Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the real estate landscape, reshaping how professionals operate, how data informs decision-making, and how buyers engage with the homeownership journey. As the industry navigates shifting consumer expectations, market volatility, and growing weather-related risk, AI is emerging as a critical force helping bring speed, clarity, and confidence to every stage of the real estate ecosystem.
Kevin Greene, SVP and General Manager of Real Estate Solutions at Cotality, a leader in global property information, analytics, and data-enabled solutions, has told Digital Journal about his perspective on how AI is accelerating innovation and supporting industry professionals. At the same time, Greene foresees AI as redefining what trust, transparency, and readiness look like in the future of real estate.
Digital Journal: How is AI influencing Cotality’s overall strategy and approach to innovation?
Kevin Greene: AI is only as effective as the information, the data, it’s built on. And, at Cotality, everything starts with data. Because 80% of all property transactions across the U.S. and Canada flow through our platforms, we have one of the cleanest and most comprehensive datasets in the industry. That foundation is critical. Without good data in, you can’t get trusted outcomes out.
The question then becomes: what do you do with that data? This is where AI plays a transformative role in our strategy. Our recent report, “Who (Really) Owns the Homebuyer” revealed that 90% of future buyers say some part of the homebuying journey feels overwhelming, and 93% of recent buyers experienced doubt, confusion, or pressure. The process has gotten faster and more competitive, but buyer readiness hasn’t kept pace. AI helps close that gap by reducing friction and surfacing clarity.
Practically, that means giving agents tools that save hours in their day: automatically generating multilingual listing descriptions, creating 2D and 3D floor plans from a set of images in minutes, or scanning CRMs to identify the next likely buyer or seller. Each of these reduces time spent on administrative tasks and gives professionals more space to focus on what really matters: helping clients navigate their most important financial decision.
It’s worth noting, though, that AI isn’t new for us. Cotality has been building valuation and predictive models for decades, long before “AI” became the industry’s buzzword. We’ve powered automated valuation models and other core decisioning tools behind the scenes. What’s changed today is that we’re bringing these capabilities to the forefront in more visible, consumer and agent-facing ways, so the same data strength that has powered the industry for years can now directly empower professionals and buyers alike.
DJ: How do you see AI reshaping the way professionals buy, sell, and protect homes across the real estate ecosystem?
Greene: One of the biggest misconceptions in real estate is that AI will somehow replace agents. That’s not the case. Buying a home remains the single largest financial and emotional purchase most people will make, and our research shows 88% of buyers still want a person involved in the process – they want that personal connection. What AI does is make those professionals smarter, faster, and more competitive.
Our Who (Really) Owns the Homebuyer report makes clear that buyers are stressed and uncertain. 59% of Gen Z buyers, for example, say they feel overwhelmed by the process, while 68% of all buyers say they value “comfort” above even convenience when working with a professional. That tells us the opportunity isn’t about replacing human guidance, but elevating it.
Cotality’s insights give agents the kind of property-level intelligence that cuts through confusion. Take extreme weather as an example: most buyers only see flood zone designations, but our models combine elevation, materials, and imagery to show why one property may still be insurable while another is at significant risk. An agent equipped with that data can guide clients more confidently, save them from costly mistakes, and even open up properties they might have otherwise overlooked.
This is the competitive edge AI provides. It doesn’t just make the process faster; it makes it clearer. In a market where trust is shifting and competition is intensifying, AI enables agents to answer the most important question for every client: why this home, not that one?
DJ: There’s often concern that AI could replace people in the workplace. How do you view AI’s role in real estate – complementing or competing with human expertise?
Greene: It’s important to understand that real estate isn’t like booking a flight or trading a stock. A home purchase typically happens once every 5–7 years, often involves a family’s largest financial commitment, and requires navigating complex factors like HOAs, zoning, financing, inspections, and insurance. That’s not a space where people want to rely solely on algorithms.
Our research underscores this. Even as buyers adopt digital tools (73% say they do significant self-research before engaging a professional) they still want human expertise at the moment of decision. 83% of recent buyers said they would use the same agent again, citing trust as the reason. That tells us the role of the agent isn’t disappearing – it’s evolving.
AI complements human expertise by taking over repetitive, time-consuming tasks and equipping professionals with sharper insights. Think of it as shifting the agent’s role from “gatekeeper” to “advisor.” Instead of spending hours writing a listing or sifting through hundreds of properties, an agent can focus on context, interpretation, and strategy. They can explain trade-offs, anticipate risks, and personalize options. That combination – AI speed with human judgment – is what builds trust and delivers confidence in a process most buyers still find overwhelming.
DJ: Extreme weather risk is a prominent and growing threat. How can AI-driven insights strengthen resilience in the property industry?
Greene: Extreme weather is no longer a side issue; it’s central to the transaction. Insurance costs, flood risks, and weather exposure are increasingly the difference between a deal that closes and one that collapses. Yet most buyers don’t discover these issues until late in the process, which adds stress, delays, and disappointment.
This is where AI makes a real impact. Traditional flood maps paint broad strokes, but they don’t capture the property-level details that determine risk. Cotality combines imagery, elevation data, and building characteristics to distinguish between two homes in the same zone. One might sit on higher ground with resilient construction, making it more insurable and desirable; the other might face prohibitive insurance costs.
By giving agents and buyers this clarity upfront, AI-driven insights prevent costly surprises, guide smarter decisions, and ultimately support more resilient communities. It’s a great example of how technology doesn’t replace the human element, but makes both agents and buyers more informed participants in the market.
DJ: Knowing that Cotality manages vast amounts of property data, how does AI help ensure the quality, accuracy, and usefulness of that data for customers?
Greene: Trust begins with data quality. One of the biggest frustrations buyers cited in our Who (Really) Owns the Homebuyer report is the lack of transparency: listings that disappear, pre-approvals that change without explanation, and costs that aren’t fully accounted for. That kind of uncertainty erodes confidence.
At Cotality, we source data directly from the origin: MLSs, appraisers, property records, and mortgage filings. These are verified, first-party inputs, such as the appliances in a home, the fixtures, the elevation, the permits filed. By training AI on this level of data, we avoid the biases and inaccuracies that come from aggregated sources.
The result is simple: good data in, trusted outcomes out. Agents and lenders can rely on our models to explain why valuations change, why risk levels shift, or why insurance costs rise, backed by evidence, not speculation. That level of transparency builds confidence for professionals and consumers alike.
DJ: Looking ahead, what do you see as the most transformative applications of AI in real estate over the next five to ten years?
Greene: There are three areas where AI will be most transformative:
- Visualization at scale. States are beginning to require floor plans, and AI can generate them instantly from a set of images. Combined with immersive walkthroughs and virtual staging, this gives buyers the ability to “step into” a property without physically being there, and even purchase the furniture they see through integrated partnerships.
- Preference-driven search. One of the most innovative applications we’re already delivering is allowing buyers to upload images of their dream features and instantly filter homes that meet those preferences. Our OneHome platform makes this possible today, dramatically reducing search fatigue.
- Confidence tooling. Today, 30% of mortgage applications don’t make it to close, adding cost and complexity for lenders and frustration for buyers. AI can surface risks earlier, highlight trade-offs, and streamline decision-making. The long-term impact is fewer stalled deals and a faster, more certain path to homeownership.
At the heart of all these applications is the same principle: restoring clarity and confidence to a process most buyers still describe as confusing. AI won’t remove the human advisor; it will make them indispensable by equipping them to deliver the right insights at the right time.
DJ: If you had to tell someone one interesting thing about Cotality, what would you say?
Greene: Most people don’t realise just how embedded we are in the real estate ecosystem. As I previously mentioned, 80% of transactions across North America touch our platforms, and we’re active in 25 of 30 NFL cities. For years, we’ve been the quiet engine powering the industry behind the scenes. Now, with AI, we’re moving into the forefront, giving agents, consumers, and partners tools they can see and feel every day.
