Perth's Property Market Has a Fake Photo Problem: What Officials, Experts and Key Figures Are Saying

Real estate listings across Perth are increasingly carrying digitally altered or AI-generated photographs — images that swap out grey skies for sunshine, remove powerlines, or replace vacant lots with rendered homes that don't exist — and the industry's own watchdogs say the practice is outpacing the regulatory frameworks meant to keep buyers informed.

The issue has sharpened this year as artificial intelligence image tools have dropped in cost and become available to individual agents, not just large marketing firms. Consumer Protection WA, which sits within the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, has the mandate to investigate misleading property advertising under the Australian Consumer Law. The agency has fielded a rising volume of complaints tied to digital image manipulation in property listings, though it has not publicly confirmed specific complaint volumes for the 2025–26 financial year.

The timing matters. Perth's housing market has absorbed extraordinary demand pressure since 2023, driven by immigration growth, AUKUS-related defence workforce arrivals tied to HMAS Stirling at Garden Island, and Metronet corridor development pushing buyers into suburbs like Ellenbrook, Armadale and Forrestfield. In a market where properties in some northern corridor suburbs were selling within days of listing as recently as late 2025, buyers have had little time to scrutinise what they're looking at online before committing.

What the Industry and Regulators Are Saying

The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia has acknowledged the issue publicly in general terms, pointing to existing professional conduct obligations under the Agents Act 2003 that require members to avoid misleading representations. REIWA, headquartered on Havelock Street in West Perth, has previously published guidance telling members that digitally altered images must carry clear disclosure — but enforcement of that guidance is not uniform across the market.

Consumer advocacy organisation Choice published national research in early 2026 finding that a significant proportion of property listings reviewed contained images that showed material alterations, including sky replacement, furniture insertion and the removal of nearby structures. The organisation has called for mandatory watermarking or labelling on altered images, a position now supported by several state-based consumer groups including those operating in Western Australia.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia told its membership in a March 2026 circular that agents using AI image tools must ensure any substantially altered photograph carries a visible disclosure. That guidance stopped short of prescribing exactly what disclosure language is required, leaving individual offices and franchises to interpret the rule themselves.

Perth settlement agent and property consultant bodies operating out of the St Georges Terrace legal and financial precinct have separately flagged concerns that buyers discovering post-purchase discrepancies between listing images and actual conditions are increasingly raising disputes at settlement. While most such disputes resolve privately, the pattern suggests the problem is moving beyond a reputational issue into a practical legal one.

What Comes Next for Buyers and Sellers

Consumer Protection WA has indicated it is reviewing its guidance materials on digital image use in property advertising, with updated advice expected before the end of the 2026 calendar year. Whether that review produces binding rules or remains at the level of advisory guidance will determine how much changes on the ground.

For buyers currently active in suburbs like Baldivis, Alkimos and Brabham — all corridors of high new listing volume tied to Metronet and outer ring development — property lawyers are advising that any discrepancy between online images and what appears in person at inspection should be documented and raised formally before signing a contract.

TAFE WA has included AI literacy modules in its Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice curriculum as of 2026, covering disclosure obligations for digitally altered media. That equips new agents with the framework, but does nothing immediately for the thousands of licensed agents already working in the market without that training.

The state government has not announced any specific legislative response to the image alteration issue. Until it does, the practical burden falls on buyers to look hard at what they're seeing — and to ask the agent directly whether any photograph has been digitally altered before they sign anything.