‘Unfiltered’: Why agents should lean into ‘provocative marketing’ 

Editor's note: The Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered podcast explores the people and forces that shape the real estate industry. Check out our top takeaways and this episode from NextHome CEO James Dwiggins and Keith Robinson, NextHome's chief strategic officer.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in the Real Estate Insiders podcast belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.

On this episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, tech developer Will Grewal explains which marketing tactics "always win" and what kind of technology benefits agents most in an industry that is embracing AI more by the day.

The HomeStack CEO started his proptech company, which builds personalized real estate apps, "because real estate tech is messy." Thirteen years after launching the business from the dorm room Grewal shared with co-founder Matt Potter, HomeStack has now "gone all in on AI" — and he believes agents should do the same.

AI will 'level the playing field': From ElevenLabs to HeyGen, there are many tools agents can use to help their business "really thrive," said Grewal, who considers himself an "AI optimist." Technology won't replace agents — instead, he predicts those who learn to use it will replace those who don't.

Agents "are some of the most tenacious entrepreneurs on this planet," he said. "What AI really does is, it commoditizes data and makes it invisible," an evolution that he thinks will "level the playing field."

Could AI boost buyer confidence? Grewal hopes so. He thinks it can provide more transparency around pricing and other factors, which in turn could reassure buyers and prompt them to act sooner.

"What if AI can create more confidence and visibility of information to create more liquidity and more transactions?" Grewal wondered. "I think that could be a direction in which we're heading."

'Provocative marketing' and personalization will be key: Confidence matters for agents too. "As real estate agents, we have to be bold, we have to be courageous and we have to be a little bit provocative when it comes to, 'What are my value props?'"

Grewal believes agents of the future will succeed by leaning into personalization. "Provocative marketing and hyper-personalized messaging always win — let's not lose sight of that," he said.

"I think we're going to shift from search to curation," Grewal added. As AI becomes even more prevalent, information will be "hyper-personalized and delivered in a way that consumers have never seen."

Is a custom website still necessary? Yes, Grewal said, because consumers are still searching for agent names online "to develop trust and credibility."

"Being able to have a web interface that clearly articulates what you stand for, what your value is, where your differentiation is and how I can develop a personalized relationship — outside of the Instagrams, the TikToks, the Facebooks of the world — I think is still very important," he said.

Besides, building a website isn't as difficult or expensive as it used to be. "I wouldn't replace it," Grewal said. "I would maybe just de-prioritize what your spend is."