The Proptech industry has been transformational for commercial real estate over the last decade, empowering forward-thinking teams to make the development process more efficient, predictable, and ROI-focused. Looking toward the future, technology will continue to change and improve how development teams operate. Leaders in the industry will be those poised to take advantage of tech-related trends, from AI’s transformative impact to the increased use of tech to manage complex funding structures.
Here’s a deeper look at the technology trends expected to shape the commercial real estate industry in 2026, and how your development team can stay ahead of the curve:
- AI Moves From Buzzword to Key Value Driver
The potential for Artificial Intelligence to revolutionize the real estate industry has dominated news cycles in recent years. But the technology is not just a buzzword, and the most competitive firms are already using AI in core workflows, from early-stage deal sourcing to day-to-day project operations. AI has moved the needle on technology adoption in the historically change-resistant real estate industry. Development teams with an existing tech stack are likely to see the biggest advantages from incorporating AI capability into their workflows.
Firms leveraging AI will continue to see the technology be a key value driver in 2026. AI is unique in its ability to surface patterns, risks, and strategies that might be missed by the human eye alone. Next year, AI is expected to transform how deal teams think about underwriting, sourcing, and execution. Deloitte’s 2026 survey indicated that tenant relationship management, lease drafting, and portfolio management are among the top areas where AI is being implemented. The firms that embrace AI-powered tools will continue to set the bar for what is possible in the real estate industry and will be best poised to handle the market environment no matter the outlook.
- Technology Will Continue to Enable Complex Capital Stacks
Funding challenges have been top of mind for developers over the past few years – with high-interest rates, employment losses, and tariffs driving uncertainty – and getting a project off the ground is more complicated than ever. Development teams looking to remain nimble are increasingly turning to alternative capital sources. Alternative debt sources accounted for 24% of U.S. lending volume last year, an amount far higher than the ten-year average of 14%, according to Deloitte.
Building out a capital stack with alternative financing, such as LIHTC-related tax credits or Qualified Opportunity Zone tax incentives, can come with unique challenges. From hitting compliance deadlines to deploying funds from multiple sources, technology can play a key role in successfully relying on a complex capital stack.
Modern real estate development software will continue to enable complex capital management in 2026 and beyond. The ability to automate draw processes and source allocation from pre-development forward means your development team can ensure compliance with all regulatory and funding requirements. Forecasting tools that allow you to look ahead at sources and uses mean you can proactively monitor transitions between funding sources and identify any costs that will exceed your funds early. Automated workflows handle menial tasks such as draw submissions, investor reporting, and compliance checks, reducing the amount of time spent doing tedious manual entry, reconciling data for reports, and lowering overall risk.
- Leveraging Technology Will Enable Early Movers and Helps Maintain Agility
The ability to adapt with the times and take advantage of opportunities will be essential for developers looking to thrive in the current environment. Capital markets are potentially improving and high-quality assets could attract more bidders than in the past couple of years by the end of 2025, so developers should be ready to act before the market changes.
Leaders in the real estate industry will also want to avoid making impulsive, short-term decisions and instead look to act on medium to long-term decisions informed by data driven insights. Historic data will continue to play a key role in protecting margins, helping teams sharpen budgets and build strategic confidence. Firms can use modern real estate development tools to leverage years worth of structured cost and performance data to proactively model risk, identify inefficiencies, and forecast with accuracy. In a market characterized by tighter margins and volatile inputs, the shift toward historical data usage will continue to enable developers to stay agile and mitigate risk.
- Technology Will Play a Greater Role in Deal Sourcing and Underwriting
Commercial real estate leaders will need to recalibrate how deals, properties, and debt strategies are evaluated to account for higher financing and exit cap rates in the underwriting process. Being proactive about lowering risk is also essential, and as part of the underwriting process acquisitions teams should stress test different scenarios to account for potential interest rate hikes, understand which assets or loans might be highest risk, and proactively communicate with lenders about plans to protect or recover asset value.
Technology will likely play a bigger role in helping developers manage the full lifecycle of a project, including facilitating how acquisitions teams source and underwrite deals. Centralizing deal data in a single location can help teams eliminate spreadsheet-related risks and provide org-wide visibility as well as increasing communication with investment stakeholders. Deal management software can help teams model and analyze financial feasibility, manage and evaluate opportunities more efficiently, enable more efficient stakeholder reports. Leaders in the CRE industry will be those who leverage technology to find and implement the highest and best use deals across the pipeline, and the right tool will offer this functionality as part of increasing efficiency and improving outcomes across project lifecycles and portfolios.
- Tech Enabled Operations Are No Longer a Nice to Have But a Necessity For Success
Even though the development industry has historically resisted updating traditional workflows, tech-enabled operations are officially on the rise. The number of commercial real estate companies running AI pilots went from 5% to 92% in only three years, with teams focusing on high-impact areas such as portfolio or budget management, increasing workflow efficiencies, and other data-centered workflows that help enable business priorities. Firms that have lagged behind in technology adoption will have a more difficult time leveraging AI-driven advantages, underlining the importance of tech-enabled operations.
Looking toward the future, having an advanced tech stack that compliments your development team’s workflows will no longer be a nice to have but a necessity to succeed. The difficulties of the current environment, characterized by high-interest rates, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions, mean the margin for error is smaller than ever before. Mitigating risk and boosting efficiencies at every stage of the development process is essential for your team’s success.
Modern real estate development software like Northspyre combines automation, analytics, and AI to help development teams deliver predictable outcomes at every stage of the development lifecycle. The platform ensures your team can drive business efficiency from pre-development through stabilization, standardizing routine work, aggregate, analyze, and compare data to offer a competitive advantage, and easily share key project information across your systems and teams. Firms who use Northspyre can expect to see 80% less manual or administrative work, a 66% reduction in costs overruns, and 40% time saved per employee.
Book a demo today and ensure your development team thrives in even in the most challenging market environment.
