Courtney Poulos is featured on StreetInsider.com.
The real estate industry is drowning in AI promises. Platforms claim to revolutionize everything from valuations to client communication. Courtney Poulos, founder of ACME Real Estate and host of The Clean Close podcast, has been testing these tools for months. Her verdict: most don’t deliver.
AI tools are moving very quickly, and I’m still seeing a lot of flaws in the system, Poulos says. She documents her findings on her Real Estate AI Coach YouTube channel, providing reviews that cut through marketing hype to assess actual functionality.
The Valuation Problem
Automated property valuations represent AIs most problematic application in real estate. Poulos tested five different platforms, including House Canary, which she considers among the best available. All showed significant accuracy issues.
Even the best ones are flawed, she notes. You don’t want to be an agent who relies so heavily on automated valuations that you’re losing listings or you’re giving clients bad guidance because the data that you’re getting is not correct.
In a litigious industry where agents face legal exposure for inaccurate advice, AI-generated valuations without verification create unacceptable risk. The technology has not mastered the algorithm required to consistently price properties accurately across different markets and property types.
What Actually Works
Poulos has identified specific tools that provide genuine value. Auto Reel App, which converts static listing photos into animated videos, has improved substantially from its early versions. The platform now includes AI editing capabilities that let agents add motion elements or remove unwanted objects.
Its added this AI editing feature inside the app that really makes it easy, Poulos explains. Agents can show water flowing from taps, flowers moving in breeze, or remove telephone poles and cables from exterior shots.
The tool helps create content for social media marketing without requiring video production expertise. However, Poulos emphasizes disclosure requirements: clients should know when imagery has been AI-modified to avoid disappointment during property showings.
The Source Verification Gap
Where AI consistently fails is source verification and factual accuracy. Poulos wont use AI tools for anything requiring citations or data integrity.
It will make up quotes, it will make up sources, it will make things up, she warns. In real estate, where statements can become litigation evidence, this unreliability is disqualifying.
Agents tempted to use AI for market reports, client communications, or property descriptions need robust fact-checking processes. The efficiency gains disappear if every AI-generated output requires manual verification.
Platform Integration Implications
Beyond standalone AI tools, Poulos examines how AI integration into search platforms affects agent visibility. ChatGPTs Zillow integration means property searches increasingly occur through AI interfaces rather than direct MLS or portal browsing.
The odds of your listing not being shown, were it not to appear on Zillow, probably goes down, she observes. As search behavior shifts toward conversational AI, listings outside major aggregation platforms may become harder for buyers to discover.
This accelerates existing challenges around platform dependence and listing syndication strategy. Agents must now consider not just portal presence but how AI systems surface their listings in response to natural language queries.
The Data Ownership Crisis
The Clean Close podcast addresses issues many agents privately worry about but rarely discuss publicly. One recurring theme: data ownership and platform access to client information.
I’m getting messages on Instagram from other agents who have no idea what to do, Poulos says, referring to concerns about CRM platforms and data access policies. There are these real world things that are happening, but there’s so much other stuff going on that I don’t think people are paying close enough attention.
These concerns extend beyond individual tool choices to fundamental questions about business sustainability when client relationships exist within platforms agents don’t control.
Market Conditions Create Urgency
While examining technology’s long-term implications, Poulos remains focused on immediate market opportunities. Recent interest rate movements have created favorable conditions for transactions.
I got rates today on a jumbo ARM that were in the fives, she reports. When rates drop to that level, marginal buyers become active buyers. She’s seeing increased enthusiasm even during November, typically a slow period.
A recent listing she underpriced strategically generated 19 offers. While the final price came in below what similar competitive situations would have produced during lower-rate periods, it still exceeded asking significantly. The constraint isn’t buyer interest but borrowing costs limiting how high buyers can bid.
For sellers, this suggests strategic timing considerations: accepting current market pricing may generate buy-side savings that exceed sell-side concessions.
The Honest Conversation Gap
The Clean Close attempts to fill what Poulos sees as a void in real estate media: honest examination of industry challenges rather than promotional content or defensive reactions to criticism.
Recent episodes have covered secretive industry working groups, the ongoing fallout from commission litigation, and structural questions about whether traditional real estate infrastructure remains relevant.
This approach differentiates The Clean Close from most real estate podcasts, which tend toward success interviews, motivational content, or tool demonstrations. Poulos focuses on systemic issues affecting how agents build sustainable businesses.
The AI Ethics Question
Beyond practical functionality issues, Poulos raises ethical concerns about AI development. In a recent podcast conversation, she discussed OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s acknowledgment that ChatGPT lacks grounding in established ethical frameworks.
There’s no ethical code that’s coming from something we can reference, she notes. The system learns from aggregated human input without moral guardrails beyond what emerges from that collective dataset.
For real estate applications, this creates uncertainty about how AI tools handle sensitive situations involving protected classes, fair housing considerations, or ethical gray areas. Agents using these tools assume responsibility for outputs generated by systems with ambiguous ethical foundations.
Looking Forward
Poulos sees AI continuing to evolve rapidly, with tools improving incrementally but fundamental limitations persisting. Her advice: test everything, verify everything, and maintain skepticism about marketing claims.
The agents who succeed will be those who identify specific use cases where AI adds genuine value while avoiding applications where the technology’s limitations create more problems than it solves. Auto Reel App for listing videos works. Automated valuations for pricing strategy does not.
As the industry continues its technology transformation, Poulos argues agents need platforms like The Clean Close that provide honest assessment rather than hype. Whether enough agents seek that perspective to make such platforms sustainable remains an open question.
About ACME Real Estate: Founded in 2011, ACME Real Estate serves the Los Angeles market through a boutique brokerage model emphasizing design sensibility and agent development. Courtney Poulos hosts The Clean Close podcast and Real Estate AI Coach YouTube channel, examining technology and structural changes in real estate. She is an Inman Person of the Year recipient and currently attends Harvard Universitys Advanced Management Development Program.
Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.
ACME Real Estate | Los Angeles Boutique Real Estate Brokerage