Homebuyers need a loyal advocate when making the largest purchase of their lives, especially in the expensive Greater Boston real estate market.
Beyond exclusively representing homebuyers, Buyers Brokers Only also puts significant effort into educating home-buying consumers.
The following are summaries of two recent press releases alerting consumers to important issues in the real estate industry.
Buyers Brokers Only Echoes Warning About Reduced Property Information
Greater Boston exclusive buyer agency says homebuyers need open access to all listings, days on market, price changes, and other key property details before making an offer.
Summary: When shopping for a home, what you don’t see can cost you.The rise of “private” and “pocket” listings, sometimes called office exclusives, and other schemes to suppress price cut histories and days on the market are creating dangerous information gaps. Speaking at a National Association of Realtors forum, Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales called restricting listing data “madness,” warning that fragmenting property information undermines consumer protection and market fairness.
Greater Boston exclusive buyer brokerage Buyers Brokers Only is echoing that alarm. As co-founder Rich Rosa emphasizes, buying a home is often a consumer's largest lifetime investment; proceeding without complete property history is a serious financial risk. When buyers cannot track price reductions or days on market, evaluating true market value becomes guesswork.
Traditional brokerages may have business incentives to keep listing inventory in-house. An exclusive buyer agency eliminates this conflict of interest by solely representing buyers and never taking listings.
Key Questions Every Homebuyer Should Ask:
- Full Market Access: Will you show me every available property, or only your brokerage’s listings?
- Listing History: Will you pull full data on price drops, past sales, and cumulative days on market?
- Agent Loyalty: Do you represent buyers exclusively, or do you or your brokerage have ties to the seller?
Transparency protects both buyers and sellers. Before making an offer, ensure you have the full picture.
AI-Altered Real Estate Listing Photos Create New Risks for Homebuyers
Buyers Brokers Only offers consumer guidance on virtual staging, digital photo alterations, and the growing problem of “housefishing.”
Summary: As artificial intelligence tools become more widespread, digitally enhanced real estate listing photos are creating significant risks for prospective homebuyers, a misleading trend dubbed “housefishing.” One study earlier this year found that over 10 percent of photos on major real estate portals might have been altered, often exaggerating room proportions, digitally upgrading fixtures, or concealing cosmetic and structural defects.
In response, industry leaders and regulators are pressing for strict transparency:
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Professional Standards: The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reminds agents that listings must present a "true picture" rather than "rewrite reality," while the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA) advocates for explicit disclosure labels.
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Legal Accountability: The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® warned members that digitally masking visible defects could violate Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A (unfair and deceptive practices). Additionally, California recently enacted legislation mandating disclosures and links to original photos for digitally altered real estate ads.
Protective Steps for Homebuyers: Treat online images as an initial screening tool, not definitive proof of condition. The following are a few tips:
- Check listing details for tags like “virtually staged” or “AI-enhanced.”
- Request unaltered original photos when necessary.
- Cross-reference room scale against verified, measured floor plans.
- Rely exclusively on in-person walk-throughs and independent professional home inspections to evaluate condition.
