AI-enhanced property photos are deceiving buyers, and the phenomenon already has a name: housefishing
When real estate agent Sonia Rodriguez showed up to tour a four-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in Annandale, Virginia, she expected to find exactly what she had seen in the listing photos: a clean, well-lit space ready to move into. What she found when she opened the door was something very different. Walls with visible wear, pots piled on the stove, and a cat staring at her from the top of a cluttered dresser. The gap between what appeared in the online listing and the reality of the property was a shock.
This story, reported to Business Insider, is an increasingly common example of a phenomenon that has earned its own name in the American real estate market: housefishing. The term is a direct nod to catfishing, that well-known practice of using misleading photos on dating profiles. But here the subject involves property listings supercharged by artificial intelligence, where dirty rooms get a shine, modern furniture appears out of nowhere, and structural defects simply vanish from the photos. The result is a frustrating experience for buyers and renters who waste time, money, and energy visiting properties that simply do not look like that in real life.
The situation has gotten so serious in the United States that California has already passed specific legislation requiring transparency in the disclosure of digitally edited photos in real estate listings. The law, known as Assembly Bill No. 723, went into effect in January 2026 and requires agents and platforms to clearly disclose when an image has been altered by digital tools, including AI. But is that enough to curb a trend that only keeps growing as editing tools become more accessible and sophisticated?
The gap between the listing and reality is getting absurd
Rodriguez estimates that between 30% and 40% of the properties she visits do not exactly match what appears in the listing photos. The Virginia agent said that visit to the apartment in Annandale was the first time the difference between photos and reality was that drastic. Her clients’ verdict? They walked right out.
Rodriguez’s experience is far from unique. Jake Gordon, an agent based in Long Beach, California, reported bringing a client to a property only to discover an unpleasant surprise upon arrival: power lines on the lot that simply did not appear in any of the online listing photos.
It wasted my time, my client’s time, and it just felt like false advertising, Gordon told Business Insider. He added that many of his clients have demanding work and family schedules, which makes every property visit a significant commitment. Showing up and realizing the photos do not reflect reality creates a level of frustration that is hard to ignore.
Both Gordon and Rodriguez say they frequently encounter properties that look significantly different from their AI-enhanced photos, though the degree of discrepancy varies from case to case. On social media, particularly egregious examples of listings with AI edits have gone viral, sparking a wave of consumer complaints accusing the technology of enabling deceptive advertising on a massive scale.
What is housefishing, and why has it spread so fast
Housefishing is essentially the exaggerated digital makeover of properties in online listings. With the advancement of generative AI tools, it has become absurdly easy and cheap to transform any space. A bare, uninspiring room can gain designer furniture, perfect natural lighting, and finishes that do not exist. An abandoned backyard can turn into a magazine-worthy garden. And the most concerning part: all of this can be done in a matter of minutes, with zero technical knowledge of image editing.
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The problem is not the technology itself. So-called virtual staging — the digital decoration of spaces — has existed in real estate for years and has always been a legitimate marketing tool. The difference is that this practice used to be expensive, handled by specialized professionals, and usually accompanied by clear disclaimers stating that the images were for illustrative purposes only. Now, with the democratization of AI, anyone can go far beyond simple decoration and literally alter the structure of a property in photos. Cracks disappear, damaged roofs look brand new, outdated bathrooms get modern finishes. And often without any indication that the image was digitally manipulated.
Melody Storey, a real estate agent in Oklahoma with more than two decades of experience in the industry, is an example of how AI has become part of the daily routine for real estate professionals. She told Business Insider that she was introduced to the tool by her 22-year-old son, who suggested she try the technology to visualize how one of her rental properties would look after a major renovation.
I tried it, the AI brought some ideas, and I loved it, Storey said.
The agent has watched the industry’s technological evolution up close. Before platforms like Zillow and Realtor.com became mainstream, property listings were published in newspapers, where only a handful of photos could fit on a page. The shift to digital forced professionals like Storey to adapt. She went from borrowing the office’s only camera to photograph properties, to hiring photographers for hundreds of dollars, to the current point where she does everything with her phone. Now, with AI, the same home staging tricks that once required hiring specialized professionals can be executed in seconds.
I have used virtual staging in the past, done by my photographer, but I do not need that anymore. Now I just tell the AI what I want, Storey explained.
AI tools are making the market easier — and more complicated
Sub Gautam, owner of a software agency who also worked as an Airbnb host in London, created an AI tool called PropertyPixel specifically to simplify the process of enhancing property photos. To test the technology’s limits, he photographed his own messy apartment and deliberately made the mess worse before running the images through the tool.
I took photos of my messy apartment and made it even messier, just to test the limits of the tool, Gautam, 31, told Business Insider.
With PropertyPixel, Gautam can digitally tidy up his kitchen and pick up clothes off the floor without actually doing any housework. He acknowledges that the more he uses the tool, the better the results get, but he makes an important caveat about the technology’s limitations.
AI has an inherent randomness. You need to be careful, he warned.
And even those who profit directly from these tools recognize there is a clear ethical boundary. Gautam himself drew a line he considers reasonable: it is fine for AI to pick up a T-shirt from the bed or toys from the floor. It is not fine for AI to replace torn wallpaper.
Ashley Marks, a real estate photographer specializing in the Northern Virginia area, now offers AI enhancements as part of her services. However, she always makes a point of warning agents against going overboard. According to Marks, some agents have already asked her to remove carpet stains or digitally fix holes in walls. Her answer is always the same: I can do it, but if the property is going to look like that during the showing, you could be in serious trouble.
California’s regulatory response and the role of transparency
The legislation passed in California is considered groundbreaking and represents an important first step in addressing housefishing in a structured way. Assembly Bill No. 723, which went into effect on January 1, 2026, requires that any digitally altered image used in property listings or promotional materials must include a clear disclosure. Additionally, when digitally altered photos are published online, the original, unedited version must also be made available to consumers.
Gordon, the Long Beach agent, praised his state’s initiative. It is all about transparency, so I support it, he said, though he acknowledged that making the law work in practice could be tricky. For agents, it could mean a new layer of compliance. The challenge will be defining where the line falls between normal photo enhancement and altering the reality of a property.
Alan Zall, a lawyer and real estate broker in California, also told Business Insider that the law is a start, but it is far from a perfect solution. According to him, it is difficult to legislate on something where the agent’s intent can be ambiguous. The question is: was the intent of the person who did this to deceive, or did they genuinely not understand the complexities of AI because it is relatively new?
In Virginia, where Rodriguez works, there is no legal requirement to disclose that photos have been digitally altered. She noted, however, that Realtors — agents who are members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) — are bound by a code of ethics that requires fair representation of properties. The catch is that a code of ethics is not a law, and not every real estate agent in the United States is a NAR member. So technically, those ethical rules do not apply to every professional in the industry.
As the original Business Insider article puts it: the use of AI in real estate is still a bit like the Wild West, where the rules are being written as the game unfolds.
The landscape beyond the United States and the impact in Brazil
California’s legislation could serve as a model for other American states and for other countries as well. The Brazilian real estate market still does not have specific regulations on the use of artificial intelligence in listing photos, but the practice is already spreading there. With the growth of digital sales and rental platforms like QuintoAndar, Zap Imóveis, and OLX, the trend is for housefishing to become a real concern on the national stage as well.
The conversation around transparency in real estate listings is something that should gain momentum in the coming years, especially as AI tools become more powerful and accessible. Today, anyone with a smartphone can completely transform the appearance of a room in just a few taps. This puts enormous pressure on the market to establish clear standards of conduct and ensure consumers have reliable information to make decisions as important as buying or renting a home.
The balance between technology and honesty in real estate
It is important to make clear that artificial intelligence is not the villain in this story. In fact, when used ethically and transparently, it can be a powerful ally for both sellers and buyers. Well-executed virtual staging helps buyers visualize the potential of an empty space, making decision-making easier. AI tools can also be used to generate more detailed listing descriptions, create immersive virtual tours, and even predict appreciation trends in specific neighborhoods.
The problem arises when the technology is used to deceive rather than inform. The line between attractive marketing and misleading advertising in real estate has always existed, but artificial intelligence is making that boundary much thinner and harder to spot.
For agents and brokerages looking to stand out in a positive way, transparency can become a real competitive advantage. Clearly indicating which photos have been digitally altered, offering side-by-side comparisons of original and edited images, and providing actual video walkthroughs of properties are practices that build trust with the public. In a market where distrust is likely to grow because of housefishing, those who bet on honesty have a strong chance of winning over the most attentive and discerning buyers.
As photographer Ashley Marks summed it up when advising her agent clients: if the flaw is going to be there during the showing, there is no point hiding it in the photo. AI can do a lot of things, but it still cannot actually fix a wall. 🏡
