Recent studies have found that radio-AGN selected by radio-loudness show little difference in terms of their host galaxy properties when compared to non-AGN galaxies of similar stellar mass and redshift. Using new 1.4 GHz very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of the Cosmological Evolution Survey field, we find that approximately 49 ± 8 per cent of high-mass (M > 10¹⁰˙⁵ M⊙), high-luminosity (L₁.₄ > 10²⁴ W Hz⁻¹) radio-AGN possess a VLBI-detected counterpart. These objects show no discernible bias towards specific stellar masses, redshifts or host properties other than what is shown by the radio-AGN population in general. Radio-AGN that are detected in VLBI observations are not special, but form a representative sample of the radio-loud AGN population. ; 5 page(s)