Real estate listings see more AI-altered and fake photos

In short: More home and apartment listings are using AI-made or heavily edited photos, making it harder for buyers and renters to know what is real.

What's going on

Reports and consumer warnings say real estate listings are increasingly showing photos that do not match the actual property. Some images are lightly touched up, but others are “virtually staged” (furniture is added on a computer), and some appear to be fully generated by AI, which can create a room image from scratch.

The most common issue is misrepresentation. A listing might show a room that looks bigger or brighter than it is, remove cracks or water stains, or “improve” the outside of the building. In the worst cases, the photos may show a property that does not match the real address, like a catalog photo used for the wrong item.

A June 2026 study cited by RealEstateNews found nearly 11% of about 40,000 main listing photos across Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, and Homes.com showed signs of digital alteration.

What to watch

Rules are starting to catch up. California’s AB 723 requires real estate promotional images that were digitally altered, whether with standard photo software or AI, to be clearly labeled and to include the original, unedited photo.

For consumers, experts point to simple checks: do a reverse-image search on a couple of photos to see if they appear elsewhere online, compare the exterior to Google Street View for the address, and look for disclosures that an image was digitally altered. Red flags include too-perfect rooms, inconsistent lighting, warped door or window shapes, and strange reflections.

Source: NYTimes