The majority of homebuyers now
Three-quarters of buyers assume AI has already been embedded in the housing ecosystem, according to a new study from Cotality. But 55% of buyers in the United States would prefer to work with a person to secure a mortgage, a nine-percentage-point jump from last year.
Less than half of buyers globally consider AI reliable when making fair lending decisions, and 66% of buyers in the United States would rely on humans over AI for legal assistance, up from 54% last year, the study found. Almost 45% of respondents also said they would pay an additional fee to have a human verify AI-generated housing decisions.
"Buyers are not rejecting AI; they are asking for safeguards," said Amy Gromowski, head of data science at Cotality, in a press release Thursday. "They recognize AI's power to process massive datasets and speed up decisions. But when it comes to the largest financial transaction of their lives, accuracy and accountability are non-negotiable."
Nearly 70% of buyers said clear AI labeling for property listings and mortgage recommendations were essential, and 37% said it should be mandatory, which rose to 61% among Baby Boomers.
Buyers also want more control over how AI is used, as 46% said it is unacceptable for lenders or insurers to conduct automated valuations without their approval. Tolerance for AI mistakes came in notably low, ranging from 22% for Gen Z buyers to 9% for Baby Boomers, the study showed.
AI-driven financial processes also sparked stability concerns, with 64% of buyers worried AI may choose to recycle unverified information over validated data.
This desire for transparency has affected Americans' willingness to accept AI outputs, as only 11% said they were comfortable with AI-generated information on property risk and its effects on premiums, according to the study.
American buyers' trust in AI to help them find a home also decreased from 30% in 2025 to 16% this year, the study showed.
Overall, buyer confidence in navigating the homebuying process has dropped from 83% in 2025 to 72%, while the share of American buyers actively saving for a home has declined 75% to 69%. This lack of confidence and subsequent inactivity has led to an
Younger buyers were more likely to see AI as part of the solution, as 50% of Gen Z said it would increase confidence in buying a home, compared with 40% of Millennials, 33% of Gen X and 21% of Baby Boomers. Gen Z respondents also had a greater need for efficiency, specifically when securing legal assistance (46%) and insurance (39%), the study found.
In the United States, 37% of originated loans were attributed to buyers younger than 35.
"Homebuyers want the speed and scale of AI, but not at the expense of certainty," Gromowski said. "With AI adoption accelerating the homebuying process across the United States, over 7 million mortgages are originated annually, representing [$7 trillion] in combined lending volume each year. If AI-powered workflows shorten time to close by just one to three months, lenders can pull forward billions in repayments, recycle capital more efficiently and expand capacity
