Real estate transactions are changing.
Documents are signed electronically. Money moves digitally. Artificial intelligence is beginning to assist with transaction workflows. Property information is stored and shared across multiple platforms. And technologies such as blockchain are creating new ways to verify information and document ownership.
But as real estate becomes more digital, an important question becomes increasingly difficult to ignore:
*How do we keep all of it secure?*
The National Association of REALTORS® is putting increased attention on that question.
NAR’s Tech & Innovation team is exploring what it calls *“Cybersecurity in the Age of AI,”* including how AI-driven security systems may help protect property data, digital transactions, connected buildings and other parts of an increasingly automated real estate ecosystem.
It is an important conversation because the technology being used in real estate is evolving on both sides of the equation.
Technology can help protect a transaction.
But technology can also be used to attack one.
## AI Is Moving Beyond the Chatbot
For many people, artificial intelligence still means asking a chatbot a question or having AI help write an email.
That is changing.
NAR has been discussing the growth of *agentic AI*—AI systems capable of carrying out multistep tasks rather than simply responding to individual questions.
In real estate, NAR has identified potential applications ranging from transaction management and document review to monitoring timelines, evaluating information and assisting with compliance-related workflows. The organization has also emphasized that human judgment and oversight remain important as these systems become more capable.
That distinction matters.
The more technology is allowed to interact with documents, communications, financial information and transaction systems, the more important it becomes to know *who—or what—is accessing the information and what that system is authorized to do.*
## AI Can Help Protect Transactions. It Can Also Make Fraud More Convincing.
There is another side to the AI conversation.
The same technology capable of detecting unusual activity can also help criminals create increasingly convincing scams.
Real estate is particularly attractive to fraudsters because transactions involve large amounts of money, sensitive information and communication between multiple parties.
NAR recently reported that AI is making impersonation schemes more sophisticated. Fraudsters can use artificial intelligence to help create convincing emails, fake identities and even cloned voices while attempting to redirect money or impersonate parties to a transaction.
According to FBI figures reported by NAR, more than *12,000 real-estate-related fraud complaints* were reported for 2025, with reported losses totaling approximately *$275 million*.
That makes verification increasingly important.
An email can look legitimate.
A text message can appear to come from someone you know.
A voice can sound familiar.
In a world where digital information can be convincingly imitated, simply recognizing something may no longer be enough to establish that it is authentic.
## This Is Where Digital Identity Becomes Important
One of the biggest challenges facing the next generation of real estate technology may not be digitizing the transaction.
Much of the transaction is already digital.
The bigger challenge may be *verifying the people, information and permissions behind it.*
Before a sensitive action takes place, a secure digital transaction should be able to answer questions such as:
*Who is this person?*
*Are they authorized to take this action?*
*Has this information been changed?*
*Where did this instruction originate?*
*Can the activity be independently verified?*
These questions become increasingly important as AI systems begin participating in transaction workflows.
## Where Blockchain Fits Into the Conversation
Blockchain is sometimes described simply as another place to store information.
Its more interesting potential may be its ability to help establish *verification and an auditable record of activity.*
Depending on how a system is designed, blockchain technology can create records that are difficult to alter without detection and can provide a timestamped history of certain actions.
That does not mean personal information, contracts or financial details should simply be placed on a public blockchain.
In many systems, sensitive information can remain private while blockchain records are used to verify that a particular event, document or transaction record existed at a certain point in time.
Think of the distinction this way:
*The document itself may remain private.*
*The proof that something occurred can potentially be independently verifiable.*
That difference could become increasingly valuable as artificially generated content becomes harder to distinguish from authentic information.
## But Blockchain Alone Does Not Make a Transaction Secure
This is an important distinction.
A blockchain can be secure while the systems interacting with it are not.
Someone can still lose access to an email account.
A password can still be stolen.
A criminal can impersonate a seller.
A person can still be tricked into sending money to the wrong account.
An AI system can still be given inappropriate permissions.
And incorrect information can still enter a digital system.
That is why the future of transaction security will likely require *multiple layers of protection*, rather than reliance on any single technology.
Those layers may include identity verification, secure authentication, carefully controlled permissions, encrypted communications, fraud monitoring, AI-assisted threat detection, auditable digital records and—critically—human review.
## Deed and Seller Impersonation Fraud Are Part of the Conversation Too
NAR’s September 2026 risk-reduction materials specifically identify *deed fraud and seller impersonation fraud* as issues for real estate professionals.
NAR describes deed fraud as schemes involving false identification, forged documents or improper recording documents used to make it appear that someone owns or has authority to transfer property. It notes that vacant properties, rentals, vacation properties, inherited properties, land and mortgage-free properties can be particularly attractive targets.
This is another reason the intersection of *identity, property ownership and digital verification* deserves attention.
As property records and transactions become more connected, technology may eventually help provide additional ways to verify ownership and detect suspicious activity earlier.
## Security Is Becoming Part of the Digital Real Estate Conversation
For years, much of the conversation around real estate technology focused on convenience.
Can we sign electronically?
Can we close remotely?
Can we automate paperwork?
Can AI save time?
Those are still important questions.
But the next phase of the conversation may increasingly focus on something else:
*Can we verify what is real?*
As AI becomes more capable and transactions become increasingly digital, trust cannot depend solely on what appears on a screen.
The systems behind the transaction will matter.
Identity will matter.
Permissions will matter.
Verification will matter.
And human oversight will still matter.
The future of real estate may become increasingly digital.
Making that future *secure, verifiable and trustworthy* may be just as important as making it faster.
Sources & Further Reading
This article was informed by recent resources from the National Association of REALTORS® on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and emerging risks in real estate transactions.
National Association of REALTORS®
Cybersecurity in the Age of AI
Real Estate Wire Fraud Is Evolving: Is Your Brokerage Ready?
From Chatbots to Collaborators: AI’s Next Era
