I’m often asked about whether I think AI is a helpful tool for property investment.

There’s no doubt artificial intelligence is changing the way investors and real estate agents approach the property market. Used well, it can be a powerful tool for enhancing customer experience and automating backend tasks. Used badly, it can lead to misleading conclusions and costly decisions.

I’ve spoken to a number of people recently who’ve been using tools like ChatGPT to summarise market information for themselves. While it appears like a quick way to get across a lot of data, it can be risky if that information is taken at face value and without an experienced and educated eye.

AI systems are good at processing information and summarising data, but they don’t understand you, your motivations or the context behind your decisions. At times, they can even reinforce what you already believe rather than challenge it, so fact checking is important in these situations.

I met with clients recently who were considering investing in their hometown in regional WA. They had a strong emotional connection to the town and had found some data that seemed to support the idea, so they asked me to take a look.

When I reviewed the fundamentals, it became clear the location wasn’t a good investment choice. Demand was thin, migration weak, growth had been inconsistent and there were limited drivers to support future price growth or rental stability.

We talked through those factors together and, to their credit, the client was able to step back from the emotional connection and focus on the bigger picture. Working with us at JPG, they ultimately chose to invest in a different superior location with much stronger long-term prospects.

Another thing to be aware of is that the results aren’t always based on complete or up-to-date information. Outputs can reflect older data sets or broad trends rather than local knowledge. That becomes risky when people start using these tools to decide where to invest without speaking to someone on the ground.

I’ve no doubt this technology will continue to reshape the real estate industry, but the key is to use it as a tool, not a substitute for considered strategy.

If you feed it credible data, it’s great at sorting information, but good investment decisions still come down to local insight, careful planning and thinking long term.

Technology can inform decisions, but it can’t replace experience.

Andrew Johnson
Managing Director