Proptech Outlook: Specials Magazine

“Why should I hire you?” This is the core question asked of commercial real estate sales brokers. Brokers aim to find ways to differentiate themselves from the competition so that they can win more business. They benefit from a more robust set of tools and one area ripe for proptech investment is independent platforms for video-recorded property and self-marketing generated content or, put another way, platforms that showcase commercial real estate brokers as content creators. Intangibles are often the distinguishing features potential sellers consider in their selection criteria of commercial real estate brokers: Does the prospective seller like, respect, and trust the broker enough to believe they will secure the best deal? However, sophisticated sellers want to see proof of success. That proof can take the shape of many forms including market expertise, experience, and marketing collateral. The established platforms for marketing collateral are the commercial multiple listing services. Over the past five years, there has been a platform shift that is not being capitalized on in the CRE brokerage space. That shift is towards personal branding via video. Residential brokers are, as usual, the trailblazer and there are numerous articles in the Wall Street Journal, CNN digital, and elsewhere describing how residential brokers are uploading videos on Instagram and TikTok to advertise and successfully sell their listings. Commercial Brokers require more formal and exclusive platforms than mass social media sites and we will see those showcase sites start to develop over the next couple of years. What we can expect to see is a platform for commercial real estate brokers to self-upload personalized videos and voice-overs to advertise not only their specific property listings but also to directly enhance the personal brand of the broker themselves. Sellers of commercial property will see this video marketing effort as an enhancement to the current

Top Property and Community Management Platform 2026

Every residential community depends on hundreds of decisions made by the people responsible for its day-to-day management. The information fueling those decisions is scattered across community records and systems, leading to inefficiencies, risk and limited transparency. Alliv (pronounced like “olive”) brings that information together in an AI-enabled, agent-first architecture. Its intuitive software creates a single source of truth across governance, financial management, facilities operations and resident engagement. This gives management companies, HOA boards and property owners the visibility needed to support informed decision-making and strengthen operational oversight. "We live by a simple philosophy that you cannot manage what you cannot measure,” says Kam Kordi, founder, CMCA, REALTOR®. Before founding Alliv, Kam led enterprise application integration initiatives across healthcare, energy and hospitality. Leveraging SAP and Oracle, he partnered with business and technology leaders to modernize cross-functional operations, organizational restructuring and transformation initiatives, and integrate complex enterprise systems serving thousands of users. His focus on connecting people, processes, data and technology to deliver measurable outcomes became a foundational influence on Alliv’s design and philosophy..

Top AI Powered CRE Advisory Solutions 2026

Commercial real estate firms often struggle with manual processes that slow decision-making and limit their ability to compete for opportunities. Teams spend significant time assembling data, reviewing deals and generating reports, leaving less time for analysis and strategic action. AdviseAI addresses this challenge by combining real estate expertise with technical implementation to improve how decisions are made. Its approach focuses on embedding intelligence directly into workflows rather than delivering standalone recommendations. “We don't just tell you what to do; we bring pre-built accelerators and an ecosystem of best-in-class, typically real-estate-specific technology partners that let us get clients up and running with AI-enabled workflows quickly,” says Philip Rothaus, co-founder. Bridging the Gap between Advisory and Execution A key issue in the market is the divide between advisory firms that lack implementation capability and technology providers that do not fully understand real estate operations. This gap often results in strategies that are difficult to execute or tools that do not align with business needs.

EDITORIAL

Building Smarter Communities through Connected Intelligence

The property technology sector is entering a new phase where connected data, intelligent automation and informed decision-making are becoming central to how communities and real estate assets are managed. This edition of PropTech Outlook explores how technology is helping organizations improve transparency, strengthen operations and prepare for a rapidly changing market.

Recognized as the Top Property and Community Management Platform 2026, Alliv has developed an AI-powered platform that brings community and property management together within a unified ecosystem. Integrating governance, financial management, facility operations, and resident engagement, the platform provides managers, board members, and property owners with a comprehensive operational view of their communities, enabling more informed decision-making, greater accountability, and improved efficiency

This edition also features perspectives from industry leaders who examine the forces reshaping commercial real estate. David Madrid, Vice President of Innovation and Venture at AvalonBay Communities, explains how artificial intelligence is evolving from a productivity tool into a strategic foundation for underwriting, operations and portfolio management. He argues that organizations embedding AI into their core business models will be better positioned to create lasting competitive advantages.

Complementing this perspective, Bret Swango, Senior Vice President, Head of Location Intelligence & Workforce Analytics at Colliers, discusses the growing importance of analytics in commercial real estate. He highlights how combining quality data with industry expertise enables organizations to reduce uncertainty, strengthen location strategy and transform market intelligence into informed action.

Together, these stories illustrate how technology, data and thoughtful leadership are redefining property management and real estate strategy. We invite you to explore this edition and discover the ideas and organizations helping shape the industry’s next chapter.