Commercial Real Estate Rebounds, but AI Concerns Stir Investor Jitters

Commercial real estate is surging back to life — and investors are paying attention. Yet even as dealmaking accelerates, a new wave of anxiety is spreading across the industry: the growing influence of AI.

Leaders from three of the world’s most powerful commercial brokerage firms — Hessam Nadji of Marcus & Millichap, Jay Hennick of Colliers, and Bob Sulentic of CBRE — reported impressive earnings, some hitting record highs. But earnings calls quickly shifted as analysts repeatedly questioned whether AI could disrupt brokerage, valuation, and high‑level transaction work.

“AI Can’t Replace Human Insight,” CEOs Say

Sulentic underscored that CBRE’s value is rooted in irreplaceable human relationships and advanced problem‑solving — far beyond anything automated systems can replicate. “We’re not selling $2 million condos,” he noted. “These are big, complex transactions that we’re doing.”

The bottom line: AI may assist, but it cannot replicate the decades of trust, nuance, and strategic negotiation behind commercial real estate deals.

Still, the concerns were enough to momentarily shake real estate stocks — continuing a broader pattern of AI‑driven volatility across multiple sectors.

Evidence of a Recovering Market

Despite AI anxiety, fundamentals remain strong. Office leasing is improving, lending jumped over 30% in the fourth quarter, and CBRE posted its highest revenue ever — surpassing $40 billion.

Hennick emphasized that AI is actually strengthening productivity at Colliers, while Nadji dismissed doomsday fears as “overly cautious,” calling full AI displacement “almost an impossible scenario.”

Where AI Helps — and Where It Won’t

Experts agree AI’s real power lies in data organization, underwriting, automation, and administrative tasks. Meanwhile, property tours, negotiations, and client advising remain firmly in human hands.

Nadji explained that AI already boosts underwriting speed and analysis: “There are countless ways AI is going to improve manual processes.” Still, he rejected predictions of empty office towers run entirely by machines.

Robert Shibuya of Mohr Partners echoed this, calling the stock‑market reaction an “overreaction.” AI can summarize a 40‑page lease in minutes — but no algorithm can walk a property, sense the environment, or negotiate a deal with human nuance.

Source material inspired by CoStar News. Visit their original report for deeper insights and ongoing commercial real estate coverage.