Commercial real estate used to be a fairly staid sector, but exogenous shocks to the system such as global pandemics, macroeconomic shifts, and climate change have created a need for faster, more nimble decision-making to increase returns and mitigate risks. Leveraging the vast quantities of data available through the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence can create tools to explain the current state and predict likeliest future states, but acquiring data and the ability to use it effectively costs money and time. After a brief introduction to the topic, the panelists will talk about how their companies have deployed data science and artificial intelligence to create a competitive advantage.

Customer value and driving loyalty are ubiquitous concepts when it comes to consumer industries. However, in real estate, only the hospitality sector has cracked the code on what loyalty means in the context of built environments and the experiences they contain. Both single-family and multifamily residential continue to grow as asset classes and scale players are emerging. With this growth comes the opportunity to build brand and create customer stickiness—driving both higher renewal rates and better pricing for the branded promise behind living experiences. We will discuss how customer expectations are evolving from these players, what loyalty means in the context of a living experience, and how players are leaning into digital and artificial intelligence to help power a next generation of personalized services and community with the aim of building brand. We will dive into how to take a design-led approach to building brand equity beyond naming and finishes, and using that brand strength to create unique, data-driven loyalty moments around the big "decision moments" that matter (e.g., touring, lease signing, renewal decisions). In short, this presentation, followed by a panel discussion, will aim to unpack how end-to-end experiences in the residential sector can be reimagined and digitized to drive a new frontier of loyalty and consumer brand.

In recent decades, no building material has inspired awe, passion, and innovation like mass timber. Nature's building solution is transforming the construction industry because it sequesters carbon, greatly improves speed and precision, significantly reduces the size of the framing crew, and, most important, creates a superior product that occupants love. The United States has been behind Europe and Canada in the production and use of mass timber and many municipal codes haven't even contemplated tall timber as a solution. But in recent years that has changed, as companies such as Google, Adidas, Atlassian, and Walmart have embraced mass timber and cities have updated codes to allow for taller mass timber structures to be built. This session serves as a "state of the union" for mass timber: how far it has come, its massive future potential, and the biggest challenges (and solutions) for its progress.