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By: Raj Singh, CEO
In the panel discussion on “Technology Shaping the Future of the Industry” at NAI Global, one theme came through clearly: the industry has changed dramatically over the past decade—but its biggest transformation may still lie ahead.
Mobile and Social Changed the Game
The most impactful technologies in brokerage over the last ten years haven’t been complex algorithms or flashy new platforms. They’ve been mobile and social.
Today’s brokers are connected to clients and investors 24/7, wherever they are. Deals are sourced, relationships are nurtured, and opportunities are surfaced through social networks as much as through traditional channels. This always-on connectivity has fundamentally reshaped client expectations.
“Real-time” is no longer a differentiator—it’s the baseline. Brokers are expected to respond instantly, with accurate, relevant information at their fingertips, whether they’re in the office, on a property tour, or between meetings. That expectation has intensified the need for better access to data and more streamlined workflows.
Why AI Hasn’t Fully Arrived—Yet
While AI has transformed many industries, its impact on commercial real estate brokerage has been more limited. The panel identified two primary constraints:
- The most valuable data is private.
Much of the information that drives deals—investor preferences, lender requirements, off-market opportunities—lives in inboxes, spreadsheets, and personal networks. It’s not structured or accessible in a way that AI models can meaningfully leverage. - Deals still happen over email.
Unlike industries that transact on digital platforms, brokerage workflows largely operate through email. Without centralized, online systems where data and interactions are captured, AI agents have little environment in which to operate.
As a result, AI adoption has largely been tactical rather than transformational.
Where AI Is Delivering Value Today
That said, brokerage teams are already realizing meaningful efficiencies by applying AI to specific use cases:
- Extracting and structuring data from documents
- Generating marketing materials and offering memoranda
- Drafting communications
- Summarizing notes and market intelligence
These applications reduce manual effort and free brokers to focus on higher-value relationship work. But they represent incremental gains—not the full promise of AI.
The Real Opportunity: Modernizing the Operating Model
The panel emphasized that the biggest operational challenges brokers face today—staying on top of prospecting, tracking investor and lender requirements, ensuring deals reach the right audience—are not fundamentally technology problems. They are workflow problems.
Antiquated, offline processes are the bottleneck.
As long as critical information remains scattered across spreadsheets and email threads, firms will struggle with visibility, coordination, and scale. More importantly, they will be unable to unlock the true power of AI.
The path forward is clear: brokerage teams that migrate their data and workflows onto modern, online platforms—where information is organized, shareable, and structured—will not only gain near-term efficiencies, but also position themselves at the forefront of the industry.
From Efficient to AI-Ready
In short, mobile and social have made brokerage faster and more connected. AI can make it smarter and more scalable—but only if the foundation is in place.
The firms that modernize today won’t just operate more efficiently. They’ll be the first to fully harness AI’s potential—and define the next era of commercial real estate brokerage.
