One in three Gen Zers is letting AI do their homebuying homework, but they still trust realtors with the closing process
· Fortune
Gen Zers have gotten so accustomed to AI that they’re now using it for one of the biggest financial decisions they’ll ever make: buying a home.
A study by the Bank of America Institute found that about a third of Gen Z had used AI tools in the past 12 months for homebuying research, a trend that could represent a generational shift in how people approach major financial decisions.
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Unlike older buyers who prefer the advice of human experts and may be skeptical of tech, Gen Z is much more open to it and less trusting of experts, said Graham Paterson, the CEO of Jitty, an AI-fueled real estate search engine based in the U.K.
“Gen Z is just naturally that much more distrusting, and because they don’t know the home buying process, they’re much more likely to look for answers in something like AI,” he told Fortune.
In fact, when it comes to homebuying, one of the most popular uses for AI includes doing research on the process in general as well as specific neighborhoods or property values, according to BofA.
This dynamic has helped Jitty, which uses AI to help people find homes based on their exact specifications or something as general as “A house with a big garden and sea views.”
Since he started it just over two years ago, the platform has grown between 30% to 80% month on month and recently crossed 3 million visitors on its website, Paterson said. Many of the company’s customers are either Gen Z or young millennials.
“Gen Z, and younger millennials respond by saying, ‘I can’t believe this doesn’t exist already like obviously this is just a better way of doing it,’” he explained. “Older millennials and older people respond by saying, ‘But does it work? But does it miss things? But does it make mistakes?’”
This trend isn’t just limited to homebuying, it is playing out across the economy and is likely to accelerate as AI continues to advance. Gen Z is already more likely than older generations to use AI for therapy, medical advice, as well as for financial and investment decisions—unsurprising given that just over half of Gen Zers use AI at least weekly, according to an April survey from Gallup.
Paterson said part of the reason why younger users are more open to using technology in homebuying in particular is because their digital experiences have been personalized for years.
TikTok is notorious for its algorithm that is so customized it seems to read users’ minds, while Spotify creates myriad custom playlists designed to cater to a person’s music taste.
Yet some aspects of the homebuying process, such as the closing, require real estate agents to work with attorneys, inspectors, loan officers, and insurance brokers to coordinate a transaction. That’s when even the most AI-reliant homebuyers still want a human in their corner.
The BofA study found that more than half of prospective homebuyers prefer to turn to a human for things like tours and legal or contractual advice.
Jessica Li, a real estate agent for Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, told Fortune that while she finds AI helpful for keeping clients in the loop during the closing process, it’s clear that humans are still essential.
Having a competent real estate agent on the buyer’s side could be the difference between getting a concession worth thousands of dollars and paying the full asking price, she said. Plus, dealing with inspectors, appraisers, and banks all require a human touch, she said.
“Housing is a tangible thing,” she said. “Until we have all the robots, I think, we’ll be important.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com