Back in 1980, when I first got into real estate, “cutting-edge technology” meant a sharp pencil and a fresh stack of carbon paper. If you wanted to make a copy, you didn’t hit “print”—you pressed really hard and hoped for the best. My “database” was a shoebox full of index cards, and if I lost one… well, that client was officially off the grid.
Fast forward to today, and I sometimes feel like I’ve lived through about six different careers—all in the same business.
In the early days, everything was manual. Listings were typed out (on actual typewriters), photos were… optional (and often terrible), and marketing meant putting a sign on the lawn and maybe an ad in the newspaper if you were feeling fancy. If a buyer wanted to see a property, you got in the car and drove—no virtual tours, no FaceTime walkthroughs, no “I’ll just send you the link.”
And then came the fax machine.
At the time, we thought we had reached the pinnacle of human achievement. You could send documents over a phone line! Instantly! (Well… “instantly” meaning sometime within the next 10 minutes if the machine didn’t jam or mysteriously decide to eat page three.) I remember thinking, this is it—we’ve peaked.
Spoiler alert: we had not peaked.
The real shift started when computers entered the picture. At first, I’ll admit, I wasn’t exactly first in line. I approached technology the way most people approach a cold pool—one toe in at a time, lots of hesitation, and a strong suspicion it might kill me.
But eventually, I realized something important: this wasn’t a trend. This was the future of how we serve our clients.
So I leaned in.
Email replaced fax (thankfully). Digital listings replaced paper books. Then came websites, online marketing, and eventually social media—where, I’ll admit, I had to learn that “posting” had nothing to do with mailing letters.
At some point along the way, something unexpected happened: I went from being cautiously curious about technology to actively embracing it. Maybe even… leading with it.
We started building a real online presence at Torontoism.com, using professional photography and video (shoutout to Mark Wilson, who makes everything look far better than it has any right to), and finding new ways to tell the story of each property. Because that’s really what all this technology allows us to do—tell better stories, reach more people, and ultimately get better results.
Today, we’re using everything from data analytics to targeted digital marketing to virtual tours and beyond. The tools are incredible—but what’s more important is what they enable. Faster communication. Better exposure. Smarter decisions.
And yet… some things haven’t changed at all.
Real estate is still about people. It’s still about trust, relationships, and understanding what really matters to someone when they’re making one of the biggest decisions of their lives. No amount of technology replaces that—it just supports it.
If anything, all these advancements have reinforced what we’ve always believed at Silver Burtnick & Associates: you combine experience with innovation, and that’s where the magic happens.
Do I sometimes miss the simplicity of 1980? Sure. There was something charming about it.
But do I miss carbon paper?
Not a chance.
If you’re curious how today’s technology can help you navigate the market—or if you just want to see how far we’ve come—visit us at www.Torontoism.com or reach out to Jim Burtnick, Celia Alves, Francesca Milan, Jose Sanchez, Bill Johnston, or any of our team.
We promise: no fax machines required.
SOURCE, RICHARD SILVER, SILVER BURTNICK & ASSOCIATES, SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY CANADA
To learn more, visit TORONTOISM
