As we settle into 2025, the commercial real estate (CRE) industry continues to find new ways to use technology to bring value to properties and portfolios.
Building Engines recently partnered with Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) to survey over 370 CRE professionals, asking them what they believe will help drive success in 2025 and beyond. The report, derived from their responses, gave insights into the current state of commercial property management technology and reveals the top proptech trends for 2025, such as ways new software investments are shaping the industry.
With the report’s findings in mind, industry experts recently joined our webinar to break down the data . Here are three key lessons from that webinar, “2025 CRE outlook: Property management technology.”
1. Tenant tracking data will drive better tenant experiences
There is still a commitment in commercial real estate to invest in technology. Essentially all respondents are investing the same or more in tech in 2025 – resulting in more accessible and actionable data. As Jason Smith, Executive VP, Property Management at JLL pointed out, the right data can allow for more specific improvements to the tenant experience.
“We can track things like where occupants move, where people spend their time, and those drive decisions around where we invest our capital for both tenant amenities and equipment throughout the building,” Smith said.
Consider IoT sensor applications for tracking occupant activity. VergeSense, for example, can give you anonymous, highly accurate occupancy counts in a variety of spaces. This kind of utilization data allows building operators to call out trends in attendance, and optimize office space based on occupancy. And when these tools integrate with third parties, you’ll be able to access that data easily.
The best building operations apps also provide more insights to tenants. Up-to-the-minute status updates on work orders, service requests and ongoing building projects enable property managers to deliver better tenant experiences. “[Tenants] like immediate responses, and they can check in on the status of things right at their fingertips – especially if they’re using a tenant app like Building Engines,” Smith added. Ultimately, these tools can drive higher tenant satisfaction, with both faster service and availability of information.
2. AI investments for CRE are primed to take off
55% of respondents are excited for or interested in AI technologies for CRE – no surprise, as AI becomes more a part of our everyday lives. Yet, it’s so far only been adopted by 20% of respondents.
Deploying AI at your commercial real estate challenges effectively will require targeting purpose-built apps for commercial real estate beyond the GPT tools we all know. This will include:
- Lightning-fast insights and recommendations on a property’s financial and operational performance
- AI forecasting, for predicting things such as property values and market trends
- Managing a multi-property portfolio, with AI-powered logistics planning and scheduling
- Automated property inspections and virtual tours, enhanced by AI from photographs
When evaluating AI tools for commercial real estate, AI is no longer simply a buzzword. There are practical applications both available and on the way, designed specifically to work within CRE’s existing technology stacks and workflows.
“It’s up to us as technology providers to make sure that AI is embedded really seamlessly in a way that makes sense, inside the tools that people are already using,” said Sharon Hunt, VP and Chief Product Officer of Building Engines. “It needs to be in the place and the tools where folks are already active.”
3. Sustainability will continue to stay top of mind
When considering new technology, organizations will continue to keep sustainability concerns at the forefront. 60% of respondents are considering energy efficiency as a main sustainability goal in 2025, with data capture and water efficiency as other top concerns. Fittingly, energy consumption and water usage are the top sustainability goals that CRE professionals actually track.
Better tracking comes with more modern technology. Consider a green building materials database, or IoT sensors that can allow for more precise control on HVAC systems and lighting. Specific ESG reporting tools can also make sure that you are tracking in terms of carbon footprint goals and conservation. And the right building operations platform can bring all of this information in one central place.
“It’s taking what we’ve been doing and implementing modern technologies to help advance it even further,” said Murray Greene, Secretary & Treasurer of BOMA International. “Tracking waste, tracking water usage, so you can take what you were doing before to the next level.”
Your wallet (or more specifically, your property budget) will thank you for the savings – but that’s not the only benefit. “It’s not just a return on investment in dollars, but it’s also good for the environment and tenant satisfaction,” Greene added.
Keys to proptech success
Ultimately, success in 2025 requires the right proptech on hand, now more than ever. Ensuring you deploy technology solutions that can capture the right data and put the power of AI at the forefront will be the difference between being left behind and effectively managing your CRE portfolio into the future.
For more expert insights, or to discover additional trends expected in 2025, watch the webinar on-demand.
