Technology has brought many innovations to the real estate industry. From instant MLS access to e-signatures, the business has become more efficient and mobile than in past decades.

Despite those innovations, there are still core aspects of the business that technology can never replace, and we have detailed three of them below.

1. The Human Touch – Text messages and Facebook posts are quick and easy ways to stay in touch, but they are hardly substitutes for true dialogue and conversation. Can you imagine, for instance, walking a client through their loan documents via text? Or using Facebook to ease the anxieties of a client whose offer was just rejected?

Real estate agents provide emotional support during the buying and selling process, and no app or device can replicate that.

2. The Perspective – Looking at numbers is one thing, but having the perspective needed to act on them is an entirely different matter. The Internet enables consumers to easily find information about any housing market. Zillow shows us how much a neighbor’s home sold for. The Case-Shiller shows us how much prices have risen. And Redfin shows us how long it takes for something to sell.

Without a learned perspective on all those numbers – and a direct application to how they affect a specific client’s home search – they will not amount to much. Remember that Steve Jobs labeled technology the “bicycle for the mind,” not the “replacement for the mind.”

3. The Personal Allegiance – Finally, technology will not provide the personal allegiances that truly propel the real estate industry forward. Again, there are some technological offerings that have complemented the process, such as lead generation software and e-newsletters, but those tools cannot replace the value that a client relationship provides across the generations.