A real estate transaction typically involves around ten stakeholders, from the seller to the notary, including the diagnostician and the banking institution. Each step generates documents, deadlines, and risks of error. Digitalization and digital tools are now changing the way these exchanges are structured, with direct consequences on the duration and reliability of each file.
Electronic authentic act and XML structuring: what changes concretely
Since 2025, the electronic authentic act has become the general rule for French notaries. This evolution is based on the revision of the European eIDAS regulation in 2024 and a French law on digital trust dated January 15, 2024. Remote signing now covers the majority of real estate transactions.
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A decree from November 7, 2024, simultaneously imposes a standardized XML structuring of acts. Collection documents, such as the famous “notary checkbox,” become data grids directly usable by business software. For buyers and sellers, this means less manual re-entry and fewer documents lost between two email boxes.
This standardization is not trivial: it allows automated workflows to verify the consistency of a file even before a human opens it. A missing field, a discrepancy in land area, or an expired identity document are detected upstream, reducing back-and-forth between the notarial office and the parties.
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Professionals seeking more information about Detectis Immo can discover how this expertise aligns with current requirements for digitalization and document reliability.
Real estate transaction timelines: from several months to a few weeks
Notarial digitalization has a measurable effect on the timeline of a sale. Professional feedback indicates that a standard transaction, which took an average of three to four months in 2022, can now be completed in about six weeks when the entire document chain is digitized.
This time saving does not rely on a single tool but on the convergence of several factors:
- The digitized collection of file documents (diagnostics, property title, mortgage status) reduces the notarial processing time.
- Electronic signing eliminates the constraints of physical travel, streamlining the schedule for parties located far apart.
- Automated checks on XML-structured data limit late correction requests.
The time savings benefit both the seller and the buyer. A file closed more quickly also means faster fund release from the bank and earlier possession of the property.
Artificial intelligence and real estate regulation: the framework established by the AI Act
Artificial intelligence is making its way into the real estate sector through automated valuation, ad sorting, virtual home staging, and contact chatbots. Since August 2, 2026, the European AI Act imposes enhanced transparency obligations on agencies using these technologies.
Two points deserve particular attention. First, any ad whose visuals have been manipulated by AI must explicitly mention this. Second, chatbots interacting with prospects must indicate their automated nature from the first exchange.
For agencies, this regulation imposes traceability of the tools used. An estimation software must be able to explain the criteria used to produce a price range. Algorithmic transparency becomes a legal obligation, not just a commercial argument.
Real estate valuation and open data
Valuation models rely on public databases (DVF, cadastre) combined with proprietary information. The quality of a valuation directly depends on the freshness and granularity of the data used.
A tool that aggregates sales from the last twelve months at the neighborhood level produces a more reliable result than a model based on departmental averages. Local real estate data remains the determining factor for accuracy.
End of real estate cold calling: adapting prospecting methods
The regulatory framework for prospecting is also evolving. Restrictions on real estate cold calling require professionals to rethink their mandate acquisition strategy. Phone canvassing, long a pillar of agency prospecting, is losing ground to digital channels.
Agencies anticipating this transition are investing in online visibility: local SEO, targeted ads, informative content on their websites. The shift from an outbound prospecting model to an inbound model changes the relationship with potential sellers, who reach out on their own initiative.
This evolution favors structures capable of producing reliable and accessible online valuations, as the first instinct of an owner considering a sale remains to search for their property’s value online before contacting a professional.
Right of preemption and real estate transactions: simplifying the procedure
A recent decree simplifies the management of the right of preemption in real estate transactions, notably allowing the reuse of a still-valid domain notice.
For sellers, the practical consequence is direct: the notary must notify the competent authority before any final signature. A delay in this notification can block the sale or lead to the nullity of the act. Document management tools that integrate this workflow prevent oversights by automating the sending of the declaration of intent to alienate (DIA).
- Authorities have a defined timeframe to exercise or waive their right.
- Automating the DIA in notarial software reduces the risk of post-sale litigation.
The simplification of real estate transactions does not rely on a single tool but on the interplay between document standardization, regulatory framework, and suitable digital tools. The right of preemption illustrates this logic well: a technical procedure, little publicized, that nevertheless modifies the actual timeline of each affected sale.