Love it or hate it: The rise of AI staging in Canadian real estate

The role of AI is increasing in various realms of our everyday lives, and that includes Canadian real estate with the rise of AI-generated or virtual staging.

Daily Hive Urbanized covers a wide swath of topics related to real estate and residential property development. Over the past year, we’ve come across several listings that are clearly staged using AI.

This could mean furniture that doesn’t exist, potential layouts, and, as we discovered over the last week, even people.

Two posts in particular caught our eye in Canada this week, especially this Ontario listing that was shared on the RealEstateCanada subreddit, particularly because of how polarizing it was.

The Reddit post featured 41 Grange St., which is located in Guelph, Ontario. While the listing features just regular old photos of the home, it also features photos of the home staged in old-timey fashion. The five-bedroom home is listed for almost $1.3 million.

Here’s a before shot. An empty room with a couple of doors and a window, with no furniture or other decor.

Now here’s the after shot:

The shot features a whole family sitting down for a meal, and they even have a maid. Some of the other pictures of the listing show a different floor in the AI-generated versions.

The reaction to the post was interesting because while some absolutely despised it, others gave it a pass.

“I kinda like it in this case,” the top comment stated.

Others pointed out that it’s hard to tell in pictures just how big or small a space is, and anyone who has viewed a rental listing after looking at just photos can probably attest to that fact.

“You think it looks good because it’s making these rooms look twice the size they are,” someone said. Others echoed the sentiments about the rooms’ proportions in the AI shot.

“Thanks I hate it,” the next most popular comment said.

Many chimed in to say they think it should be illegal.

Another post from Vancouver raised similar concerns.

The post from the VancouverHousing subreddit suggested that photos of a rental listing were being doctored. The Craigslist listing for the rental has a disclaimer, reading, “FIRST FOUR IMAGES ARE VIRTUALLY STAGED USING THE SAME DIMENSIONS AS ACTUAL.”

The listing is for a one-bedroom unit, described as a “super cool loft,” for $2,400 a month.

This is a genuine photo of the rental unit:

And this is a photo of the same space but with the help of AI:

While generally speaking, the main differences are the furniture and the cleanliness of the home, you can also see subtle aspects of the whole unit’s geometry being helped by AI. There’s a slight crookedness in the original photos that AI fixes in the virtually staged shots.

A close-up of the kitchen comparing a real photo and the virtually staged photo makes the difference even more pronounced. It doesn’t look “virtually staged,” as the listing describes. It looks like a completely different kitchen.

The virtually staged shots also seem to add a dishwasher that didn’t exist before.

“I’ve seen a few of these; it automatically makes me doubt the accuracy and honesty of the photos in the listing. Let me actually look at the floor, please,” someone said in response.

Another comment alleged that the building in the Craigslist post has recurring issues with bed bugs, and that folks have had issues with the building management.

The CREA supports “responsible AI use” in Canadian real estate

In June of this year, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) published a release regarding AI use in real estate.

In its release, it states that the use of AI needs to be guided by “transparency, accuracy, and accountability.”

CREA references its realtor code, which was most recently updated in April 2023. However, that code of conduct does not mention or reference artificial intelligence in any way.

Instead, it uses broad language that could permit the use of AI-generated language for listings or other descriptors.

A more recent release from the CREA dated May 2025 asks the question: “Should realtors explore using AI home staging?”

Theresa Kerr, a realtor with Century 21 in Ontario, told the CREA, “AI home staging is definitely a game changer for most people in our industry to help show a home’s potential.”

She also mentions one of the key reasons why more realtors will turn to AI.

“The cost to show a room staged with AI is pennies compared to the cost of traditional staging,” Kerr said.

“The cost of renting or purchasing furniture can be very expensive, which would fall on the homeowner or the REALTOR® to cover.”

You can read more about the CREA’s stance on the CREA website.

We’ve reached out to a few AI experts to get their take on the rise of AI-staging, and where else we may unexpectedly see AI rear its head. Keep an eye on Daily Hive Urbanized for those upcoming stories.

We’ll turn the question to you, though: do you think there’s a place for virtual staging in Canadian real estate?

Let us know in the comments.