makes you stronger.”
Gast echoed that sentiment, describing how VON POLL IMMOBILIEN used an AI-driven lead scoring system to help agents prioritize outreach. The system tracks owner activity across digital channels and alerts the agent when a potential seller is likely ready to list.
“It’s a small thing,” Gast said, “but it removes friction. Agents don’t feel replaced. They feel supported. Once they experience that value, adoption happens naturally.”
Culture over code: making AI sustainable
If there was one consensus from the panel, it was this: AI adoption is less about technology and more about mindset.
As Gast put it, “Once agents see that AI saves time and creates value, resistance turns into curiosity. Then innovation becomes self-sustaining.”
Everitt agreed, noting that culture and communication determine whether AI thrives. “You can buy the best tools in the world, but if your people don’t believe in them, they’ll gather dust. The message must come from leadership: AI helps us serve our clients better.”
Looking ahead: AI’s human future
Closing the session, Reisinger reminded attendees that technology is not the destination—it’s the bridge.
“Our goal is to expand minds,” she said. “AI and data open up infinite possibilities, but the real opportunity lies in connecting technology back to people—our agents, our clients, our communities.”
From predictive analytics to conversational assistants and automated valuations, the tools are evolving fast. Yet, as this global panel made clear, the most successful implementations are also the most human—those that amplify empathy, trust and professionalism at scale.
At LeadingRE’s Global Symposium, that message resonated deeply: The future of real estate belongs to those who harness technology not to replace the human touch, but to enhance it.
For more information, visit https://www.leadingre.com/.
