As the AI revolution continues to infiltrate various aspects of real estate, more and more industry professionals are incorporating AI tools into their workflows in order to increase efficiency, and more and more companies are developing such tools. However, there is a bit of a divide in public opinion when it comes to AI usage, and whether it is “trustworthy.”
Despite controversy surrounding the technology, new data from Cotality finds there is a certain level of embrace from homebuyers as far as AI usage within their real estate transactions.
Cotality’s AI in Housing 2026 report found that 75% of homebuyers are already expecting AI to be used during the home-buying process in some way, expecting it largely from property websites (86%), insurers (82%) and lenders (80%), and agents (80%) and brokers (79%).
As for whether AI is considered helpful to purchasing a home, this is where the distrust wins out. Across the generations, 50% of Gen Zers reported that AI would increase their home-buying confidence, while only 40% of millennials, 33% of Gen Xers and 21% of boomers felt the same. Gen Z’s portion is the largest due to a need for speed, specifically reporting a need for faster processes in securing legal assistance (46%) and insurance (39%).
Additionally, Cotality found that trust in AI to help find a home has taken a nosedive from 30% in 2025 to 16% in 2026. There is also little tolerance for mistakes made by AI, with 22% of Gen Zers, 19% of millennials, 11% of Gen Xers and 9% of boomers tolerating AI errors.
Concern over the validity of AI information also weighs on homebuyers, as 64% of buyers fear that AI may recycle unverified information.
AI has largely increased efficiency for many aspects of homebuying, something homebuyers have reported craving, particularly in mortgage services. Amy Gromowski, head of Data Science at Cotality, noted that with the inclusion of AI in the process, “over 7 million mortgages are originated annually—representing several trillion dollars in combined lending volume each year.”
“If AI-powered workflows shorten time to close by just one to three months, lenders can pull forward billions in repayments, recycle capital more efficiently and expand capacity without increasing headcount,” she continued.
Gromowski explained that homebuyers are largely “not rejecting AI,” but are “asking for safeguards.”
“Homebuyers want the speed and scale of AI—but not at the expense of certainty,” she continued. “They recognize AI’s power to process massive datasets and speed up decisions. But when it comes to the largest financial transaction of their lives, accuracy and accountability are non-negotiable.”
In terms of creating more trust, buyers want clear labeling of usage. Specifically, 68% said they felt labeling on property listings and mortgage recommendations was essential, and 37% thought this should become mandatory.
Buyers also want to approve usage, with 46% stating they want to give lenders and insurers prior approval to conduct automated AI valuations.
Perhaps the most specific solution for combatting AI distrust is to continue to put the human touch into the home-buying process. While 48% of buyers said they felt AI was reliable to make fair lending decisions, 55% said they would prefer to work with a person to secure a mortgage. The same follows for working with humans in legal assistance and insurance, at 66% and 56% of buyers, respectively. Most interestingly, 44% of buyers said they would pay extra to have a human assess an AI’s work in real estate to verify it.
