Field notes / Real estate & AI
Sotheby’s
GNE 2026:
real estate’s
next chapter.
Fifty years of relationships. A new era of connected technology. What I brought home from San Francisco—and what it means for your business.
I went to San Francisco to celebrate a remarkable legacy. I came home thinking about the systems that will shape what comes next.
Sotheby’s International Realty’s 2026 Global Networking Event marked the brand’s 50th anniversary. The gathering brought our network together around relationships, referrals and the future of the business.[1] It was an amazing few days—and a useful reminder that a global brand’s strength still comes down to people.
In my work with brokerage owners, team leaders and top producers across the United States and Canada, I keep returning to one question: how do we turn new technology into a more thoughtful client experience? GNE gave that question a very tangible setting. We explored HOME, talked about the industry’s direction and heard a powerful message about the discipline required to keep improving.
01 / Connected technology
HOME brings the work
closer together.
The opportunity is a connected business: client information, marketing, search and transactions working within a shared environment.
A working AI assistant
CIH says its AI Assistant can update contacts, draft follow-up emails, create saved searches, set reminders and assist with transaction tasks through conversational requests.[3]
More useful signals
Buyer Demand and Reverse Prospecting help agents evaluate interest. Collections supports buyer collaboration, while AI Assistant can surface Likely to Sell opportunities from the agent’s business.[2][3]
A clearer client journey
Marketing Center brings digital and print creation into one workspace. The Client Dashboard connects communications, documents, timelines and listing activity.[2]
From capability to client care
My practical takeaway: a good system should help an agent remember the next useful action. A reviewed follow-up after a showing, an accurate saved search or a timely milestone update can make the experience feel more personal. Automation needs clear ownership and a person checking the work.
What about the financial side?
There is a concrete closing connection: Qualia’s October 8 announcement describes title ordering and file tracking from HOME. Its expanded rollout begins with a CIH title company on October 12, followed by others in 2027.[4] That supports coordination; it does not establish an autonomous financial adviser or mortgage approval tool.
Availability matters. CIH’s announced rollout covers company-owned brokerages in 2026, with franchisees and affiliates gaining access in 2027.[3] Confirm your office’s access and training plan before promising a feature to a client.
02 / The industry conversation
What should
the MLS do
for our industry?
A conversation with Robert ReffkinI had the opportunity to speak briefly with Robert Reffkin, Chairman and CEO of Compass International Holdings, about his perspective on the role the multiple listing service should play in real estate.
That conversation sits within a much larger public debate. In his published position, Reffkin supports an MLS built around professional cooperation. His argument separates sharing information among brokers from requiring distribution to third-party consumer platforms.[5]
- 01Cooperation as the core purpose. He describes the MLS as shared infrastructure that helps brokers and agents serve their existing clients.
- 02More control over distribution. He challenges an MLS model that supplies listing data to portals and AI companies without sufficient alignment with agents’ and clients’ interests.[5]
- 03More seller marketing flexibility. Ahead of GNE, his public campaign focused on allowing office-exclusive listings to be publicly marketed without agents being fined for keeping them outside the MLS.[6]
These are Reffkin’s public arguments, rather than a transcript of our exchange. They are contested: CRMLS argues that its cooperation rules protect broad access and transparency.[6] For me, the useful leadership question is how we explain the trade-offs—reach, privacy, access and control—clearly enough for a client to make an informed decision.
03 / The human advantage
Lindsey Vonn.
Grit that travels
beyond the mountain.
Keynote speaker Lindsey Vonn brought the conversation back to grit, adversity and work ethic. Those were the themes that stayed with me. Technology can improve a process; we still have to show up and do the work.
The program also featured Larry Kendall, author of Ninja Selling.[7] Seeing relationship building and emerging technology share the same agenda reinforced my own view: real estate systems should make it easier to listen, remember and follow through.
For a team leader, the lesson is practical. Make practice part of the calendar. Coach the conversation as carefully as the tool. Give people a repeatable standard they can maintain when business gets busy.
for better human moments.
04 / Bring it home
One workflow.
Thirty days of follow-through.
Here is the pilot I would recommend to an agent or team in Hampton Roads—or any North American market: improve the handoff from a client conversation to the next useful action.
Week 1 / Build the foundation
Give the CRM context.
Choose one client segment. Confirm contact details, stated preferences and the next action. Assign an owner. Use only information you have permission to process, in tools your brokerage approves.
Week 2 / Make it repeatable
Draft. Review. Follow up.
Turn approved meeting notes into a concise recap, a proposed follow-up and a task. Have the agent verify the facts and tone before anything reaches the client. Test the handoff before scaling it.
Weeks 3–4 / Learn from use
Measure the experience.
Track overdue tasks, time spent preparing updates and meaningful client responses. Ask what became easier. Refine the process around that evidence before adding more automation.
This is a proposed implementation plan, not a claim of measured results from GNE or a guarantee of platform performance.
Build your own AI roadmapThe people. The place. The perspective.
A few moments from GNE.
A visual journal from San Francisco and Sotheby’s International Realty’s anniversary celebration.
Explore seven more moments
A little more context
Your questions,
answered.
What was Sotheby’s GNE 2026?
The Global Networking Event brought the Sotheby’s International Realty network to San Francisco, October 6–8, 2026, for its 50th anniversary gathering. Moscone Center West was the conference venue.[1]
Is HOME available to every Sotheby’s agent?
Access is phased. CIH announced a 2026 rollout for company-owned brokerages and 2027 access for franchisees and affiliates. Your brokerage can confirm its own timing and available features.[3]
Does AI replace the real estate adviser?
My approach is to use AI for preparation and follow-through while the agent owns the advice, verifies the information and remains accountable to the client. Good automation supports a relationship; service still needs judgment.
Where should a real estate team start?
Start with one recurring workflow and a clear owner. Use the AI Roadmap to choose a direction, the Content Library for a process and the AI Skills Bank to create the supporting assets.
Sources & reporting notes · checked October 12, 2026
- Sotheby’s International Realty: About GNE 2026 and official dates.
- CIH: Home Platform rollout and tools · July 2, 2026.
- CIH: AI Assistant announcement · July 20, 2026.
- Qualia: expanded CIH closing partnership · October 8, 2026.
- Robert Reffkin: public position on MLS cooperation · LinkedIn, 2026.
- Real Estate News: Compass and CRMLS positions on listing rules · October 5, 2026, with October 6 response.
- Sotheby’s International Realty: official GNE speaker program.
Event impressions and the account of my conversation are firsthand. Product capabilities and rollout dates are attributed to company announcements. MLS policy descriptions reflect the parties’ positions, not a legal conclusion. Photography supplied by the author.
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