Recap: 2022 IREM Global Summit
The Lobby CRE team had a great time at the 2022 IREM Global Summit. More than 750 people from across the globe attended the conference. There was no shortage of insights shared during both the educational sessions and in casual conversations amongst attendees.
Our team is always excited to attend events to meet industry peers, reconnect with clients face-to-face, and gain new industry knowledge. On the heels of the announcement of the 2022 benchmarks release in partnership with IREM and NAA, the Lobby CRE team was even more eager to attend the IREM conference.
We asked our team to share what they learned during the conference. Wondering what the 2022 IREM Global Summit was like? Read below!
Popular IREM Global Summit Topics
During the conference, innovative topics and ideas were presented and discussed by industry experts and attendees alike. Our team learned so much new information that we don’t have the time to recap everything. But, below is a highlight of their favorite “hot topics”: environmental social and corporate governance, CRE technology, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for data processing/analysis.
Environmental Social and Corporate Governance (ESG)
ESG (environmental, social, governance) is used as a framework to assess how a commercial real estate (CRE) portfolio manages risks and opportunities created by shifting market conditions. These shifts include changes to environmental systems, social systems, and economic systems – all of which impact the landscape that buildings are operated in.
ESG has become an important component of an effective portfolio strategy. ESG initiatives create sustainable, responsible businesses while meeting evolving investor expectations and tenants’ and staff’s demands.
Key Takeaway: Investors are beginning to factor ESG policies into their decision-making. To investors, an ESG policy demonstrates that the business is developing sustainable plans to combat the effects of climate change, reduce costs, attract tenants, and create ways to support the community.
Commercial Real Estate Technology (CRE Tech)
The commercial real estate industry has historically been slow to adopt technology. But, CRE professionals are beginning to recognize the value in CRE tech solutions, like asset management software. Commercial real estate tech innovations have enabled firms to eliminate manual processes that impact productivity. For asset and portfolio managers, asset management tools help them monitor portfolio performance and identify opportunities to drive cashflow.
Industry benchmarking is one CRE tech innovation that was mentioned during the conference. Internal and external benchmarks can be used to visualize how your portfolio ranks and then make informed decisions about next steps. Property insights from benchmark data enable firms to identify opportunities that boost operational efficiency for owners and tenants.
Key Takeaway: CRE tech is redefining how the industry operates. These modern tools eliminate manual aggregation and analysis, saving firms time while providing actionable portfolio and competitive insights.
Artificial Intelligence for Data Analysis
Artificial intelligence (AI), the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior, is becoming a popular topic in commercial real estate. Today, there’s a lot of speculation concerning how AI will change how businesses operate and tenants’ interactions with a space. Specifically, AI is expected to become a means of streamlining CRE data analysis for real-time population analysis and prediction, IoT (Internet of Things) for property management, and more.
With machine learning, you can analyze demographic data to identify trends and patterns, for example. This information can then be used to predict future demand for office space, retail space, or industrial space.
Key Takeaway: Artificial intelligence is the future of property management data in commercial real estate.
Overall, the 2022 IREM Global Summit was a success. Our team gained valuable information that we are still discussing with other CRE professionals in our network. Have questions about our take-aways or want to connect on any of the topics? Please contact us!
