AI in Real Estate – There is a need in the real estate industry
Concrete areas of application and possibilities for the use of artificial intelligence are increasing visibly. AI support is becoming increasingly popular in various areas of application in both private and professional environments. In numerous sectors of the economy, corresponding technologies are now used in particular to increase efficiency in everyday working life.
The relevance and acceptance of artificial intelligence is also growing in the real estate industry. In a recent study, we asked the industry which advantages and disadvantages are seen by the industry participants, how we are positioned compared to other sectors and which stumbling blocks the real estate industry has to overcome.
Representatives from almost all areas of the value chain of the real estate industry took part – from investment and asset management, financing, development and sales to consulting, PropTech and facility and property management. Within these groups, it is evident that the topic of artificial intelligence has definitely arrived in the working environment. The question about knowledge of AI applications in the real estate industry was answered in the affirmative by 79 percent. Only 16 percent were not aware of any specific solutions. Despite the comparatively high level of knowledge about applications, around 80 percent stated that nothing is being done in practice in the real estate industry compared to other industries in the area of AI.
Knowledge gap as a stumbling block
Based on the results of the survey, a lack of knowledge about the technology as such seems to be a particularly decisive factor: More than half of the respondents said they did not feel informed enough about AI. Only about one in three said they felt informed about the benefits of AI in their own field of work. Despite the obvious gaps in knowledge, the majority of participants (around 90 per cent) consider it likely that AI will support them in the future, for example, in better meeting reporting requirements. Increased efficiency and time savings (78 per cent each) as well as better availability of information (71 per cent) are seen as significant advantages of the use of AI technology.
Nevertheless, the respondents also see the limitations of the technology: 82 percent of the participants stated that they consider the lack of user knowledge to be a risk. Furthermore, the necessary cultural change in the company (59 percent), competition with market participants from outside the industry (30 percent) and the autonomy of the system (25 percent) were named as critical points. In our survey, we were unable to confirm the frequently cited fear of job losses due to AI. Only 7 percent cited this as a danger in the use of artificial intelligence.
Overall, the survey shows a great willingness to use AI tools. It is up to the companies and providers in particular to ensure more practical knowledge transfer. As with any new technology, when introducing AI tools it is important to think about and address the change process among employees at the same time. We see a great opportunity here – the industry is obviously ready.