Aigents Assemble

There’s a new breed of homebuying adviser working closely with your clients.

According to Lloyds Bank, no less - not an institution renowned for over-excitability - more than a third of homebuyers now trust artificial intelligence to guide them through the homebuying and renovation maze. Among the under-35s, that figure soars to nearly two-thirds. What they're (slightly cringingly) calling the ‘estate aigent’ is here – and, if you’re an agent, portal or proptech player, it’s time to take note.

Let’s not pretend this is a passing fad. The data shows 59% of 18 to 24-year-olds and 61% of 25 to 34-year-olds are happy to let AI into their property journey. These are not just idle tinkerers; they’re the next wave of buyers, and they’re using AI for everything from neighbourhood reconnaissance to deciphering legalese and estimating costs.

The reasons are obvious. Today’s first-time buyers are digital natives. They expect hyper-personal answers at the tap of a screen, not after a week of phone tag. AI, with its ability to crunch data and spit out instant insights, is the perfect companion for a generation raised on Google and WhatsApp. Whether it’s finding out which schools are nearby or working out what “peppercorn rent” actually means, AI is their go-to tool.

But before anyone starts panicking that this is the Final Disintermediation of agents, let’s look at the full picture. The same research shows that younger buyers aren’t blindly following the bots. Over half of 18 to 24-year-olds and nearly two-thirds of 25 to 34-year-olds say they’d still seek a second opinion on AI’s recommendations. The message? AI is a starting point, not the final word.

For agents and portals, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is obvious: if your digital offering is limited to a clunky search bar and a few filtered listings, you’re already behind. Buyers want smart tools that help them make sense of the process, not just a digital shop window. The opportunity, though, is huge. Agents who can blend AI’s efficiency with their own expertise – the local knowledge, the negotiation nous, the human touch – will be the ones who thrive.

At ModelProp, this has always been our focus - providing agents with tools that let machines do the (dull!) machine jobs whilst humans get on with the (fun!) human ones.

There’s also a warning here for the portals. If AI can deliver genuinely useful, personalised insights, the days of endless doomscrolling through irrelevant listings are numbered. The winners will be those who can harness AI to serve up not just more properties, but the right properties – and wrap that up with trustworthy advice.

(We're also working hard on this, as many of you who attended the 'Rightmove Resistance Tour' in the last few weeks know. If you missed the meeting local to you, register for our Zoom meeting this Weds at 1230 to find out what we're up to!)

So, as the ‘aigent’ rises, the industry faces a choice: embrace the tech and add value, or risk being left behind by the increasing number of your clients that already expect more.