Another year closes, and it’s time to assess what actually mattered in PropTech. 2025 brought continued AI development, market consolidation, and evolving agent expectations. Here’s my honest review.

What Delivered Real Value

AI Integration Matured

The year’s biggest story was AI moving from experiment to utility. Unlike 2024’s tentative adoption, 2025 saw AI become genuinely useful across multiple workflows.

Key developments:

• CRM systems with AI that actually improved prospecting effectiveness
• Listing description tools that produced quality output with minimal editing
• Market analysis capabilities that saved hours of research time
• Client communication assistance that maintained personalisation

The AI consultants Brisbane platform and similar AI tools demonstrated that well-implemented AI creates real competitive advantages. Agencies that adopted early gained measurable benefits.

Portal Features Improved

Both REA Group and Domain delivered meaningful platform improvements:

• Enhanced analytics providing better insight into buyer behaviour
• Improved listing management interfaces
• Better integration capabilities with third-party tools
• More sophisticated targeting options for premium listings

These incremental improvements compound. Agents who understand and utilise new features perform better than those who ignore platform evolution.

Virtual Tour Technology Standardised

3D virtual tours completed their transition from premium option to standard expectation. The technology became more accessible, quality improved, and buyer expectations aligned.

The agencies that invested in virtual tour capability positioned themselves for both local and interstate buyer service.

Data Integration Improved

The fragmented PropTech stack began consolidating. Better APIs, acquisition-driven integration, and platform expansion reduced manual data movement between systems.

This is still incomplete, but 2025 showed meaningful progress toward the connected workflows agents need.

What Disappointed

Metaverse/Web3 Collapsed Further

The metaverse real estate narrative that seemed possible a few years ago is now clearly dead. Virtual land values collapsed. Projects shut down. The concept became an industry joke.

Anyone who avoided this distraction made the right call.

”Revolutionary” Platforms Failed to Disrupt

Several well-funded startups promised to transform real estate transactions. None succeeded. The traditional agent model proved more resilient than disruptors expected.

This isn’t to say the industry won’t evolve—it will—but the revolution predictions were premature and overblown.

Blockchain Property Records Went Nowhere

Blockchain-based property record systems remained theoretical. Pilots didn’t scale. The technology didn’t solve problems that justified transition costs.

Maybe eventually, but not in any timeframe relevant to current technology planning.

AI Replacement Predictions Were Wrong

Predictions that AI would replace human agents for routine transactions proved incorrect. Property transactions remain relationship-intensive, emotionally complex, and local-knowledge-dependent.

AI assists agents; it doesn’t replace them. Anyone planning otherwise misunderstands the industry.

Lessons from 2025

Several principles emerged:

Integration beats novelty: Tools that worked within existing workflows gained adoption. Revolutionary tools requiring workflow changes mostly failed.

AI assists, doesn’t replace: The valuable AI tools enhanced human capabilities rather than substituting for them.

Data quality underlies everything: Agencies with clean databases and good data practices extracted far more value from technology than those with messy systems.

Selectivity matters: The highest performers weren’t those trying every new tool—they chose carefully and implemented deeply.

Training is essential: Technology purchases without adequate training created expensive shelfware.

Looking Toward 2026

Based on 2025’s patterns, I expect:

Continued AI integration: AI capabilities will become standard platform features rather than premium additions.

Further consolidation: More PropTech acquisitions and shutdowns as the market matures.

Sustainability focus: Energy efficiency disclosure requirements will drive new technology needs.

Privacy regulation impact: Data practices will need adaptation as privacy law evolves.

Integration as differentiator: Platforms that connect well with others will win share from those that don’t.

Advice for Agencies

Entering 2026, agencies should:

1. Audit current technology: What’s providing value? What’s unused? Consolidate subscriptions.
2. Evaluate AI adoption: Are you leveraging current capabilities? Are there gaps?
3. Check integration status: Are your systems connected effectively?
4. Assess data quality: Would better data practices improve technology outcomes?
5. Plan training investment: Does your team know how to use what you’ve purchased?

The agencies that performed best in 2025 will likely continue outperforming in 2026—not because they had different technology, but because they implemented their technology better.

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Linda Powers has spent over two decades observing technology adoption in real estate. This year-end review reflects patterns observed across dozens of agencies nationwide.