Emerging trends in real estate 2024: PwC

Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), including generative AI, are showing promise in the real estate industry. For one thing, AI is starting to enhance the property search and analysis process. It’s reshaping how real estate investors analyze potential investment opportunities, improve customer experience, help streamline due diligence and improve fraud detection in real estate transactions, among other activities.

In addition, some investors we interviewed for Emerging Trends point to the potential for AI to generate a new source of demand for office space, particularly in traditional tech markets like San Francisco, where much of the venture capital and AI employment is based. 

That said, although AI has been used in real estate for years, many of the technology’s capabilities and functionality are still largely unknown to the leaders we interviewed. In addition to a lack of understanding, interviewees cited AI misinformation as a key barrier to adoption. 

To help combat misinformation and other risks, leaders should thoroughly research the topic and learn how to make responsible AI part of their larger AI strategy. Firms must also consider data privacy and security, particularly for systems that rely on large data sets, as protecting personal and sensitive information is critical.

Key takeaway

Hundreds of potential AI use cases can be found across a real estate firm’s operations, finance, sales and marketing, IT and HR functions, among others. However, if you’re starting with this use case or that one, then you’re likely overlooking what makes AI such a big deal.

We have seen that pilots of individual use cases often miss the bigger value and impact of generative AI. There’s a better way, however. By linking sources of value to common AI patterns rather than individual use cases, firms can deliver outcomes with greater speed and reusability, which results in faster outcomes.