AI Property Photos Mislead Buyers as 'Housefishing' Rises

1. What happened1/6

   Estate agents are using AI to rewrite what a room looks like

   The BBC reports estate agents are increasingly using AI to enhance property listing photos, a practice house-hunters are calling false advertising. The trend has been dubbed "housefishing."

   Olivia Nicole, 29, spotted a five-bedroom property on Rightmove in south-west London. The rooms were much smaller than in the photos, the decor was totally different, and a raised wall section behind the sofa simply did not exist. The windows were noticeably smaller too. The same AI-enhanced images had also appeared on Zoopla and Winkworth.

   Estate agents have long used wide-angle lens cameras or Photoshop to make homes look bigger. AI makes the process much easier and more accessible, and most of the enhanced images were not clearly labelled as AI-generated.

2. The real numbers2/6

   One in five recent UK homebuyers saw a digitally altered listing

   906UK homebuyers surveyed

   1 in 5saw AI-enhanced listing photos

   6 monthssurge in AI-enhanced images

   A recent survey of 906 UK homebuyers found that one in five who purchased a home in the past year had viewed a property where the listing photos were digitally enhanced to make the home appear better than it actually was.

   Jack Bushrod, who reviews odd property listings for his social media channel Housing Horrors, says he has seen a surge of AI-enhanced images over the last six months. The Guild of Property Professionals says it is difficult to quantify how common the practice is, but has issued guidance on using AI enhancement responsibly.

3. 

4. How it works3/6

   What AI actually changes in a listing photo

   Jack Bushrod says AI is fine for decluttering a busy room or adding furniture to an empty one so a buyer can see the space's potential. He draws the line at anything that misleads a prospective buyer or wastes their time.

   Cara, 38, was selling her home in Lowestoft, Suffolk, when her agent Howards put AI-enhanced pictures on Rightmove. In one photo her son's room was completely emptied of toys. In another, a doll's house was removed, the room was brightened, and the shape of a rug was changed.

   • Removing a pillar and adding a window that does not exist
   • Erasing stains on carpet or cracks in tiles
   • Changing the shape of a rug or brightening a dark room
   • Emptying a child's room of toys and clutter
6. How it affects your wallet4/6

   A bad viewing costs you hours of work and travel time

   Olivia Nicole spotted a five-bedroom property on Rightmove; the same AI-enhanced images had also been posted on Zoopla and Winkworth by the agent. When she arrived she initially thought she was at the wrong address. She had taken several hours off work for the viewing and had to make up the time later.

   e.g. if you take 3 hours off work at RM30 an hour, that is RM90 of lost time, plus petrol and tolls for a round trip, on a viewing that was based on photos of a room that does not exist.

   Rightmove, Zoopla and Winkworth each told the BBC they have strict guidelines on how AI can be used on their websites, and have since taken the offending images down.

7. What to do, step by step5/6

   Before you book a viewing, do these four things

   1. Ask the agent for original, unedited images before you travel. If the listing looks too clean, too bright or structurally different from the floor plan, request the raw photos.
   2. During the viewing, take your own photos from the same angles as the listing. Olivia Nicole did this and the differences were obvious side by side.
   3. Compare the listing photos against the floor plan before you go. If a window, pillar or wall section appears in one but not the other, flag it to the agent.
   4. Report misleading listings to the portal's complaint or feedback channel, and raise it with the agent in writing so there is a record.
8. Worth knowing6/6

   Jack Bushrod says most enhanced images he has seen lack AI labels

   Jack Bushrod says most of the enhanced images he has seen were not clearly labelled as AI-generated, so you cannot rely on the listing to tell you what is real and what is not. Treat every photo as a starting point, not a promise.

Source: Bbc.co.uk