When Keith Tan entered real estate in 2000, the business ran on newspaper classifieds, phone calls, shoe leather and patience.

Now, the tools have changed almost beyond recognition. Today, Tan uses AI to build websites, generate property reports, create video content, produce listing campaigns, compare investment options and automate lead routing across his real estate practice.

But the ERA Realty Network agent is clear on one point: AI is not replacing real estate agents like him at this point. It is, however, raising the standard for what a good agent should be able to do.

“Real estate is still a people-to-people business,” says Tan, who leads Keith Tan Associates under ERA. “Clients are not buying something for $5 or $10 but making a decision worth hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. There is emotion involved. There is trust involved. They still need a personal touch.”

What AI changes, he adds, is speed, reach and precision.

“The AI amplifies the strategy,” says Tan. “The strategy is still human.”

From experience to systems

Tan has spent more than two decades across new launches, resale, leasing and investment advisory. His work spans HDB upgraders, first-time condo buyers, landlords, high-net-worth clients, commercial investors and landed property owners.

In a single week, he may be advising a young couple on their first condo purchase, marketing a new launch, handling a luxury rental or speaking to buyers for a freehold landed home.

That range matters. For Tan, AI is only useful when it sits on top of real market knowledge.

“Anyone can learn to use AI tools,” he says. “But knowing which buyer segment to target, how to position one property differently from another, and what data actually matters, that comes from experience.”

Over the past year, Tan has gone deep into AI, not as a casual user but as a systems builder. He uses platforms such as Claude, Perplexity, HeyGen, ElevenLabs, n8n, Google Workspace, Privyr, CapCut and Canva to automate parts of his workflow.

His own website, keithtanboonkee.com, was built with AI-assisted “vibe coding”, where he describes what he needs in plain language and lets AI help generate the code. He has also built systems that scrape property news, generate platform-specific content, route leads and create dashboards for campaign tracking.

“I’m not a developer,” Tan says. “I describe what I need in plain English, and AI writes the code and executes a complete and elegant product. This is a great equaliser!”

Better information, faster decisions

For clients, the value is not that Tan uses AI but how and what it helps them see.

One recent buyer was deciding between new launch options and was unsure whether to purchase a one-bedroom unit or stretch to a two-bedroom-plus-study layout. The buyer had the budget, but not the clarity.

Using AI, Tan was able to generate a personalised comparative report within minutes. The report weighed project attributes, layout efficiency, rentability, resale potential and buyer demand, all in an elegantly finished chart.

“It becomes much more customised,” says Tan. “The normal reports can be quite generic. With AI, you can describe the client’s concerns, their budget, their investment angle, and it gives you more relevant insights.”

The buyer eventually chose a two-bedroom-plus-study unit at Newport Residences. For Tan, the key benefit was not that AI produced a polished presentation but that it helped narrow the decision in a timely fashion.

“The data gives clients confidence to act,” he says. “As agents, we also have our own biases. Sometimes we assume a client will not like a unit because it faces the road, or because of a certain layout. But data forces you to look again.”

He sees this as one of AI’s most useful functions: that it challenges assumptions.

“I’m actually learning and re-learning industry fundamentals through AI,” he adds. “It becomes like attending a masterclass all the time, and I’m a stronger agent for it.”

Marketing difficult properties differently

Tan’s AI-driven approach also shapes how he markets properties that require a more precise buyer pool.

One example is his current exclusive listing on Lim Tai See Walk, a freehold detached home in District 10. The property sits on about 8,553 sq ft of freehold land and has a three-storey layout with seven-plus bedrooms, a swimming pool, car porch, driveway, multiple balconies and generous garden areas.

Located near Sixth Avenue MRT, Holland Village and schools such as Nanyang Primary, Henry Park Primary, Methodist Girls’ School and Hwa Chong International, the home targets a specific segment: multi-generational families, high-net-worth buyers and long-term landed property investors.

“Properties like this require a different approach,” Tan says. “The buyer pool is very specific. You cannot just list and wait.”

In the past, one feature of the property might have been seen as a challenge: its long driveway. Instead of treating it as a weakness, Tan reframed it as privacy.

“For some landed buyers, privacy is exactly what they want,” he says. “The property is tucked in, away from the road. So the question is not whether the feature is good or bad. The question is, who will value it?”

That is where Tan believes AI can help sharpen positioning. By generating different buyer personas, testing marketing angles and mapping likely audience segments, he can better direct his advertising spend.

“For a specialised property, you must speak to the right people,” he says. “If not, you waste time and advertising dollars.”

Tan is also marketing a $9 million ground-floor commercial shop at 34 Seah Street in District 7. The property is in the Seah Street shophouse row near Raffles Hotel and City Hall MRT Station, and is currently tenanted by a famous chicken rice store. As a commercial asset, it carries no additional buyer’s stamp duty or seller’s stamp duty, making it accessible to foreign buyers and companies.

For Tan, such assets need more than exposure. They need context, investor education and targeted outreach.

Why agents cannot afford to stand still

Tan is now preparing to train more associates in AI adoption. His team currently has about 10 associates, including agents focused on TOP (temporary occupation permit) projects and younger team members who are already experimenting with websites, content and automation.

He is blunt about the pace of change.

“If you do not integrate AI into your workflow, you might be left behind,” he says. “Last year, changes in AI came in months. Earlier this year, it felt like weeks. Now, there are updates almost every day.”

His goal is to help agents use AI beyond superficial content generation. To him, asking AI to write a piece of text is only the first layer. The real leverage comes from building repeatable systems.

“Most agents do tasks. I build systems,” he says. “Once you build the system, it compounds.”

These systems can help new agents role-play client meetings, build listing campaigns, generate reports, create content, structure presentations and learn faster without waiting for someone else’s schedule.

Tan even encourages associates to practise with AI before client appointments.

“You can role-play while driving to meet a client,” he says. “Tell the AI what the buyer or seller is looking for, and practise the conversation. There is no judgement. If you make a mistake, you start again.”

Technology serves the relationship

For all his enthusiasm, Tan does not see AI as a shortcut around human relationships.

He still believes in face-to-face meetings and that agents must read body language, listen for unspoken concerns and understand when a buyer’s expression changes the moment they walk into the right home.

“Sometimes when buyers step into a property, their eyes light up,” Tan says. “A good agent can tell. AI cannot feel that in real time.”

That, he believes, is where experience still matters.

While AI can produce data, organise information, suggest angles and automate repetitive work, it cannot replace judgement, empathy or the ability to guide a client through a high-stakes decision.

The future agent, in Tan’s view, is not the one who hides behind technology but the one who uses technology to show up better prepared.

“When everything is more efficient, the actual meetings become more meaningful,” he says. “You don’t waste time finding out small details. You can focus on the client.”

For all his experience in real estate, Tan sounds less like a veteran defending his ground and more like a student who has found a new classroom.

“When you love what you do, you never stop learning,” he says. “I’ve been in real estate for 25 years, and I’m more excited about the next five than ever. The tools are better, the reach is wider, and the opportunity to serve clients well has never been greater.”

For more information,

Contact Keith Tan | 97501055

Division Director (R003793E)

ERA REALTY NETWORK PTE LTD