Artificial intelligence enters the real estate market, homes no longer look like they do in reality

The perfect photos of homes listed for sale online are not always real. Artificial intelligence is being used more and more by real estate agents to alter the appearance of homes and make them more attractive to buyers.

Virtual staging is nothing new in the real estate market, but with AI the process has become much faster and cheaper. An empty apartment can appear furnished online.

The problem starts when the alterations are not limited to furnishings. In some cases, artificial intelligence can make rooms look bigger.

This has raised concerns among buyers, who may form wrong expectations about a property based solely on online photos. The risk is even greater for people moving to another city who cannot visit the home before buying.

For this reason, the European Union’s new rules on transparency of AI-generated content require modified images to be clearly identified. Even partially AI-altered home photos may fall under these rules.

However, it remains unclear how it will be controlled in practice whether a photo has been manipulated and whether agents have applied the required labeling.

Violations of the rules could bring fines of up to 15 million euros or 3 percent of global turnover. Experts call for more transparency, so that a beautiful photo does not turn into a false promise about the home the buyer will find in reality.