Don’t Let the Tech Replace What Really Matters

Market Insights Sean Cleaver

I should start by saying that I am not a technophobe. New technology fascinates me and, once you wade through the scaremongering from mainstream and social media, there is a lot to be excited about. That said, if I have to read one more ‘thought leadership’ article on the benefits of AI, I will undoubtably end up sobbing into my Nokia 5110.

Although 2025 was a strong year for Corep, it is not lost on me that for many it was a challenging one. Between a volatile geopolitical environment, economic uncertainty, the climate crisis and a rapidly evolving tech landscape, it is hard to imagine that working in property has ever been more complex.

I was brought up with the mantra, “when times are tough, get back to basics”, and looking back on 2025 I can attribute a lot of our progress at Corep to exactly that.

This time last year, I was looking for some inspiration and came across the most-watched TED Talk of all time: What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness. It shares insights from the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which has followed 724 people over 75 years from a range of backgrounds. Some were rich and became poor, some went the other way, many stayed somewhere in the middle.

The main finding, though, was simple: “Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.” That line has stayed with me because it cuts through a lot of the noise that we are all dealing with at the moment.

In a world where technology is so commonly being looked at for all of the answers, I still believe the fundamentals have not changed. It isn’t AI, automation or platforms that will carry us through difficult years, it is the strength of the relationships that we nurture – with clients, partners and each other.

Of course, at Corep we use technology every day and are always interested to see how it can help us work more efficiently. But we are very clear about where the value really comes from. Tech can support the work; it cannot replace the judgement, empathy and trust that sit at the heart of any good businesses.

And without realising it – this has been at the heart of Corep not just throughout 2025, but since the business was created. I can relate almost all of our success (and happiness) to the strong relationships that we have, not just with our clients but also within the business. So, looking forward into this uncertain year, it is undeniable that we will continue to embrace technology as we move through 2026 but at the core of it all, at the very heart of everything that we do will be the quality of our relationships.

Shamelessly written by me, Sean Cleaver – a human. Not AI.