National survey · August 2026
Recent home buyers and sellers report a serious fraud-readiness gap.
Findings from a probability-based national survey conducted through NORC at the University of Chicago’s AmeriSpeak® panel.
Three findings to know
What recent buyers and sellers told us should concern every real estate professional.
encountered at least one suspicious home-related communication
Nearly two-thirds of the recent buyers and sellers surveyed reported receiving at least one potentially fraudulent or suspicious communication.
said fraud was not discussed—or they could not recall it
For most represented recent buyers surveyed, fraud education either did not happen or failed to make a lasting impression.
want fraud-recognition training required
An overwhelming majority supported making consumer-fraud training part of real estate continuing education.
Reported exposure
Six kinds of communication respondents said they received.
Each percentage is a weighted “yes” response among the same recent buyer/seller subgroup. Categories overlap.
said they or someone in their household lost money as a result of one of the listed statements. This self-reported response is not a verified national loss rate.
Interpretation limits
What this survey does not show.
- These are self-reported recollections, not independently verified fraud incidents.
- The exposure questions asked whether respondents believed a communication was a scam or misleading; they do not establish criminal intent.
- The survey does not estimate national fraud incidence, victim counts, or dollar losses.
- Responses may be affected by recall error, especially across the three-year reference period.
- The six exposure items can overlap. A respondent could report more than one, so percentages must not be added together.
- The 11% household money-loss response is not a population loss rate and does not identify the amount, cause, or verified recipient of any payment.
Methodology
How the survey was conducted.
AmeriSpeak is a probability-based panel funded and operated by NORC at the University of Chicago and designed to represent the U.S. household population.
Households are randomly sampled through area-probability and address-based methods. NORC reports approximately 97% coverage of U.S. households.
The Omnibus uses mixed-mode web and telephone interviewing, allowing participation by adults without conventional internet access.
Data are weighted to Current Population Survey benchmarks for sex, age, education, race and ethnicity, and region.
1,102 adults age 18 or older completed the August 2026 Wave 2 Omnibus.
Recent buyers or sellers: unweighted n=92; weighted base=84.
Approximate 95% confidence ranges: 64% finding, 54%–74%; 59% finding, 48%–70%; 86% finding, 79%–93%. Ranges are rounded and based on the subgroup’s effective sample size; they are not tests of differences between answers or demographic groups.
Home Fraud Defense funded its questions in the multi-client Omnibus. NORC supplied the questionnaire, weighted banner tables, labeled data files, codebook, and general AmeriSpeak project report. Home Fraud Defense prepared this editorial summary and did not independently reweight the results.
For reporters and researchers
Citation and press resources.
Home Fraud Defense. (2026). National survey of U.S. adults: Home fraud experiences and consumer protection expectations. AmeriSpeak Omnibus, August 2026 Wave 2, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago.
A publication-ready topline PDF, standalone methodology report, and chart pack are not currently published, so this page does not link to draft or unavailable files.
John Rowan, Founder · info@homefrauddefense.com · (623) 263-2382