It’s not unusual to see longtime commercial real estate broker Jordan Johnson with the latest gadget or testing the newest technology.
He has always been intrigued by entrepreneurship and technology throughout his 30-year career.
Aside from being an admitted fan of the latest and greatest, Johnson dove seriously into the entrepreneurial space.
He founded founded technology-focused companies such as eRealty.com, said to be the first brokerage to bring the multiple listing service or MLS database online; Xpressdocs.com, a firm that evolved from contract automation to high-end marketing collateral, serving major brands such as Coldwell Banker and Century 21; and LonestarGourmet.com, an online company focused on Texas cuisine that he later sold.
Along the way, Johnson, a fifth-generation Fort Worth native, has had a storied career as a commercial real estate broker. Early on, he began with the development of the Deep Ellum area in Dallas. He then transitioned into commercial retail, where he brokered several high-profile transactions, including the sale of riverfront property in his hometown to Pappas Restaurants.
“I’ve spent decades in brokerage and just as long early-adopting technologies that make work more efficient,” Johnson said.
No surprise then that Johnson couldn’t resist the growing marketplace for AI tools, particularly in exploring how artificial intelligence could be applied to the real estate brokerage space.
The result gave rise to Pecos Automations, a Fort Worth-based AI-driven automation platform he believes can revolutionize brokerage operations — and expand into other industries as well.
“After 30 years in commercial real estate, I know what true expertise looks like,” Johnson said. “With AI, expertise is accelerated. It shortens learning curves, compresses sales cycles and replaces busy work — so people can focus on what matters.”
Pecos Automations builds smart systems that automate lead generation, client communication and repetitive tasks so brokers can focus on deals, relationships and strategy, he explained.
“At small agencies, things can fall through the cracks,” he said. “AI can help a small agency keep up and offer some of the same services as a larger agency.”
To set up Pecos Automations, Johnson researched what technology was available and what tools made the most sense for the real estate community.
“I tried one after another and I finally arrived at building our own platform,” he said.
The platform is a combination of a handful of off-the-shelf technologies to achieve workflow automation for the clients.
“Those tools are just getting better, so we’ll update and change tools as that happens, so our customers are getting the latest,” he said.
Johnson, who is currently senior broker associate with Team & Vasseur Commercial Real Estate, used AI tools recently when he drove around two clients looking at properties in Weatherford.
Instead of doing what he and most other brokers would do — stop and take notes about the pros and cons of each — Johnson informed the clients he would record their conversations.
By the time they got back to their offices, Johnson delivered them a detailed report with bullet points on the sites visited, the clients needs and details about next steps in the process thanks to AI tools.
“We’re driving. It’s hard to take notes. You just can’t, so this just reinforces what we’ve talked about, and that’s the type of power these tools have,” he said.
Among the tools Pecos offers are AI-powered lead capture, automated follow-up workflows, customer relationship management, property marketing, instant text responses, revenue tracking dashboards, broker-client chatbots and marketing tools.
With his platform, AI can know everything about a property just by uploading a brochure to the program, Johnson said.
“So if someone calls, it can answer questions about square footage, all the basics, right away or they can be sent a brochure on a property,” he said. “I talk to people who are looking to buy property all the time and they’ll say, ‘I called the person about that property, and I haven’t heard back yet and it’s been two weeks.’ This would stop that kind of thing that really annoys clients.”
The current generation of AI tools are more accessible to smaller companies, not just large enterprises, enabling broader adoption and innovation, Johnson said.
“Smaller one- and two-person shops who previously had to wait on the price of new technologies to drop can take advantage of some of these tools at minimal cost,” he said.
Pecos Automations’ offerings will be priced based on the size of the real estate firm, Johnson said.
“We’re not a big company. We practice what we preach, and AI allows us to be more efficient as well, so it’s going to be extremely reasonable,” he said.
Johnson drew inspiration for the Pecos brand from West Texas and the Big Bend region to celebrate wide-open spaces and the freedom to work smarter from anywhere.
“The Pecos River is a metaphor,” Johnson said. “When done right, automation gives you space — space to be creative, present, human.”
While Pecos Automations is launching with a focus on commercial real estate, Johnson sees applications for the platform in other industries such as construction, roofing, health care, veterinary services, and food and beverage.
He suggests experimenting now with AI because the tools will only get more complicated in the next few years.
“Start easy and work your way up,” he said. “Things are changing quickly.”
Johnson is hardly alone in offering AI and technology tools to the real estate market.
According to a report from Fortune Business Insights, the global property technology market size was valued at $36.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow from $40.2 billion in 2025 to $88.4 billion by 2032.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
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