Real Estate CEO: Most AI Tools Being Sold to Brokerages Are "Slop"
Brandon Wells, president and CEO of The Group Real Estate in northern Colorado, rejects both the fear that AI will replace agents and the hype surrounding most AI products hitting the market. "There's a lot of AI slop out there," Wells said on the RealTrending Podcast. "A lot of vendors are just putting large language model tools into their existing software, and I don't really know that that's accomplishing anything."
Wells runs a 1,976-founded brokerage that has grown through organic methods since he became CEO in 2018. Rather than chase mergers and acquisitions, The Group invests in broker training and education through an employee-owned model that encourages knowledge sharing.
Building Tools Internally Rather Than Buying Vendor Solutions
The Group has started building its own platforms using tools like Claude Code for "vibe coding" to manage agent goals and productivity. This approach avoids expensive vendor contracts while giving smaller brokerages competitive advantages that were once available only to large firms.
"What was once really hard to obtain has become a lot more accessible for the small guy," Wells said. "That gives a big competitive advantage back into the court of the independents."
For brokers looking to adopt AI effectively, understanding how to evaluate and implement these tools matters more than the tools themselves. AI for Real Estate Brokers training can help teams separate genuine productivity gains from vendor marketing.
Private Listings Create More Risk Than Benefit
On the industry debate over private listings, Wells was direct: keeping listings off the open market typically hurts sellers. "Maximum exposure to the vast, largest audience that we can reach is going to always warrant the best results," he said.
The Group uses office exclusives temporarily - to prepare properties, gather feedback from 250 agents, and refine pricing before a full launch. Without guardrails, Wells warned, private listings prioritize brokerage profit over client benefit.
Independents Gaining Ground as Consolidation Continues
Private independent brokerages grew market share by 2% in the past year, according to Wells. He attributes this to flexibility and access to technology that once required scale to afford.
Franchises and public brokerages continue consolidating, but independent contractors resist being lumped into standardized offerings. "They like their independence. They like their own creativity, and they really like to differentiate," Wells said.
Culture and Genuine Care Beat Incentives in Recruiting
When asked what works in recruiting and retention, Wells pointed to authentic care for agent success, not financial incentives or flashy technology. "What really works in recruiting is that genuine care on wanting to help brokers understand what is working from shared experiences of their peers," he said.
Market conditions have toughened, requiring more education around financing and seller concessions. But Wells rejected the excuse that conditions determine results. "Look one office down and you see somebody having their best year yet - it's predicated on the effort that brokers are putting in, not the market conditions."
Consumers Expect More Than the Industry Delivers
Wells identified AI fears as the trend agents most overreact to. The real problem: rising consumer expectations that the industry hasn't caught up with.
"The consumer has really high expectations, and I think we're still behind the curve on what we're offering," Wells said. "I think it's confusing. I think it's cluttered."
His longtime frustration remains licensing standards. "Our industry gets a bad rap because the barrier to entry is too low, and for the people who are truly running this like a profession, they get harmed pretty badly in the eyes of the consumer due to the hobbyists."
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