With REALTORS® relying on eSignature more than any other tool, the competition between DocuSign, Authentisign, Sabal Sign, and new AI-driven solutions is just getting started.
The 2025 NAR Realtor Technology Survey confirmed what we already know: eSignature is the most heavily used technology in the real estate industry. Seventy-nine percent of realtors report using eSignature tools, edging out even social media and drone photography as the most adopted technologies. When adoption reaches this level, it signals more than convenience; it marks a category that shapes how the industry does business.
Forms: The essential ingredient
WAV Group has long studied transaction management adoption, and our foundational research in this area still holds true today: forms are the essential ingredient.
As we noted decades ago, “Without forms, transaction management systems are empty shells. They are the currency of the contract, the most important asset of every REALTOR® association, and the foundation of cooperation with the government for the benefit of consumers and professionals alike.”
That statement still applies today.
Forms and Forms Libraries are copyrighted, typically owned by REALTOR® Associations, and remain one of the most valuable member benefits. They represent decades of REALTOR® association collaboration with government at the local, state, and national levels. For realtors and consumers alike, even in states where attorneys manage closings, these forms are essential.
The signature is the most vital legal event on the contract. eSignature platforms will highlight their feature sets, but in the eyes of the law, every leading provider delivers a binding, legal signature.
- DocuSign holds the brand lead and consumer trust. Consumers may experience Authentisign in a real estate transaction, but they use DocuSign for everything else.
- Authentisign enjoys powerful industry adoption through Lone Wolf’s platform bundling.
- Sabal Sign, a new entrant through Florida Realtors’ Forms Simplicity platform, offers REALTOR® associations a path toward technology sovereignty.
The Agent vs. the Transaction Coordinator
From the early days of transaction management, a key adoption challenge has persisted. Agents often view transaction management systems as bloated and cumbersome, while transaction coordinators and administrators embrace them for compliance and workflow oversight.
Our research has consistently shown that “agents adopt transaction management when required for commission disbursement, but they rarely champion it. Compliance officers and transaction coordinators, however, consider it indispensable.”
This divide continues to define adoption patterns, and it explains why, despite decades of availability, transaction management hasn’t achieved the same universal embrace as eSignature.
Interoperability: The unsolved problem
The larger issue isn’t usability. It’s interoperability. WAV Group has authored many papers on this topic, and the challenge remains unsolved.
As one of our earlier reports put it: “Transaction management fails when systems cannot talk to each other. Real estate is inherently collaborative, yet our tools remain stubbornly isolated.”
Real estate is fundamentally about two companies collaborating. If Broker X and Broker Y are using different transaction management systems that don’t communicate, the system fails. The challenge doesn’t stop at brokers; mortgage, title, insurance, inspection, and appraisal companies all run their own systems, creating a patchwork of disconnected silos.
The entry point of AI in transaction management
The entry point of AI into transaction management is already well underway. Leading firms are actively working with WAV Group’s wholly owned subsidiary, Fluente, to address two persistent enterprise pain points:
- Forms selection: AI is proving adept at learning the rules that govern what forms are required for a transaction. By reducing the risk of a missing form—a problem that can delay closings and frustrate REALTORS® and customers alike—AI ensures greater compliance and smoother workflows.
- Contract review: Today, contract review remains one of the most labor-intensive parts of transaction management. Fluente projects are training AI to become expert reviewers. These AI assistants are sharp-eyed, flagging potential errors or inconsistencies ahead of human review. The human will always be in the middle, but now they’re supported by an AI force-multiplier that enables more transactions to be processed with greater efficiency and fewer mistakes.
Looking ahead: AI, sovereignty, and MCP
It’s not likely to be solved in 2026. But by 2030, we speculate that adoption of MCP servers across companies could enable Agentic AI workflows that securely bridge systems. These AI-driven platforms would allow brokers, lenders, title, and other transaction participants to collaborate seamlessly without forcing everyone onto the same transaction management system.
Such solutions will tend to favor the large incumbents like DocuSign, who already have global scale and brand trust. But sovereign solutions, like Sabal Sign’s entry, will continue to appeal to REALTOR® Associations determined to keep control of their contracts and protect member benefits.
As we wrote more than a decade ago, “Transaction management will only achieve its full potential when interoperability is solved. Until then, adoption will remain partial, compliance-driven, and uneven.”
That prediction continues to shape the path forward.
As consultants, we recognize this is speculative. But part of our role is to see first what others eventually see. Interoperability, powered by AI and MCP, is the missing link and the future battleground in transaction management. And let’s not forget that Fidelity’s Skyslope and Zillow’s DotLoop are still in the game.
Size matters in this battle. If State Associations and leading Franchises that serve over 100,000 real estate agents start selecting the same provider, a king will be crowned. Position your business now. Reach out below to explore how AI-driven interoperability and next-gen eSignature solutions can future-proof your transactions and give your agents the edge.
