Technology 4 min read By Callum Montgomery
AI Takes On Bigger Role In US Home Buying As Mortgage Rates Near 7%
Survey data shows 72% of Americans would use AI for at least one home-buying task, with 37% willing to let it handle a purchase with minimal human involvement, as mortgage rates climb back toward 7%.
Americans are increasingly willing to hand artificial intelligence a central role in buying and selling homes, according to new survey data, as stubbornly high borrowing costs and a persistent shortage of properties push the housing market further out of reach for many buyers.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 6.95% for the week ending September 17, up from 6.76% a week earlier and 6.26% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac. With borrowing costs pushing back toward the psychologically fraught 7% mark, a growing body of survey evidence suggests AI is taking on a bigger role for buyers, sellers and agents alike.
A recent LendingTree survey found that nearly three-quarters of respondents, or 72%, said they would use AI for at least one task tied to buying or selling a home. More striking, 37% said they would let AI handle a purchase for them with minimal human involvement.
Budgeting is the most commonly cited use. Some 28% of LendingTree respondents said they would use AI to estimate a home's value, while roughly a quarter, or 24%, would turn to it to find down payment assistance programmes. The same share would use it to gauge how much they can afford.
Explaining mortgage options, cited by 18%, and comparing mortgage offers, cited by 16%, also ranked high, well above non-budgeting tasks such as scheduling showings at 8%, organising listing photos at 8%, and helping negotiate offers at 7%.
Other research points in the same direction. Among AI-using prospective buyers in Bank of America's 2026 Homebuyer Insights Report, estimating affordability, mortgage payments or closing costs was the most common use, cited by 57%. The report also found that Gen Z is leading the charge, with 32% saying they have used AI in the process.
As buyers look to AI to navigate a punishing market, more specialised tools are arriving. Real estate platforms Zillow and both rolled out AI assistants earlier this year that can walk users through everything from financing to details on schools and neighbourhoods, part of a wider industry push in which Zillow says AI is reinventing every step of the homebuying process.
Buyers and sellers are not the only ones leaning on the technology. A National Association of Realtors survey found that 92% of agents are using AI or plan to, with 71% citing the time it saves.
The enthusiasm comes with reservations. More than three-fifths of agents, or 63%, named accuracy as a concern, ahead of compliance or legal issues at 49% and the misreading of market data at 47%.
There is also the existential worry. One Florida homeowner used ChatGPT to sell his home for $100,000 more than agents estimated it was worth. The chatbot suggested property upgrades and handled logistics such as scheduling viewings, and the home sold for one of the highest per-square-foot prices in his market.
Still, AI's shortcomings suggest agents are not going anywhere. Parisa Afkhami, a high-end agent in New York City, said that while AI staging has skyrocketed, she considers it misleading to buyers. One of her clients, she said, walked out of a showing within minutes because the home did not match the AI-staged photos posted online.
For now, as AI tools proliferate and the housing market stays tight, the bigger question is what it all means for the industry's future.
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