Real estate has always run on trust but technology has complicated the picture. It is no longer enough to trust the people and firms involved in a transaction, the sector must also decide whether to trust the technology those firms use, the data it consumes and the data it produces. This is challenging without the standards, track records and lines of accountability that the sector normally relies on to judge who or what deserves trust.

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AI makes it even harder. A property professional can be questioned, held to a standard and, if relevant, held accountable but an AI tool giving incorrect outputs cannot.

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This paper examines what trust actually means in a sector reshaped by data and technology, where it is coming under strain and what needs to change to rebuild it for the future.