AI Adoption Surge: What It Means for Real Estate Professionals
- NCC IQ
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
AI went from pilot to board-level priority faster than any instrument in recent memory. Executives who control trillions in real-estate assets now confront a stark question: will their teams shrink or gain new altitude? The answer depends on how quickly professionals adapt.
In McKinsey’s January 2025 survey of 238 C-suite leaders across six countries, 92 percent plan to raise AI budgets during the next three years, yet only 1 percent believe their firms have reached full maturity. That gap signals an urgent talent reset.
Commercial property owners feel the same pressure. JLL’s Future of Work data show 90.1 percent of occupiers intend to run corporate real-estate functions with AI support, and 61 percent are already piloting use cases. Nearly nine in ten senior decision-makers say AI will help solve core challenges in leasing and operations.
The capital is moving just as fast. Venture investors deployed $3.2 billion into AI-proptech start-ups in 2024, a record for the category. Market researchers project the wider AI real-estate market to expand from $222.65 billion in 2024 to $303.06 billion in 2025, a 36.1 percent compound rate.
Investors are already rewarded. Morgan Stanley’s July 2025 AI Adopter study shows 32 percent of REITs increased AI exposure since January, and automation could take on 37 percent of tasks across 525,000 roles in the sector.The performance gap between adopters and laggards is widening.
Yet the talent market remains tight. McKinsey estimates up to $4.4 trillion in productivity can come from corporate AI use cases across industries. Real estate will claim its share through faster underwriting, predictive maintenance, and tailor-made amenities. Recruiting data scientists alone will not be enough; the durable edge emerges when asset managers, analysts, and on-site teams weave model-generated insight into everyday judgment.
Demand patterns are shifting in real time. AI companies added more than 2.04 million m² of US footprint by May 2025, lifting absorption in key tech corridors and driving premium rents for high-capacity assets. Data-center REITs recorded double-digit rent growth while urban class-A offices continue to search for a reset.
Boards face new fiduciary duties. Data provenance, bias mitigation, and cybersecurity now sit on audit-committee agendas. Firms that codify governance, maintain audit trails, and communicate model intent to tenants will protect trust and secure lower financing spreads.
Professionals who wish to move from obsolete to irreplaceable can start with four moves:
Build data fluency. Learn to query, validate, and interpret model outputs—skills as fundamental as Excel in 2005.
Combine domain insight with prompt craft. Deep knowledge of asset classes, regulations, and tenant behavior remains scarce. Pair it with precise prompts to produce analysis that generic tools cannot match.
Adopt an experimental mindset. Pilot small workflows—rent roll analysis, energy optimization, deal underwriting—then scale what works.
Strengthen human strengths. Negotiation, empathy, and complex relationship management gain value when routine analysis is automated.
Leaders must fund learning pathways, update role architectures, and link AI gains to incentive plans. Without visible sponsorship, even top talent will hesitate.
Jason Crawford, former COO of a four-time Inc. 5000 honoree and past Chief Innovation Officer for billion-dollar operators, will unpack these themes at NCC IQ’s ReShaped: AI × Real Estate. With a master’s in Organizational Leadership and two decades steering technology adoption and AI integration, Jason now guides brokers, investors, and owners through change.
Reserve your seat today to hear clear case studies, compare notes with peers, and access post-event toolkits. Early registrants receive priority seating and an exclusive workshop on AI policy design. The future favors the prepared—join us.
Credit: (ScrumLaunch, JLL, CRETI, McKinsey, Business Insider)
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication is intended solely for informational and educational purposes. It does not constitute, and shall not be construed as, an offer, invitation, or solicitation to purchase, acquire, subscribe for, sell, or otherwise dispose of any real estate investments, securities, or related financial instruments. Nothing contained herein should be interpreted as a recommendation or endorsement of any specific investment strategy or opportunity. Furthermore, this communication does not represent, and shall not be deemed to constitute, the issuance, sale, or transfer of any real estate interests in any jurisdiction where such actions would be in violation of applicable laws, regulations, or licensing requirements.
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