The future of property marketing is here. But where do we draw the line between enhancing a listing and changing the property we are selling?

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way properties are marketed. From virtually furnishing an empty room to improving lighting, removing clutter and creating design concepts, AI gives property practitioners powerful new tools to make listings more engaging and help potential buyers visualise a home's potential.

Used responsibly, there is enormous value in this technology.

But there is an important distinction between helping buyers imagine what a property could look like and showing them something that simply does not exist.

When enhancement becomes misrepresentation

Imagine viewing a property online and seeing a beautiful swimming pool positioned in a particular part of the garden. You arrange a viewing, arrive at the property and discover that the pool is somewhere completely different — or that the image has altered the layout of the garden altogether.

The photograph may look fantastic. It may even generate more interest online. But it no longer represents the property accurately.

This is where the use of AI in property marketing becomes problematic.

AI can now make remarkably sophisticated changes to an image. It can add furniture, change finishes, create landscaping, alter views and even reposition or introduce features. The technology may be impressive, but the question property practitioners need to ask is simple:

“Am I helping the buyer visualise the property, or am I showing them a property that doesn't exist?”

The South African regulatory perspective

For South African property practitioners, the starting point is our own regulatory framework.

The Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) regulates property practitioners under the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019. The PPRA's Code of Conduct places clear obligations on practitioners regarding truthful representation and marketing.

The Code specifically states that a property practitioner may not wilfully or negligently mislead or misrepresent in relation to a property or use harmful or misleading marketing techniques. Contravention of the Code of Conduct constitutes sanctionable conduct under the Act.

While the legislation predates the widespread use of generative AI, its principles remain highly relevant to today's technology: the method used to create a marketing image does not change the responsibility to represent the property accurately.

AI is a marketing tool — it is not an exemption from the existing principles around truthful property marketing.

So, when is AI useful?

There are many positive applications for AI in property marketing.

A vacant room can be virtually furnished to help buyers understand its proportions and potential use. A dated room can be presented with a clearly identified design concept showing how it might look after renovation. Photographs can be enhanced for exposure, colour and quality without changing the underlying property.

These applications can help a buyer see possibilities without pretending those possibilities are already reality.

However, transparency is essential.

If a photograph has been materially enhanced or altered using AI, this should be clearly noted underneath the photograph so that a potential buyer understands that they are viewing an enhanced or illustrative image rather than an entirely accurate photograph of the property as it currently exists.

“Image digitally enhanced using AI for illustrative purposes.”

“Virtually staged image – furniture and décor have been digitally added for illustrative purposes and may not reflect the current property.”

This simple disclosure allows the viewer to distinguish between a photograph of the actual property and an image created to illustrate its potential.

Minor photographic adjustments such as correcting exposure, brightness or colour balance are a normal part of property photography and would not necessarily require the same disclosure. The important question is whether the editing has changed the viewer's understanding of the property's actual features, condition or layout.

A simple rule: enhance, disclose, don't misrepresent

Enhance the presentation. Disclose the enhancement. Never alter the facts.

Perhaps the easiest way for property practitioners and homeowners to think about AI-generated property images is to follow this simple principle.

Generally appropriate uses of AI include:

·      Virtually furnishing an empty room.

·      Demonstrating different interior design possibilities.

·      Improving lighting, exposure and image quality.

·      Creating clearly identified renovation or landscaping concepts.

·      Helping potential buyers visualise how an unfinished or empty space could be used.

Practitioners should exercise caution when AI:

·      Moves a swimming pool.

·      Changes the position or size of permanent structures.

·      Creates a view that the property does not actually have.

·      Make a room or outdoor area materially larger.

·      Adds permanent improvements that do not exist.

·      Removes or conceals material defects or features.

·      Changes the property's actual layout.

The difference may seem obvious — until you see just how convincing today's AI-generated images can be.

The homeowner's role

This is not only an issue for property practitioners.

Homeowners should also be aware of how their property is being represented when they appoint an agent to market it.

A beautifully produced AI image may attract attention, but if that image creates an expectation that the property cannot meet, it can ultimately work against the seller.

The buyer arrives expecting one thing and sees another. Trust is damaged, the agent's credibility is affected, and the seller may lose a genuine buyer who would otherwise have been interested in the property.

The best marketing image is therefore not necessarily the most spectacular image — it is the one that makes the buyer want to see the real property and then delivers on that expectation.

AI should enhance trust, not replace it

There is no doubt that AI will become an increasingly important part of property marketing. Property practitioners who understand and embrace technology will have exciting new ways to market homes and help buyers visualise potential.

But with greater technological capability comes greater responsibility.

The objective should not be to make a property look better than it is.

It should be to present the property at its very best, while remaining truthful about what a buyer will find when they walk through the front door.

Because ultimately, technology can create the first impression — but trust is what sells the property.

THE TAKEAWAY

AI can make property marketing smarter, more creative and more engaging.  Enhance the presentation. Disclose the enhancement. Never alter the facts.

 

Written by Jennifer Cunnington, MPRE, Complete Coast Properties.