A just-released report from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) details what has become almost the norm within the residential real estate industry—that technology is being utilized by agents primarily to get time back and to give clients a better experience.
According to the annual survey, 81% of agents said saving time is their primary goal in embracing new technology, up from 66% a year ago. The second most common reason was improving client experience, with 71% saying it was why they leveraged technology, up from 64% in 2025. The report surveyed NAR members to better understand how technology is shaping real estate and how agents view its role in their businesses.
“Real estate agents are making practical choices about technology, and the two payoffs they want most are time and a smoother experience for their clients,” said NAR Deputy Chief Economist Jessica Lautz. “Those priorities have grown stronger over the past year.”
Three industry CEOs and tech leaders with BoldTrail, PropStream and MoxiWorks recently told RISMedia that succeeding going forward will take more than determination and hard work—it will require utilizing the technological innovations that facilitate operational efficiencies and increased business.
AI remains the highest-profile tech innovation affecting the industry—and the world—with the report also showing artificial intelligence moving from novelty to routine. Nearly half of agents now use AI daily (23%) or weekly (25%), and just 12% say they are not using it and have no plans to, down from the 32% who had not yet tried AI in 2025.
Notably, though, agents mostly continue to use AI for writing work as many of these tools struggle with more complex real estate tasks. Among those who said they are using AI, the top uses are writing listing descriptions (75%), social media posts (56%) and creating emails and follow-ups (52%).
A still-significant number of AI-using agents (27%) said they used these tools to summarize documents. Only 11% said they use AI to improve lead generation and prioritization, and less than 10% used it to summarize or fill out forms, or automating client updates or statuses.
According to the survey, agents are somewhat split on how the advent of AI has impacted their business. A slight majority (55%) said it had a positive impact (though only 16% described it as “significantly positive”), while over a third (34%) said AI had no impact.
Sixty-three percent of agents said the learning curve is their biggest challenge in adopting new technology, and 59% pointed to cost. Clients appear to be along for the ride, with 40% of agents saying their clients responded very positively to technology in the buying and selling process and another 37% saying clients found it helpful while voicing some reservations.
Report highlights
Saving time and improving the client experience are driving adoption: 81% of Realtors® say saving time is a primary reason they embrace new technology, up from 66% last year, while 71% cite improving the client experience, up from 64%.
MLS and transaction tools remain Realtors®’ most-used technologies: MLS is the most widely used technology among Realtors (96%), followed by eSignature tools (79%) and showing scheduling tools (68%).
Other report variables
▪ The most popular technology used by Realtors® is MLS (96%), followed by eSignature (79%) and showing scheduling tools (68%).
▪ Forty percent of Realtors® shared that their clients responded very positively to the integration of technology in the buying and selling process.
▪ Over the past 12 months, 36% of respondents spent, on average, between $50 and $250 on technology to use in their individual real estate business.
▪ Eighty-one percent of Realtors® report that they embrace new technology primarily to save time.
▪ Sixty-three percent of Realtors® shared that the biggest challenge in adopting new technology is the learning curve.
▪ Sixty-seven percent of Realtors® use some emerging technology (such as AI, cryptocurrency and others), but are still learning.
▪ Fifty-four percent of Realtors® expressed an interest in using Generative AI for content creation over the next 12 months to enhance their real estate business.
▪ Twenty-three percent of Realtors® use AI daily.
▪ Fifty-five percent of respondents found AI to have a positive impact on their real estate business.
▪ The top three tasks Realtors® use AI for are writing listing descriptions (75%), social media posting (56%) and creating emails/follow-ups (52%).
▪ Nine percent of Realtors® have had clients discuss the use of cryptocurrency in their real estate transactions.
