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Real estate commissions long survived because buyers were locked out of the math.

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AI didn’t remove humans from home buying. It removed percentage rent-seeking.

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When prices inflated, commissions inflated with them, even though the work didn’t.

BRIEFING

Grant here. We're seeing a lot of jobs getting replaced by artificial intelligence, and the latest victim of this trend is none other than the real estate agent. Between skyrocketing home prices and rising technology, this has created the perfect storm for the average citizen to jump on a computer and get the home buying process done themselves. Along with a helping hand from AI, of course. Let’s break it down.

A first-time buyer in Florida used an AI platform called Homa to find and purchase a home without a traditional buyer’s agent. The platform searched MLS listings, ran pricing comparisons, generated an offer, and rebated the buyer’s agent commission back to the buyer at closing, minus a flat fee. In the end, this buyer saved roughly $10,500 on a $420,000 home. That's a good chunk of change that certainly can be put to better use than lining a realtor's pockets.

Now make no mistake, Homa still uses humans, but only where they’re actually needed. Agents are paid hourly to open the home for viewings, and a licensed broker reviews the offer and negotiates. But now with fewer middlemen, the buyer ends up paying fewer extra fees.

Sure, many will argue that buyers are losing “local expertise.” But honestly, now that most data like crime, school ratings, price history, etc., are public, what's the need for a local realtor's "expertise"? Definitely not for an extra $10-15k.

SOURCE

AI JUST REPLACED REALTORS - THIS FIRST TIME BUYER USED AI TO BUY HIS HOME AND KEPT ALL THE COMMISSION

A first time buyer in Florida skipped the traditional realtor and used an AI platform called Homa to find, analyze, and purchase his home.

The AI searched MLS listings, ran pricing comps, generated the offer and then rebated the buyers agent commission back to him at closing, minus a flat fee.

No 3% cut.

No commission middleman.

Over $10,000 kept by the buyer instead of an agent.

Critics say buyers lose “local expertise.” Supporters say AI just exposed how inflated real estate commissions really are.

Would you trust AI over an agent?

🚨 AI JUST REPLACED REALTORS - THIS FIRST TIME BUYER USED AI TO BUY HIS HOME AND KEPT ALL THE COMMISSION

A first time buyer in Florida skipped the traditional realtor and used an AI platform called Homa to find, analyze, and purchase his home.

The AI searched MLS listings, ran… pic.twitter.com/PLa7X2ocEy

— HustleBitch (@HustleBitch_) January 31, 2026

Now if you look at the comments under this video, the public opinion is definitely split. There are plenty who agree that paying someone thousands of dollars just to point and say "look at all this closet space..." is ridiculous.

While on the flip side, there are plenty who have real-world real estate experience and argue that their job is far from "easy" or "replaceable."

"Paying someone $15,000 to point at a stove and say 'this is the kitchen' was never a sustainable business model."

"My daughter is a realtor and for them to be called useless or commission inflated is ridiculous. Do you want them to do it for free? Do you know how much time, money, gas, etc. they spend showing homes, advertising, driving, doing paperwork, meetings with bankers, brokers, inspectors, CE, travel expenses, and so much more? Maybe people griping should become an agent and figure out what they’re talking about."

"You wouldn't be able to access homes to view them without an agent. That's just how it is. You wouldn't want random people entering your house without an agent present. So this is useless. Agents are necessary unless you understand real estate contracts and buy directly from the owner."

"We did everything to get our last home ready including printing signs pointing out upgrades and important features for our home. Our realtor posted the ad (which I wrote), put a sign in our yard and hosted the open house (we provided snack and drinks), prepared the paper work and came to closing to pick up her $17,380 paycheck. All for about 10 hours worth of work (we overheard her talking on the phone to her father in our basement) I’m not sure how much work the buyers agent put in, but he got equal compensation. When we sell again, we WILL be looking into going this route."

"This is brilliant... My agent did none of the searches and refused to put in some offers I wanted put in She lied to me repeatedly about houses having multiple offers or already being sold and months later the house was still on the market"

"This is expected, but will not work as well in the high-end markets where say...agents and builders have an established client relationship and the agent also has an established client base for that market to match up the buyer and builder plans. At least I hope, b/c it's my husbands job that provides shelter and food for us."

DEBRIEFING

This example of AI rendering a long-standing profession useless is a trend we've seen among many others. We've seen it with stockbrokers now being replaced by slick apps, travel agents are now just used by Boomers, financial advisers are now robo-advisors, and realtors are basically being replaced by sophisticated data platforms.

This is the wave of the future, and realtors need to either buckle up and roll with the changes or prepare to be steamrolled.

For decades, real estate commissions survived because access was controlled. MLS data was gated, comparable sales were hard to pull, and negotiation norms were "insider knowledge." Realtors didn’t just sell their services, but they sold access, confidence, and permission.

Now that buyers can see days on the market, pricing history, neighborhood data, and leverage in plain language, the old formula breaks down quickly. A three percent commission feels reasonable when homes are cheap and information is scarce. But now it feels absurd when prices are inflated and the work hasn’t increased.

What platforms like this expose is that most buyers never needed a percentage-based middleman. They needed tools, clarity, and targeted human help.

And this is all happening at a brutal moment for the industry now that housing affordability is at an all-time low. Buyers are fee-sensitive, and overall trust in credentialed “experts” is collapsing fast. When people can see thousands of dollars either evaporate or stay in their pocket, loyalty to the old system disappears fast.

NOW YOU KNOW

AI didn’t kill the realtor. It showed buyers what they were paying for.