Seasoned sellers spill the beans on how to leave an auction smiling.

Most of us know how emotion-charged home auctions can be. The stakes are high; both buyers and sellers have a whole lot of coin at stake.

Fortunately, there are umpteen ‘how to’ bid guides based on the expert views of buyer’s advocates, hardcore investors, consumer watchdogs and lenders.

But what about agents themselves – surely they know a thing or two about navigating a housing auction?

We shirt-front agents across Australia, demanding they reveal their best tips on how to survive an auction.

Read more: Terms to know before the hammer falls

More knowledge, less nerves

Hugh Bateman, Principal of The Property Shop in Mudgee, says it is crucial everyone attending a home auction has done their homework. This includes agents themselves but is also relevant to buyers and to vendors.

Things to crunch include:

– The property’s history;
– Its features and the features of the local area;
– The market value of the property;
– The price range of similar properties recently sold;
– If you are a bidder, know your limit;
– If you plan to bid, make sure your deposit is ready.

The NSW auctioneer, who started his business in 1973, estimates he has sold 100s of 1000s of lots with his auctioneer’s hammer, including up to 110 lots per hour at some farm clearing sales.

“The most important thing is make sure all of your homework is done, completely done, so you enter the auction room fully prepared for every possible thing that can go right or wrong,” Bateman says.

“If you are confident, you can bid with confidence; the one thing that auctioneers can read quickly is good body signals.

“If you feel nervous or even if you don’t, stand to the side or the rear so you can observe at all time what is going on with the other bidders. This helps you ‘size up’ your competition.”

Never drink & buy

“Absolutely do not drink alcohol before an auction is complete,” Bateman advises.

“Definitely not, it is a big no-no, there will be plenty of time afterwards to celebrate or commiserate.”

To survive an auction in the best possible shape – hopefully a happy vendor who has just sold for a good price or a joyful buyer who has just bought a desired property – you will need clarity of thought and sharp mental reflexes.

Refrain from eating or drinking anything that may inhibit these faculties, Bateman stresses.

“I see it sometimes where people arrive but are not really ready, they are distracted; make sure you turn up on the day fully ready to concentrate.”

To survive an auction in the best possible shape you need clarity of thought and sharp mental reflexes.

Read more: 7 first home buyer mistakes

Befriend local agents before the big day

Selling agents often suffer an image problem in the eyes of prospective buyers. But the fact is picking their brains in the months leading up to home auctions can render valuable insights for both vendors and bidders, according to Perth agent Mark Hales of Harcourts Central.

If you are a buyer, fostering relationships ‘with the enemy’ can mean you learn of new listings ahead of their auction campaigns.

“Talking to agents helps you find out what is happening in the local market and the level of interest in any particular property, all of which can help you on auction day,” Hales says.

Fostering relationships ‘with the enemy’ can mean you learn of new listings ahead of their auction campaigns.

Stay within your budget

Believe it or not, real estate agents do not want you to spend more than you can afford.

“Honestly, it is a lose-lose-lose situation when a buyer over-reaches and cannot cover the balance of the purchase price,” Hales says.

“You lose out because you are up for penalties if you have to break the contract before settlement, the vendor loses the sale and the agent misses commission and has to find another buyer.

“It is costly and messy if you put down a deposit and cannot cover the balance; don’t do it. Stick to your limits.”

Read more: Legal checklist for buying property

Big ego flags big prices

Victorian agent Craig Bennie has called a few hundred home auctions and witnessed more than 1000.

He knows a big buying ego when he sees one. And it can be the difference between a fair price and a premium price.

“Sometimes egos can get the better of buyers,” the Director/Principal of Ray White Rosebud says. “Or you’ll see a partner giving a subtle nudge to a spouse to bid again.”

Another trigger for runaway prices in the heat of a public auction is when buyers have the money available, and there is emotional attachment.

“They definitely can pay more than they expected too, so my tips are stay calm and always stick to your limit.”

This article was originally published on
27 Oct 2014 at 10:00am
but has been regularly updated to keep the information current.

Most real estate professionals aren’t rushing to take career advice from anonymous X (formerly Twitter) accounts with handles like @CapitanSteveo.

But the social media platform has recently revived a familiar industry debate: Could tech platforms such as Opendoor eventually reduce — or even eliminate — the role of traditional real estate agents?

A wave of tweets circulating across tech and real estate circles argues that AI, digital transaction platforms and streamlined buying tools are pushing the industry toward a future in which buyers transact directly with software, sans agents. 

While the rhetoric on X can be exaggerated, the conversation reflects a real industry anxiety that has surfaced repeatedly over the past two decades.

That concern has gained new urgency recently as AI advances and companies like Opendoor continue to simplify the homebuying process.

A 12-minute home purchase?

One widely shared tweet claims that buying a home through Opendoor can take an estimated 12 minutes, from entering the process to confirming an offer.

The post suggested that buyers can browse listings, make offers and complete large portions of the transaction digitally without working with an agent. They frame this as a preview of how homebuying transactions could eventually operate.

Buying a home online in a mere 12 minutes may sound far-fetched to some. But the point of the claim is more straightforward: If software can handle pricing, offers, contracts and financing, the need for agents could diminish.

It’s a familiar argument in tech circles, where the real estate commission structure is often described as a prime target for disruption.

FASTER: $OPEN now shows an estimated 12-minute path from entering the process to confirming an offer.

Traditional home buying requires coordination between agents, lenders, and paperwork before momentum even starts.

Not just convenience — shortening the intent-to-transaction… pic.twitter.com/qJvsCy26T1

— Nugget (@Nugget_Trades) February 28, 2026

‘That profession isn’t going away’

The debate expanded when entrepreneur and TV personality Marcus Lemonis joined the conversation on X, warning agents about claims that their careers are nearing an end.

“Alert to all Realtors,” Lemonis wrote, referencing a post suggesting agents’ jobs have a limited lifespan following the announcement of Opendoor’s 4.99 percent mortgage product.

Lemonis pushed back on the idea that agents will disappear, arguing that human professionals equipped with AI tools will continue to thrive.

“I’ll take 15,000 of them, give them AI tools that actually work, and watch a human who knows how to use AI crush it, because they love people,” he wrote.

The discussion also drew a response from Opendoor CEO Kaz Nejatian, after Inman asked about the future role of agents.

“I think there will always be a place for trusted advisors to help folks through difficult processes,” Nejatian replied, noting that Opendoor continues to work with many Realtors.

The exchange underscored a growing tension between online claims that tech will replace agents and industry leaders who see platforms evolving alongside human professionals.

I think there will always be a place for trusted advisors to help folks through difficult processes. We, at Opendoor, work with many realtors and are happy to!

— Kaz Nejatian (@nejatian) February 28, 2026

Personal relationships still drive real estate

Mike Hickman, CEO of Seven Gables Real Estate, argues that technology can assist agents, but it cannot replicate the deep community connections and nuanced understanding that human professionals bring to the market.

For Hickman, real estate is fundamentally a local and relationship-driven business. Agents often understand the subtle dynamics within neighborhoods that software platforms often struggle to capture.

Rather than replacing agents, Hickman believes AI will primarily function as a productivity tool inside brokerages. He recently spoke about the topic at the Luxury SUMMIT conference in Las Vegas, outlining a strategy focused on using AI to make managers more effective rather than eliminating roles.

“My strategy when using AI is about focus,” Hickman told Inman. “We use AI to answer less important questions, so it frees our managers up to do more important things.”

Hickman also pointed to long-standing research from the National Association of Realtors showing that 88 percent of buyers and 91 percent of sellers still use an agent in their transactions. For Hickman, that reality reflects a deeper truth about how people make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.

“I would be willing to debate anybody about this,” he said. “AI will not replace agents.”

‘Casual, part-time agents are in trouble’

Blake O’Shaughnessy, co-founder and CEO of Ownli, says the argument that tech could replace real estate agents deserves serious consideration, particularly as AI begins automating more parts of the transaction process.

He pointed to platforms like Opendoor as an example of the industry’s push toward simpler, more streamlined transactions, though he noted the company’s model is capital-intensive.

“Opendoor is trying to remove friction for buyers, but it’s a very expensive and capital-intensive way to solve the problem,” O’Shaughnessy said. “Still, it shows that consumers are willing to pay for simplicity.”

O’Shaughnessy doesn’t expect agents to disappear entirely, but he believes automation will shrink parts of the profession, much like Expedia reduced the need for travel agents and TurboTax reshaped the work of many accountants.

As O’Shaughnessy noted in a recent Inman piece, National Association of Realtors membership has fallen from a peak of about 1.6 million in late 2022 to roughly 1.4 million today. Some analysts project it could decline to around 1.2 million by 2026. The numbers suggest the industry has already been shedding agents for several years.

O’Shaughnessy added that many of these agents aren’t very active, anyway. One recent analysis found that the median agent completes fewer than two transactions annually, highlighting how much of the industry operates on a part-time basis. 

“It’s such a bloated industry, so I think change is necessary,” O’Shaughnessy said. “Tech and AI will replace some agents, and the casual, part-time agents are in trouble.”

Email Nick Pipitone

In 2021, Neda Navab said her role at Compass was all about “the long game.”

At the time, Navab was the brokerage’s eastern region president and was riding the high of a successful initial public offering, which had given Compass the momentum — and capital — to further round out its end-to-end platform and expand into new regions.

“It all comes back to the strategy of making sure that being able to buy and sell a home is as simple and pleasant of an experience as possible for the agent, and for the buyer and seller on the other end of the transaction,” she told Inman that December. “We’re staying focused on that [goal] through whatever 2022 may bring us.”

Neda Navab | Compass

Fast forward to today, Navab is now settling into her new role as Compass’ president. The first priority on her list is to host 100 agent events in her first 100 days, all with the goal of tapping into the heartbeat of the brokerage’s mission: the agents.

“I was in Greenwich yesterday morning, Westport yesterday evening. I’ll be in Pennsylvania next week. You know, just hitting the road across the country,” she said. “As Compass grows in size and as Robert [Reffkin] steps into the role leading [parent company] Compass International Holdings, leaders like myself have to get closer to the field, closer to the ground, closer to the agents … This is a time of a lot of change for the industry, and it’s still a hard market to practice real estate. Our real estate professionals need our support.”

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Inman: It’s been 4 years since our last conversation, and a lot has changed since then. You started as Robert’s chief of staff in 2018, and the last time we talked, you were a regional president. How are you thinking about your journey to where you are now?

Navab: I’ll tell you something, actually quite interesting. I would say my journey into Compass started decades ago for two reasons.

So one, it’s actually quite poignant this week. My parents were both born and raised in Iran. And in 1979, my mom had to flee Iran because of the Islamic Revolution. She landed in Boston without a dollar to her name, working behind the counter at a Dunkin’ Donuts, but turned that job opportunity into another and another and ended up practicing real estate when I was a young girl.

So I got the opportunity to sit shotgun to a real estate professional when I was little, which really developed my respect for the profession and the opportunity it can unlock for a family and a community.

And then, funny enough, Robert and I have known each other for over 20 years. We met as students up at Columbia. And so as you can imagine, once you meet Robert, you know, he’s unforgettable, right? He’s incredible at keeping in touch with people, and we kept in touch over the years. And then in 2018, he reached out to me about this opportunity to come join Compass. It was a really full-circle moment. I have to be honest with you. I wasn’t looking for a chief of staff opportunity, but when I sat down with him, knowing him from before and knowing how hard it is to be a real estate professional, it struck me how agent-centric he was. So I took a leap of faith.

How did that experience inform what you’re doing now?

I’ll tell you, it is the most fun and demanding role at Compass. We have a number of leaders around the company now who started or at some point in time were Robert’s chief of staff. Your sole focus is to make Compass successful. You’re not thinking about things from any other specific department lens, and you develop just such a deep understanding of the core of the company, which is the real estate professional.

That’s behind the commitment I made Day 1 when I moved into the role: to attend and host 100 agent events in my first 100 days. What I’ve been spending a lot of time talking to them about is my mission to make sure that Compass is the best brokerage for delivering on the promises of a big firm, but with a boutique feel.

Big is our engine, but boutique is our edge.

Big is the power of the platform that we have built for them. Big is the incredible referral network they have. Big is the fact that we have an opportunity to partner with Redfin.com, a top-three search portal in the U.S., to give coming-soon listings more visibility and more options for sellers and their real estate professionals.

But boutique is our edge. It’s that feeling our real estate professionals get when they walk into the local office and the person at the front desk knows to ask about how their grandfather is doing, or how their closing went on Sunday, or whether the inspection came through as they hoped. And I think our real estate professionals deliver the power of big and boutique for their clients.

Let’s focus on the Redfin partnership. Are you looking at the coming months as a testing ground for the partnership? Maybe a litmus test for how it may evolve in the coming years?

What excites our agents most about the Redfin partnership so far is the opportunity to get 60 million monthly eyeballs on coming-soon listings without the digital baggage. The digital baggage includes days on market, public price drops, and status changes. It eliminates the risk of launching your listing and testing the market during the coming-soon phase. And so, from a homeowner’s standpoint, that’s fantastic.

I can launch my listing. I can have it appear on a top portal. I can get feedback. I can adjust. And then, if I choose to launch the listing more publicly, with the benefit of having had that coming-soon period without any of that digital baggage.

And by the way, because Redfin during that coming-soon period has the listing agent on the listing, the agent who knows the most about the home is able to speak to the buyers to answer the questions they have about the home, right? I think there’s a lot of excitement among sellers and our listing agents about the opportunity this unlocks. Hopefully, it will bring more inventory online ahead of the spring market.

Our time is running short, so let’s end today’s conversation by talking about broader industry trends. At ICNY last month, artificial intelligence and consolidation were at the top of the list, and Compass’ acquisition of Anywhere certainly drove much of the conversation about the latter. How do these trends fit into your decision-making?

All roads lead back to the real estate professional for us, right? I’ll take AI as one example. We have focused on building out training so that agents can leverage the tools available to sharpen their skills and better serve their clients.

There’s an example I shared earlier today, one of our agents in Westport, Connecticut, Susan Vanech. I was on Instagram the other day, and she posted this phenomenal video that just pulled me in, so I sent her a message saying, ‘Great video.’ She responded and said, ‘I scripted the entire thing using AI, not only the words that I said, but I asked the AI to tell me how to walk, what to do with my hands, what part of the home to be in, like literally to direct me.’ And it really showed because the quality was 10 out of 10.

And so our focus is just making sure we are leveraging all the best practices that the incredible agents around the country have and sharing them across the board. As I said, the best ideas come from the agents, so patterning off of how they’re using these apps has been a critical starting point for us.

Email Marian McPherson

For many agents across the country, the last year has been a tough one.

Elevated home prices and mortgage rates, a lock-in effect leftover from the pandemic and limited inventory have all made homebuyers and sellers hesitant to move. The result: Agents are running low on commissions.

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Those market factors have been gradually improving in recent months and economists say that as more inventory comes to market this spring, conditions will likely pick up a bit. But for now, many buyers are still bailing out of contracts, while others remain stuck on the sidelines.

So what can agents who need some income do right now? Inman spoke with agents across the country about which lead generation strategies are working for them right now in this market, and many said it’s the human-to-human touches that are proving most fruitful.

Lean on your sphere, including other agents

Carrie McCormick | @properties

Carrie McCormick of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate and her team have been talking a lot about lead generation lately, the team leader told Inman, thanks to the current market lull. Something that always seems to provide returns in one form or another is reaching out to individuals in the team’s sphere.

McCormick said they reach out to past clients to give them an update on the market and see if they or someone they know is interested in buying or selling now.

“[We’re] just kind of utilizing our own networks of people in sphere that we know,” she said. “Educating them on the market, where pricing is, telling them why it’s a good opportunity to sell now.”

In contrast to the heyday of social media marketing, Courtney Poulos of ACME Real Estate said that a lot of people are experiencing social media fatigue today, which is leading to better responses when it comes to tried-and-true lead generation techniques.

“A lot of Realtors have pulled back from their social media posting because it’s just expensive and doesn’t actually convert,” Poulos told Inman. “So I have seen agents leaning back into relationships like investing in sphere of influence, like higher-touch campaigns, actually making phone calls, taking people out to lunch, more value-added offers … So there are more platforms that agents in my brokerage use, but I’m seeing agents use more of nurture campaigns, even for sellers, just making sure that they’re keeping in touch with more people.”

Agent-to-agent referrals are also still a reliable, lucrative way to grow an agent’s business, and can be especially helpful in places where relocations to and from feeder markets are common. That’s why being polite and professional when working with any agent on the opposite end of a deal is important — if things go well, it could turn into a referral somewhere down the line.

“That’s been huge for me,” said Deborah Phantana of Group One Sotheby’s International Realty in Boise, Idaho.

Handwritten notes

Jeffrey St. Arromand | SERHANT.

In every building where a member of SERHANT.’s Team Tricia Lee is representing a listing, the team writes letters to introduce themselves to the neighbors. The letters also describe how the team might market the neighbors’ properties if they chose the team to represent them in their next sale, Jeffrey St. Arromand — a member of the team — told Inman.

“So that way, they know that we’re there,” St. Arromand said. “And then when we do our first open houses, we do something exclusively for the neighbors so they get to see how we would sell their property. That stuff is time-consuming, but it’s a necessary evil. And I think agents just don’t do it anymore … So use that extra half an hour, get the neighbors in, have some refreshments for them and tell them a little bit about what we’re doing to separate us from any other agent that they could potentially work with.”

Open houses

Although they can feel boring at times to sit through, many agents find that open houses continue to be a good source of lead generation, including Phantana, who said it’s one of the “pillars” of her lead generation strategy.

Christine Dupont-Patz | RE/MAX of Cherry Creek

Christine Dupont-Patz, broker/co-owner of REMAX of Cherry Creek in Denver, said that having that face-to-face time with potential clients can become an advantage to agents.

“You’re meeting people that are social, you are talking to people that are out and actively looking at houses,” Dupont-Patz said. “Yes, there’s a chance they may have an agent — they may not. So it’s the aspect of getting in front of people and having that organic conversation. I can tell you numerous instances where I held the open house, and I represented someone who just came in and said, ‘This is the house I want, this is what I’ve been looking for,’ and we wrote an offer, and sometimes they even had a house to sell. So it does happen.”

Dupont-Patz also likes to experiment with non-traditional days and times for open houses, because it opens up the possibility of catching a different group of potential buyers that might otherwise not be available on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. One of the busiest open houses she ever hosted began at 9 am on a Saturday, and she said may families with younger kids showed up because they were on their way to Saturday morning activities like sports practices and birthday parties.

“And the house had been on the market for a while,” she said. “It’s not like it just came on [market].”

Prospecting

Jonathan Spears | Compass

The lead generation strategy that Jonathan Spears of the Spears Group at Compass goes back to time and again is prospecting, he told Inman. It’s one of the basics that all agents learn about when just starting out in real estate, but its effectiveness can’t be denied. Spears said he sees most agents struggle with their deal flow after busier periods when they’ve neglected that prospecting for a time.

“The best way to gain market share, whether the market is fast or slow, is identifying a farm market that you work in and understanding who’s transacting in the market and why. Why did they transact?” Spears said. “And be able to stay educated on those numbers and then stay in front of active owners in that community.”

Spears added that he stays “hyperfocused” on a specific part of the market that only includes around 100 addresses or fewer.

“If you try to serve too many people, you’re going to be a jack of all trades and a master of none,” he said.

Buyer wish lists

McCormick said that advertising her buyers’ wish lists on LinkedIn or other social media outlets can also prove fruitful. Potential sellers are often more likely to list if they know there’s a real buyer out there who wants a home that’s like theirs.

Right now, many luxury buyers that McCormick works with in Chicago are looking for the same things, which is making inventory tight. Primarily, her buyers want something that’s move-in ready with high-quality finishes located in Lincoln Park, Lakeview or the Gold Coast. But if agents advertise buyer wish lists, it’s important to be honest about it, McCormick added.

“The important thing is to have integrity doing this,” McCormick said. “Meaning, don’t just put it out there and, say, pretend like you have buyers. You really have to deliver, too. So if you get that phone call from a seller that says, ‘I’m intrigued, tell me more about your buyer,’ you really should have one ready to go, because you don’t want to hurt your reputation by saying, ‘Well, I really don’t…’”

Storytelling

At SERHANT., which has its own in-house production company, content creation is a big part of marketing and lead generation, St. Arromand pointed out to Inman. So when it comes to more modern, fresh takes on lead generation, the team focuses on storytelling through content creation on social channels and commercials on specific streaming platforms.

“We’ve seen that be effective, not just for the property that we’re listing, but also the neighborhood that you’re going to move into,” St. Arromand told Inman. “So really trying to create what the entire experience will be once you choose to move into the property … and really doubling down on that.”

The team typically focuses on two to three high-quality posts per week that provide value, rather than attempting to put something out there every single day that may not be as polished.

“We try not to do it just for the sake of having content every day, but making sure it’s something that, No. 1, reflects the brand and how it looks, and then most importantly, the messaging,” St. Arromand said. “I think the key on that, too, is everyone understands and knows the importance of content, but it’s the actual storytelling and being able to lead with the hook to capture that audience in the first five to 10 seconds.”

Staying active in interest groups

Phantana recently joined a mahjong group because the game has been trending, and a few people have already asked her about her services as an agent. Phantana said she has also long been involved in feline advocacy work. She serves on the board of directors for a local kitten rescue and is able to connect with a lot of community members that way.

Deborah Phantana | Group One Sotheby’s International Realty

“Locally here within my market, I’ve always had a lot of success and am still finding continued success with being a part of groups that have a like-minded interest,” Phantana told Inman.

Because of her involvement in the rescue, she was also asked to contribute a pet column to a local magazine with a wide distribution, and as part of that agreement, is able to advertise her real estate business in the publication as well.

Turning to AI

As more consumers gravitate toward searching for answers with AI tools instead of traditional search platforms like Google, St. Arromand said that Team Tricia Lee has also consciously tweaked its content so that the team is more likely to show up in AI search results as well.

Spears also recently leaned more into AI by creating an AI-powered real estate management platform called MyOps, which helps agents keep track of their production, clients, finances and more.

“I look at MyOps, and it shows me at a glance where my team’s at,” Spears said. “And so I know how much we sold year-to-date or month-to-date or week-to-date, and I’ve got a real-time understanding of where the business is. So I’ll start looking at my business, and then I figure out next steps, how and where the opportunities within that business that are warm, that I can go out and farm.”

Courtney Poulos | ACME Real Estate

Meanwhile, Courtney Poulos, who said she has been very disappointed so far with most AI real estate tools, finally found one that she thinks is worthwhile, and helps with lead generation. AtllasX is an AI assistant for both outbound and inbound calling with potential prospects. Agents can upload a CSV file to the platform, and the assistant will contact prospects on an agent’s behalf to do things like offer a free home valuation. Poulos also gave it a trial run on her podcast recently.

“You can choose the voice, you can choose the prompts in the script,” Poulos said. “It has some defaults in there. It’s made for real estate agents, so it already has some good defaults in there.”

“I think this could be a useful use of AI because it doesn’t cost you much and you can see the accountability without having to rely on the third party, who may or may not be doing what they say they’re doing,” Poulos added.

Going the extra mile

Dupont-Patz said she also likes to do surprising, but useful things for past clients to let them know she’s thinking of them. These methods also typically help generate a more enthusiastic response from clients.

One time when she saw a client post on social media about having a bad day, Dupont-Patz decided to buy some vodka and sparkling lemonade and drop it off at their house. “It was the sense of, ‘Life is clearly giving you lemons, so here’s some lemonade,’” she explained.

This time of year, she also tends to distribute windshield wiper fluid, which comes in handy for Colorado’s more wintery days. With the bottle of wiper fluid, she also includes a card that says something like, “I can help give you a clear view on the market.”

Email Lillian Dickerson

Artificial intelligence dominated conversations at Inman Connect New York, but few product launches generated as much buzz as Breezy. The new vertical AI operating system was created by a team that includes luxury real estate agent James Harris, who says it’s designed to fundamentally simplify how agents run their businesses.

Harris, of Carolwood Estates and Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles fame, officially introduced Breezy shortly before Inman Connect New York after operating in stealth since early 2024. The goal, he says, is not to add yet another point solution to agents’ tech stacks, but to replace the fragmented ecosystem many agents rely on today.

“Real estate professionals are juggling 50 different apps that each do one thing and often not very well,” Harris told Inman. “Breezy was built by agents, for agents. It’s designed to function the way real estate agents actually think and work.”

Rather than layering AI onto existing workflows, Harris describes Breezy as a purpose-built operating system that centralizes pipeline management, reporting, note-taking, communications and property intelligence into a single interface.

His ambition is simple: Breezy should be the first app an agent opens when they start their day and the last one they close.

Built from agent feedback, not Silicon Valley assumptions

Along with Harris, Breezy was developed by Afterpay co-founders Nick Molnar and Anthony Eisen and venture investors the Khalili Brothers.

“It’s incredibly exciting. We have Fidji Simo — OpenAI’s CEO of Applications — advising us, and her perspective has been invaluable,” Harris said.

When building something ambitious, he said, you can’t pretend to be an expert in everything. “I’m fortunate to be surrounded by brilliant minds at Breezy,” Harris said. “Nick Molnar is a great example. He sold his company to Square for $29 billion. Having people like that to challenge and refine ideas is a huge advantage.”

To accelerate development ahead of launch, Breezy raised an oversubscribed $10 million pre-seed round led by Ribbit Capital, the fintech-focused investment firm known for backing category-defining platforms. The round also drew participation from Fifth Wall, DST Global, Liquid 2 Ventures, O.G. Venture Partners, OpenAI’s Simo and Lightspark co-founder and CEO David Marcus, among others.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Breezy plans to deploy the capital to strengthen its product and data infrastructure, scale engineering and design, and invest in security and go-to-market readiness ahead of brokerage-wide rollout. 

The company opened an exclusive waitlist earlier this month, with a broader U.S. launch targeted for the first half of 2026. Breezy says the platform is being built with international expansion in mind, with early opportunities identified in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Dubai.

Harris says his frustration with industry tech fragmentation drove the initial concept. After more than two decades in real estate, he saw an opportunity to build technology grounded in agent experience rather than outside assumptions.

“We’ve had a lot of technology built by people who don’t actually live inside this business,” Harris said. “I wanted to solve real problems agents face every day.”

Early development included a nationwide beta group of roughly 200 agents across markets and price tiers. Harris credits that cohort with shaping product usability and surfacing unexpected use cases.

One example: Breezy’s integrated AI note-taker, originally envisioned for meetings, automatically joined a user’s scheduled webinar when she was unable to attend. It effectively allowed her to be “in two places at once.”

“That kind of feedback was gold,” Harris told Inman. “But the negative feedback is even better than the positive, because it forces you to simplify and refine.”

Ease of use became a guiding principle. Harris argues agents have little time and patience for complex software and need tools that reduce friction, not add to it.

Turning zoning data into an agent advantage

The platform’s most ambitious feature may be its proprietary property intelligence layer called Underbuilt. It’s a tool Harris believes could reshape how agents present land value and development potential.

By entering an address, agents can generate a report outlining zoning constraints, setbacks, height limits, and other development parameters that typically require navigating municipal databases or hiring consultants.

“Why shouldn’t homeowners understand the full potential of their property?” Harris said. “This unlocks information that historically has been difficult to access.”

He likens the experience to pulling a Carfax vehicle report or checking a credit score. It’s a simple interface that reveals data with real financial implications.

Harris says Underbuilt is scaling rapidly and is expected to cover more than 80 percent of U.S. jurisdictions in the coming months. While the feature lives inside Breezy today, he envisions broader consumer-facing applications that could complement, rather than compete with, agents.

“For listing presentations, development conversations or advising buyers, this gives agents something truly differentiated,” he said.

AI as workflow, not replacement

Despite Breezy’s heavy AI backbone, Harris is quick to frame the technology as augmentation, not substitution.

“AI shouldn’t replace the human side of this business,” he said. “It should save time so agents can stay personal and relational.”

He believes the next wave of AI tools will move away from general-purpose copilots toward vertical, opinionated systems designed for specific industries.

“Most proptech solves one problem,” Harris said. “This is about replacing the agent’s daily operating system, making sure nothing slips through the cracks.”

While Harris says that a majority of agents are already experimenting with AI tools — from email drafting to media editing — he warns against complacency.

“I don’t think AI will end anyone’s business,” he said. “But agents who don’t adopt it will get left behind.”

A community-driven build

Beyond product mechanics, Harris says the experience of building Breezy reshaped his view of the real estate community. Beta testers, whom he calls founding members, contributed not capital, but time and feedback.

“What surprised me most was how much agents want to help each other and be part of something bigger,” Harris said. “Yes, it’s competitive, but there’s a strong sense of community underneath.”

That collaborative energy, he says, reinforces Breezy’s mission to serve agents first.

“This industry has given me everything,” Harris said. “I want to give something back that genuinely improves how agents work.”

Breezy is beginning to onboard early users in phases while Harris and his team continue refining the platform. Thousands of agents are currently on a waitlist, reflecting strong early interest following the public reveal.

For Harris, the goal remains focus and execution.

“If we obsess over the agent experience,” he said, “everything else follows.”

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Infinityy, a REACH-backed listing engagement platform that blends virtual tours, Google Street View and an AI “neighborhood” assistant, is pushing deeper into residential real estate with a pitch aimed squarely at agent pain points: capture consumers earlier, qualify them faster and keep the entire conversation inside one listing experience.

In an interview with Inman, CEO Lisa Nickerson said Infinityy is designed to help agents respond to modern buyer behavior, where prospects want answers instantly, jump between multiple listings and often abandon an inquiry if follow-up feels too slow or fragmented.

“The most important thing for the Realtor community to know is that we’re not trying to displace the Realtor,” Nickerson said. “We’re actually empowering the Realtor with more tools and features, and they don’t have to learn AI. They can just utilize the AI.”

A single ‘spaces and places’ experience

Infinityy’s core product is a content-agnostic virtual listing experience that can ingest a range of media — including Matterport, video, 360 tours and standard listing photos — and present it in a single interactive interface. The differentiator, Nickerson said, is how the platform connects the interior experience to the exterior context buyers care about.

If a consumer wants to know where a property sits on the street, what’s nearby or how the neighborhood feels, they typically open multiple tabs to piece it together. Infinityy aims to pull those moments into one flow by integrating Google Street View with an AI-powered assistant.

“If you’ve ever been looking at a place and then wondered where it sat on the street, you’re pulling up a separate window,” Nickerson said. “When we added the AI agent to this, now somebody can look at a listing and ask the AI, ‘show me the bedrooms, show me the pool,’ and then you could say, ‘show me where I would walk my dog.’”

Instead of clicking through dozens of photos, buyers can ask questions in a conversational way. The platform can respond in any language, Nickerson said, and it keeps users on the platform rather than sending them off-platform.

From curiosity to qualified lead

Infinityy’s bigger bet is that those questions — about schools, commute, parks, running routes or dog walks — are more than buyer curiosity. They’re intent signals.

Nickerson said agents can receive a transcript of what a consumer asked, allowing them to follow up with context rather than a generic lead response.

She contrasted that with portal-driven lead funnels, where inquiries may be resold or routed through broader lead marketplaces. Infinityy, she said, is designed to send engagement directly to the listing agent when the user opts to share contact information.

The platform can also connect prospects to agents in real time. Agents can receive a text message when someone requests a call, and the conversation can escalate into a Zoom-like session within the listing experience.

“It’s a way of meeting people very quickly and fast, and engaging that prospect right when they’re there. Not having them email you, follow up, and then they’re on to the next,” Nickerson told Inman.

‘2 tours, not 5’

Infinityy also leans into collaborative shopping, especially for buyers who want input from partners, family members or contractors.

Nickerson described an experience where multiple people can explore a property at once without screen sharing, moving independently through the listing environment. If one person finds something worth seeing, others can “jump” to that exact location.

“It’s not a screen share,” she said. “They can be in different places at the same time. If you said, ‘Lisa, you’ve got to see this pool,’ I’d click on your face, and now I’d be at the pool with you.”

That dynamic, she added, can reduce wasted in-person showings because buyers do more exploration and decision-making upfront.

“What Realtors are finding is that people then explore the area and explore a lot themselves before they have to go on the real tours,” she said. “And then they’re doing two tours, not five.”

MLS distribution and compliance

Nickerson said MLS partnerships are a major focus for Infinityy’s residential growth strategy, pointing to work in Miami as an example. With MLS integration, she said, Infinityy can make it easier for buyers’ agents to assemble portfolios of interactive listings, even if a seller’s agent hasn’t actively adopted the platform.

“If we’re talking with the MLS — which we are with Miami — then every single listing can be an Infinityy listing and sits there whether the seller’s agent is using it or not,” she said.

She also emphasized compliance. Infinityy’s AI, she said, is built to follow fair housing rules and stay grounded in listing-provided data for property-specific answers.

“The AI can’t go out to the universe and say, ‘Oh, well, there was a permit pulled in 2017,’” Nickerson said. “It’s staying within your listing.”

Neighborhood-type questions, such as where nearby schools are located, can still draw on broader sources, such as mapping data, she added.

Power users and ‘new habits’

Like many agent tech products, Infinityy’s outcomes depend on usage. Nickerson said top agents are the most enthusiastic because the tool helps them capture prospects immediately and differentiate in listing presentations by offering 24/7 engagement.

She pointed to a Connecticut-based eXp Realty agent as an example of a power user who has used Infinityy to win listings and close a sight-unseen transaction for an international relocation buyer.

Nickerson said agents can also “edit up” the experience by adding local commentary, such as notes about schools, and by prompting the AI to highlight key features.

“People who really go in and edit it up and make it even better, you’re going to get better results than if you just leave it,” she said.

Her message to agents, however, is that onboarding is intentionally simple.

“With the listings, all they have to do is hit ‘claim’, and it becomes an Infinityy listing,” she said. “It’s super simple. It’s just getting people to have a new habit.”

What comes next

Nickerson said Infinityy is launching a new marketing push in Miami, and she plans to spend the next several weeks meeting with agents and trainers on the ground to gather feedback and improve adoption.

A key challenge, she added, will be educating consumers, not just agents.

“We need to then train potential buyers to seek out Infinityy listings so they can ask all this information,” she said.

For Nickerson, that’s the heart of the product: not more data, but faster decisions and a tighter feedback loop between what buyers ask for and how agents serve them.

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