Real Estate Insights: Artificial intelligence and the future-proofing of the property profession

Artificial intelligence (AI) is having a significant effect across all levels of society today. This has attracted considerable debate amongst property academics and professionals, particularly concerning the impact of AI on the property industry (e.g. see Cajias, 2024; Cheung, 2024; French, 2026a, b, c; Seagraves, 2024; Toprakli, 2025).

In particular, AI poses an existential threat to all graduates seeking careers in the main professions such as law, accountancy and property. Any profession which deals with words is under threat as AI’s oxygen is prose.

Whilst recognising the ubiquitous reach of AI, this insight paper will concentrate on the impact upon property graduates starting their property careers. Many of the property graduate-entry type roles involving analysis and report preparation will be easily carried out by AI going forward. Property companies are already actively moving in this direction with their use of AI. Many property students are very concerned about these AI developments on their property careers; particularly after they have invested so much in their future property careers; financially, intellectually and emotionally.

This presents a major challenge for property academics and, going forward, the professional bodies to assist graduates to more effectively prepare for their property careers. What changes are needed in property programmes to help property students to be better-placed for their property careers in this expanding AI environment? How can we future-proof their property careers?

A simple observation of academic papers and syllabi at universities show that the current trajectory is to make property courses focus more upon the quantitative elements of the property profession. This expansion into more analytical procedures and modelling is totally the wrong way to go, particularly in the valuation and property investment areas.

This is simply playing into the hands of AI. The last thing that property students need is another financial analysis procedure that the property industry will never use. Yet this is often the academic staff response, given their quantitative backgrounds. We need to focus on giving the property students the skills that AI cannot cover or mimic (or surpass), so that property graduates are seen as adding-value to the property industry. What are these skills and enabling strategies?

Firstly, more focus in property programmes needs to be given to interpreting the analysis, not just undertaking the analysis. We clearly need to give property students a deeper understanding of what the analysis results mean in a practical sense, so that they can critically interpret the results and make recommendations, rather than just reporting the results.

Secondly, more focus on critical decision-making is required. How do you take diverse sets of information and put them together at the macro-level to make informed property decisions. This has a strong dimension of practical experience and gets built-up with increased levels of property industry experience. This is not an easy task, but it is an essential skill for property graduates going forward.

Thirdly, we need to give property students a deeper understanding of property market fundamentals and dynamics, how property markets operate and how critical market factors play a role in this dynamic environment. This critical market understanding is essential, but it has sadly drifted out of property programmes over the last 10 years. It needs to be the focus of the property programmes.

Fourthly, property students need better skills in communication and working as part of a team. These are essential soft-skills. Property is a “people business”, even though major deals today are often multi-billion dollar deals. Understanding team dynamics is also important, as all property industry tasks today are team-driven, being rarely done by just one individual. Learning to be part of a team is a great career skill as well as a wonderful life skill.

All of the above issues need to also factor-in the view of employers concerning property graduates today. The property industry always says “property graduates are not career-ready” and lack the depth of understanding of property markets to effectively function today.

Some employers even say they prefer to not employ property graduates today but rather take young people in as “interns” or “apprentices” and train them internally about the property market and their property company culture.

How will property academics respond to these challenges? For many, it will not be an easy process. These changes will not play to their strengths. Property academics often do not have good skills in these areas, as they come directly from doing their PhD into being an academic, with no property industry experience or property industry insights. Nor do they have strong qualitative skills. This is driven by all universities now being research-focused and chasing improved international rankings. Property industry experience by academics is not valued by universities today; a sad state of affairs for a professional discipline.

Many property academics will take the easy option and outsource this to other disciplines in the university (e.g. management discipline). This may sound tempting, but it totally lacks a property context and just gets embedded (and lost) in the language of the other discipline. Property is multi-disciplinary, but a link to property is essential. Clearly, we need to build-up these soft-skills with a strong property focus; so that the property connection is reinforced.

Also, the way we assess property students is under a major review. Students used to learn so much by doing project-based reports; but this is now under threat from AI as, with a few clicks of the mouse, a student can have a ready-to-submit AI written project that will get them the grades that they need. And, as today students see AI as a legitimate tool at their disposal, then the lack of their own study and input is not considered either as cheating or detrimental to their education.

This will force property academics to get the students to show their depth of understanding and clearly explain what they did in these project-based reports by interviewing students about their reports or reverting to hand-written end-of-term exams. This is a very time-consuming task, particularly when the university wants academics to focus on research. However, it is only by doing so that the universities can ensure property students “own” their own work.

Another important strategy is ensuring that the property programmes include a substantial input from industry. Using guest lecturers from the property industry in every subject will also greatly assist the students' level of understanding of the property markets. Yet, anecdotal evidence from numerous universities around the globe show that the opposite is happening. The gap between academia and practice is widening at the very time that it needs to be coming together.

We often under-estimate how willing property graduates are to come back and talk with current students about property career opportunities, career strategies and property market dynamics. But, as noted, sadly, many property academics cannot do this effectively, as they lack property industry contacts and networks. Going forward, this is essential and gives the property students the opportunity to meet leaders in the property industry. Often, they are also willing to be career mentors for property students.

Students can also help themselves in this area by taking on significant work experience or internships with major players in the property industry. The students learn so much beyond the property programme and it looks great on their Curriculum Vitae (CV). It will definitely be a boost to starting their property career, clearly differentiating them from other property graduates and enhancing their employability prospects.

Embedding these property internships as formal elements in the property programme would be very attractive to property students to get a stronger property industry perspective on their future career opportunities (e.g. valuation, development, investment, fund management). They also form the basis for ongoing property industry networks for property students.

Again, this is a real challenge for academic staff as they often do not have the necessary backgrounds and property industry contacts. This will require universities recognise that they need to appoint staff with strong property industry contacts who can undertake this important role as a dedicated part of their workload. And the students would see these staff as superheroes in actively supporting and helping them in their property careers.

Also, giving students an international perspective on property is important to their understanding that not all property markets behave in the same manner. It also reinforces the role that property plays as an international asset class. This can be done by staff using international examples or by universities allowing students to study overseas for a semester.

With this international dimension, the property students will learn a lot about property market differences and cultural differences. From my own personal experience, I have lots of examples of property graduates who, after initial local property experience, took up international property career opportunities with major property players and never came home. They developed their careers as truly international property professionals.

Another option is to set-up international study tours as a formal component in the property programme. Longer visits (1–2 weeks) to specific international property markets are an exciting opportunity for property students to learn about property market differences and cultural differences in exciting countries.

Often local property industry players will do much of the local background work and organise key people and major projects to visit. Also, it is often the first time away for many students; and they learn so much about different cultures and enjoy travelling internationally.

Students are also often able to get university loans to pay for these important study trips. The property students come back as different people, with a much richer world perspective. It may not be a compulsory component, but many students will want to take advantage of the opportunity.

We cannot escape AI; it clearly needs to be accommodated in a property programme going forward. Property students definitely need to understand how AI is used in the property industry and how to use AI effectively. But having skills like coding is not needed; leave that to the AI professionals in the property companies.

Being a property academic is a great career. It is even more enjoyable when the academic embraces all of the dimensions of effective impactful research, quality teaching and strong property industry engagement. These strong industry linkages help improve the industry-relevance of teaching, as well as enabling more impactful and industry-relevant research. The students will certainly appreciate the property academic's efforts in making their teaching more industry-relevant and industry-informed. It also lets property academics take their research well beyond just being micro-based regression models to be a more impactful style of research that can truly influence the shape of the property industry.

Overall, I have had a wonderful international career as a property academic. I share the vision of many property academics who are deeply concerned for the well-being of property students as they navigate the new property career frontiers impacted by AI, particularly in the early stages of their careers. This is an exciting opportunity to reshape property programmes to benefit students and meet the challenges that AI is presenting. Importantly, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and other international property-accrediting bodies will welcome these positive changes. The property employers will also see it as a positive step to make property graduates more industry-relevant and career-ready. It is clearly a win-win scenario.

The issues raised in this study are a major challenge, but one that must be undertaken to the benefit of property students. If property academics do not do this, there is a real risk that property degrees will lose their “place in the sun” as the entry to a premier industry professional career.

The property industry is always changing and evolving. Property programmes and property academics need to evolve as well. It will be not only a major challenge but also a real opportunity to address the issues around AI in re-positioning property programmes to the benefit of property students and their property careers going forward. It will definitely help future-proof their property industry careers in the context of increasing their resilience to the threats to their property careers from AI.