Two-thirds (64.5 percent) of institutional investors believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will be widely adopted in the real estate sector by 2022, according to a new report by Intertrust, the leading global provider of high-value trust, corporate and fund services. Forty-two percent of those surveyed say the technology will be widely adopted by 2020.
“The use of AI in the industry has become an increasingly hot topic, with many predicting that it will fundamentally transform real estate investment within two to three years,” said Jon Barratt, head of real estate at Intertrust. “With well-established business models, the real estate investment industry can at times seem slow to adapt to new innovations. However, once early adopters prove the investment case, we may see the majority of players in the industry quickly follow suit.”
The research highlights the advantages of integrating AI into the real estate investment process. Performance measurement, cost savings and reduction of time-consuming and low-skill tasks were cited as some of the leading benefits.
When asked about the impact this will have on the sector, 34 percent of respondents said AI will improve investors’ ability to make better, more informed decisions.
The survey also revealed the extent to which professionals thought AI would impact employment in the sector. A fifth of respondents predicted that there would be no job losses, as people will be moved into higher skilled roles. However, the average prediction across all participants was that 12.8 percent of front and back office jobs could be at risk by 2020.
Despite optimism about the future of AI, 33 percent of respondents said the technology isn’t yet ready for use in the real estate industry. The same proportion believe that this is caused by a lack of investment in AI from companies in the sector.
Intertrust is a global provider of high-value trust, corporate and fund services. Intertrust’s business services offering is comprised of corporate services, fund services, capital market services, and private wealth services. Intertrust has leading market positions in selected key geographic markets of its industry, including the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Jersey and the Cayman Islands. Intertrust works with global law firms and accountancy firms, multinational corporations, financial institutions, fund managers, high-net-worth individuals and family offices.