Best real estate tech tools for 2026
Best real estate tech tools for 2026
https://chicagoagentmagazine.com/2026/02/02/best-real-estate-tech-2/
Publish Date: 2026-02-02 06:05:00
Source Domain: chicagoagentmagazine.com
When it comes to real estate technology, top agents emphasize one thing: The best tools don’t replace effort — they enhance how you think, organize and connect with clients.
For Grigory Pekarsky, managing broker at Vesta Preferred Realty, technology is less a list of apps and more a “nervous system” for his business. The tools he relies on most act as “intelligent glue,” connecting his 18 years of market instinct directly to data. He warns against the industry’s pursuit of a “centaur” — a digital assistant meant to do the work for you. He views AI instead as a “cyborg extension”— a multiplier of effort. “If you input laziness, it will just multiply your mediocrity,” Pekarsky said. His biggest wasted
investment? Anything marketed as an “easy button” that promised to replace grit rather than empower it. For new agents, Pekarsky recommends skipping lead purchases and investing in a top-tier LLM like ChatGPT or Gemini, and then spending time teaching it your voice, fears and market logic so it becomes a mirror, not a shortcut.
As a broker and owner of the Sarah Leonard Team at Legacy Properties, Sarah Leonard relies on technology to keep her team efficient and connected. With over 600 deals annually, she swears by her CRM. “Everyone has labels, and all our information is stored in one place. Our past clients are our No. 1 income source, so we would be lost without it,” she said.
Leonard found that investing in heavily produced live video content didn’t suit her team’s style, as it was time-consuming and difficult to keep up while actively selling. For new agents, Leonard recommends a twofold approach: First, invest in a database to build your sphere of influence, and second, use ChatGPT as a free, always-available assistant to help generate ideas and support tasks that don’t come naturally.
Focusing on day-to-day efficiency, the Jane Lee Team with RE/MAX, relies on a small set of trusted platforms….
