Homebuyers embrace AI speed but want human checks and clear guardrails
For mortgage brokers, AI is no longer a futuristic add‑on – it is baked into how clients expect to search, compare, and qualify. Cotality’s AI in Housing 2026 report finds three in four buyers already assume artificial intelligence is used somewhere in the homebuying journey, from property search engines to automated valuations and pre‑qualification rate quotes.
But acceptance is not the same as trust. Among US prospective buyers, confidence in AI tools for finding a home has nearly halved since 2025, and similar patterns show up across Canada, the UK, and Australia.
The report also highlights a “trust cliff”: 70% of buyers say a major AI error in a listing would reduce their trust in the platform, compared with 60% after an equivalent human mistake, meaning brokers and lenders face a bigger reputational hit when AI gets basic housing facts wrong.
Chief data and analytics officer John Rogers notes that “the market has passed the adoption phase. Buyers are not asking whether AI is involved — they assume it is.” That leaves a tougher question: whether lenders and brokers can prove AI‑assisted decisions are fair, accurate, and contestable.
Disclosure and verification become must‑haves
The report highlights a sharp shift from “AI as a feature” to AI as a governance issue. Around 68% of buyers want clear notification whenever AI generates a listing, price, or mortgage recommendation, and older borrowers are the most likely to want those disclosures mandated in law. As Cotality data science head Amy Gromowski puts it, “Disclosure is no longer optional differentiation. It is the floor.”
At the same time, 64% of respondents worry that AI tools are recycling unverified data across multiple sites, and two‑thirds say they would manually check every detail or a significant amount of AI‑provided housing information. Forty‑four per cent are willing to pay extra for a human expert to verify AI‑driven decisions on borrowing capacity, property risk or mortgage rates – evidence of a growing “verification economy” that brokers are well placed to serve.
Millennials and Gen Z are the heaviest regular users of AI tools, yet they are also the most likely cohorts to pay for human verification of AI housing decisions, while Baby Boomers are the most insistent that AI use is clearly labelled.
Rate volatility and hyper‑personal pricing
A separate concern is that real‑time data could make mortgage rates feel less stable. Nearly half of buyers say they would feel less secure if AI were used to update mortgage and insurance rates more frequently, fearing hyper‑personalised pricing that shifts faster than they can respond.
For first‑home buyers and property investors alike, the report suggests AI‑enabled speed is no longer the main selling point. As Cotality’s Anand Srinivasan argues, “The next competitive advantage in lending technology is not faster approvals, it is clearer ones.”
For advisers, that means positioning AI tools as transparent, explainable, and always backed by a named adviser who can validate the numbers and help clients navigate high‑stakes decisions.
Access the full Cotality report here.
Stay informed with the latest housing market trends and mortgage insights — subscribe to our free daily newsletter.
