Property Play: Coldwell Banker’s CEO on how AI and SpaceX money will hit home prices

Summary

Kamini Lane, CEO of Coldwell Banker Realty, explains how her tech background shapes the brokerage's AI strategy, arguing that agents remain essential and that Compass's heavily funded platform gives it a competitive edge. She describes a housing market constrained more by inventory than broken fundamentals, with residential real estate still a reliable long-term asset. She expects AI wealth to stay localized, lifting San Francisco now and Southern California luxury later once SpaceX IPO lockups end.

• Kamini Lane's background includes eBay and Compass before joining Coldwell Banker Realty.
• Coldwell Banker Realty is part of Compass International Holdings after the Anywhere Real Estate merger.
• Lane says AI is pattern recognition and will not replace human agents.
• She highlights the Compass home platform as a $2 billion, 10-year end-to-end differentiator.
• National existing-home volume is slightly above Great Recession levels, with prices stabilizing and inventory the main constraint.
• AI wealth is local: San Francisco home prices are at record highs, up 18% year over year.
• SpaceX IPO lockup expirations could boost high-end Southern California real estate in late 2026 or early 2027.
• Lane says more buyers used agents than ever despite the NAR settlement, and average commissions rose at Coldwell Banker.