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At the rate artificial intelligence tools are finding their way into the nation’s property data providers, consumers will need only think about what they want to buy to ignite a home search.
The latest integration of computerized smarts involves First Multiple Listing Service, a 57,000-member organization based in Georgia, which will soon launch an enhanced home search experience powered by the joint partnership between computer vision innovator Restb.ai and CoreLogic, one of real estate’s most recognized data brokers.
A Sept. 5 CoreLogic press release shared with Inman stated that the multi-faceted experience will center on allowing consumers to expand their search beyond the “checkbox and filter” standard that’s been in place since home-finding reached the internet.
Jeremy Crawford, FMLS president and CEO, said in a statement that he believes the new solution offers the best of what AI can bring to real estate.
“We are setting a new standard of tech excellence as we deliver the full Restb.ai artificial intelligence platform through our CoreLogic solutions to dramatically improve the daily work lives of our agents, brokers, and, ultimately, their buyers and sellers,“ Crawford said.
Restb.ai uses a form of technology called computer vision. Its capabilities rest mainly in reading still images and being able to catalog, process and learn from their content. At its most fundamental, it can identify a floor material. However, it can also identify exactly what a buyer is “liking” about a series of saved properties to trigger an expanded search for properties with similar characteristics, which can lead both the agent and the consumer outside of their initial search parameters.
The clear benefit to the overall process of homebuying is that the technology can eliminate weeks of fruitless tours and agent detective work required to peel away at the layers of a buyer’s ultimate preferences.
In this instance, Restb.ai will “be fully integrated into FMLS’ CoreLogic Matrix platform and CoreLogic OneHome client collaboration portal,“ the release stated. Its technology will also speed listing input as data is extracted from uploaded photos. In turn, homebuyers can upload a picture to initiate a search, an experience that can be launched from an impromptu smartphone capture at a friend’s house, from visiting a nearby neighborhood or even from a magazine.
CoreLogic said in the release that Restb.ai’s insights will also be used to ensure photo branding compliance and that ADA standards are being met. In addition, it will include the ability to generate narrative property descriptions to assist agents in expediting marketing materials.
In an interview with Inman Intel, Restb.ai Chief Product Manager Nathan Brannen said that his company’s interest in real estate stems from the sheer power of listing images, specifically the volume of data trapped in them at any given moment, industry-wide. It’s tantamount to discovering an unaccounted-for library of reference manuals on every home ever sold.
“If you look at e-commerce, there are a lot of photos, but it’s not as impactful as buying a home. There are about a million photos uploaded every day in the U.S. just in MLSs, and then if you look at photos uploaded in property insurance and appraisals, that number multiplies. You’re making the biggest decision of your life on these photos,“ Brannen told Intel. ”Someone may buy a home without seeing it, but no one buys a home without seeing a photo of it. They contain so much information.“
The company has forged partnerships with a wide array of industry players, both behind the scenes and with upfront, agent-facing software companies.
UtahRealEstate.com (URE) has also leaned on Restb.ai to smarten the way families in the Beehive State find a place.
“In practice, URE members will be able to search for standard fields like bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage, in addition to the hundreds of photo tags now available, [such as] things like outdoor kitchens, solar panels, architectural styles, vaulted ceilings, paneled refrigerators, mud rooms, etc.,“ the organization said in a statement.
Central Virginia MLS, MRED and BridgeMLS are among others that have latched on to Restb.ai’s photo mind-reading.
New Zealand’s ListAssist, another AI company, offers services like Restb.ai and recently inked a deal to offer its competitive smarts to Southern California’s TheMLS.
ListAssist, a 2023 NAR Pitch Battle combatant, initially explored its viability in the U.S. market at Inman Connect Las Vegas in 2022, using the venue to test the waters and perfect its pitch.
Another emerging player in the space, Productive.ai, ultimately won over the judges at the NAR iOi Summit.
“Rollout for the new features for FMLS will commence in early Q4 2023,“ CoreLogic said.
