AI Literacy Becomes a Must-Have Skill in CRE 🧠

Why Property Teams Need AI Fluency to Compete

Author

Anne Morgan
October 07, 2025

In partnership with

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Hello, Commercial Real Estate Pros! 🏢

In this issue, AI literacy is presented as the first step for commercial real estate teams to adopt and benefit from new tools.

Leaders highlight AI’s ability to optimize building systems, streamline workflows, and analyze data, while keeping informed human oversight at the center. One portfolio opted for plug-ins and existing apps rather than building custom tools, encouraging employees to use Copilot for summarizing, comparing, and creating content.

Panelists also highlighted risks such as “cut-and-paste syndrome” and emphasized the importance of critical thinking, training, and expert support to facilitate adoption.

📰 Upcoming in this issue

  • 🏢 AI Literacy Rises in Commercial Real Estate

  • 🏦 Rate Cut Breathes Life Into CRE Market

  • 🏙️ Office Conversions Bring Apartments to Midtown NYC

🏢 AI Literacy Rises in Commercial Real Estate

CRE leaders are now treating AI fluency as a core skill alongside underwriting and asset management. Job postings and training programs increasingly call it out as a requirement.

Key Takeaways:

  • 📚 Core Skill Shift: Teams prioritize AI knowledge, from basic terms to real-world use cases, to evaluate tools and avoid hype-driven purchases.

  • 🧠 Better Decisions: Portfolio, leasing, and underwriting models improve when staff can assess data sources, features, and model outputs.

  • 🔐 Risk and Governance: Policies cover privacy, bias, and accuracy, with clear approval paths for pilots and vendor checks.

  • 🚀 Upskilling Momentum: Companies launch training, certifications, and playbooks to enable property, asset, and finance teams to use AI responsibly.

🏦 Rate Cut Breathes Life Into CRE Market

A quarter-point Fed cut is expected to boost commercial real estate faster than housing. Analysts see easier refinancing, revived sales, and more office-to-apartment conversions.

Key Takeaways:

  • 📉 Refinancing Relief: The rate cut eases floating-rate pressure, making refinancing more accessible and stabilizing loans.

  • 🏢 Conversions Open Up: Lower financing costs improve project feasibility, unlocking deals and adding to housing supply.

  • 📈 Deals Resume: With borrowing costs easing, CBRE raises sales projections as buyers and sellers find common ground.

  • ⚠️ Risks Remain: The 10-year yield has not moved in step with the Fed, while job market cooling and rising vacancies continue to weigh on some properties.

🏙️ Office Conversions Bring Apartments to Midtown NYC

CityLab reports a surge of office-to-residential projects in Midtown as zoning updates and incentives align. These conversions aim to revive streetscapes and transit corridors with new apartments.

Key Takeaways:

  • 🧭 Policy Push: City and state incentives, zoning updates, and tax programs accelerate conversions in high-vacancy areas.

  • 🏗️ Targeted Buildings: 1960s–1980s towers with deep floor plates and outdated systems convert more readily after renovations.

  • 🚇 Housing Impact: New units near transit hubs increase foot traffic, drive retail recovery, and enhance neighborhood activity.

  • ⚠️ Conversion Hurdles: High costs, daylight standards, asbestos abatement, and financing challenges limit viable projects.

💬 Quick poll:

After reading, what will your team consider next?

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Why It Matters

Company-wide AI literacy accelerates safe adoption, reduces skill bottlenecks, and turns curiosity into operational gains. Clear policies and training protect customer experience while preparing teams for roles most exposed to automation.

Catch you in the next issue,

Anne Morgan
Editor-in-Chief
Commercial Real Estate Weekly

P.S. Interested in sponsoring a future issue? Just reply to this email and I’ll send packages!

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