The AI House Hunter Meets a Skeptical Market

Realtor.com launched RealAssist AI, a conversational assistant built on Google’s Gemini that lets buyers describe what they want in plain language and receive listings: pulling in MLS data, affordability calculations and agent connections without the traditional filter interface. A broader rollout follows a current beta.

The timing is deliberate and complicated. The 2026 housing market remains sluggish, with near-record costs and scarce inventory. Buyers, per the 2026 ServiceLink State of Homebuying Report, are entering the process stressed and underprepared. Realtor.com is pitching RealAssist as the connective tissue between the fragmented steps that currently don’t talk to each other — listing searches, mortgage math, neighborhood research and agent calls.

What It Has to Clear

Realtor.com is launching into a market where artificial intelligence and real estate already have a credibility problem.

New York’ Department of State warned about a significant rise in AI-generated listing photos that produce misleading or exaggerated representations of properties. California’s Assembly Bill 723, which took effect in January, requires agents to disclose when listing photos have been digitally altered and provide originals. University of Chicago research found that AI-generated listing content triggers measurable buyer distrust, with both sides of the transaction losing efficiency as a result.

Nearly 70% of Realtors have used AI tools in some capacity, the National Association of Realtors reported, yet the industry still lacks standardized guidelines for how those tools should be disclosed to buyers.

Though RealAssist is a search interface, buyers arriving at any AI-powered real estate experience in 2026 are arriving with reasons to be skeptical.

That distrust isn’t limited to listing photos. PYMNTS Intelligence found that while 70% of consumers are open to AI agents for shopping. But Cotality’s survey of prospective buyers found trust in AI to help find a home fell to 16%, down from 30% a year earlier, even as AI tools became more widely used.

What the Stakes Are

A home purchase can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and carry 30-year financial consequences. That’s a different kind of test than most AI consumer tools face, one where a missed detail or a misread affordability calculation has consequences that compound over time.

Redfin noted that near-record monthly costs and limited listings have kept the 2026 housing market sluggish, with activity only beginning to return. Buyers navigating that market need accurate affordability math and reliable listing data. Marketplace reported that Realtor.com’s own senior economist called 2025 “a year of frustration” for both buyers and sellers, with inventory scarce and prices elevated throughout.

RealAssist handles affordability calculations alongside listing search, pulling in taxes, insurance and HOA fees into payment estimates. It also connects buyers to agents within the platform. Whether buyers trust those outputs enough to act on them is a question the beta period is designed to answer.

A Crowded Bet

Realtor.com isn’t alone. Zillow, Redfin and a growing number of mortgage platforms have each moved to embed AI into the home search experience over the past 18 months. The competition is less about who builds the tool first and more about which platform buyers trust enough to stay in.

Realtor.com said the full rollout of RealAssist AI is coming shortly.

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