The Real Estate Tech Graveyard: Why Most Tools Die and How Yours Can Survive
Halloween Edition, 2025
Every year, a new wave of PropTech startups shows up with big promises.
AI lead generation. Smart CRMs. Blockchain closings.
By the next Halloween, most are gone.
Why? Because they build for pitch decks, not for agents.
The 2025 NAR Technology Survey shows what agents actually use. The pattern is clear if you stop chasing trends and start solving problems.
What Tools Agents Still Use
These are the top five technologies adopted by agents in 2025:
eSignature platforms – 80 percent
MLS apps and sites – 66 percent
Lockboxes – 62 percent
Social media tools – 52 percent
CRMs – 48 percent
None of these are new. None are flashy. All of them are practical.
They help agents close deals, reduce friction, and stay mobile. That is why they survive.
Why These Tools Stay Alive
Every one of these tools does one or both of the following:
Saves time
Helps make money
That’s the real filter. If your product cannot show either outcome in the first week, you are wasting their time.
Why Agents Ignore Most Tech
Here’s where agents get their tools, and who they trust to provide them:
Agents are not slow to adopt. They are quick to move on from anything that creates friction.
Here is what gets your tool ignored:
Requires a new login
Has a long setup
Solves a future problem
Needs the client to adapt
Promises ROI but shows nothing today
Agents are paid on closed deals. They do not have time to experiment. You have one shot to prove value.
How to Keep Your Product Alive
Here is the playbook. No fluff.
1. Solve One Painful, Immediate Problem
Agents don’t need vision. They need help with today.
Ask them what slows them down. Build only for that.
2. Prove Real Value Fast
If it doesn’t help them close one more deal in the first 30 days, it won’t survive.
Use numbers, not features.
3. Work With What They Already Use
Agents are already juggling multiple platforms.
Your product must integrate with their CRM, MLS, calendar, and email.
4. Make Onboarding Frictionless
Training should take less than 10 minutes.
If they need a webinar, it’s already too complicated.
Give them a checklist with a result at the end.
5. Use Real Agent Success to Sell
Skip the sales script.
Share short stories from agents in real markets.
How they used your product and what it did for their pipeline.
6. Give Brokerages a Clear Hook
You will not get forced adoption, but brokers will support tools that help recruit, retain, or reduce liability.
Build a version that does that, and they will promote it.
7. What They’re Willing to Pay
If you're pricing your tool, know your lane. According to the 2025 survey, 34 percent of agents spend $50 to $250 per month on technology. Another 24 percent spend over $500. That leaves a wide middle. If your product costs more than their monthly CRM, you better deliver results that feel urgent, not optional.
The Best Time to Launch Tech That Lives
Fall is when most agents stop chasing summer leads and start refining their stack. It's not just planning season. It’s adoption season.
If your product solves a clear pain, plugs into what they already use, and gets them closer to one more closing, this is when it lands.
I wrote about why Fall is the best time to launch your MVP here:
Why Fall Is the Smart Time to Launch Your PropTech MVP
The Real Horror
The real horror is not that agents ignore new tech.
It’s that good tech dies because it wastes the first impression.
If your product does not solve a core problem in the first few days, you won’t get a second chance.
You can’t ask for trust. You have to earn it. Fast.
xoxo,
Maximillian Diez, GP
Twenty Five Ventures
Have a safe Halloween!
P.S. Stay with me on this journey.
If nothing else, thanks for reading.
