Smart Buildings IoT: Energy Efficiency, Automation and Occupant Experience
Smart Buildings are leveraging IoT sensors, edge computing, and AI-driven analytics to transform static structures into responsive, energy‑efficient environments. By integrating real‑time data from lighting, HVAC, security and occupancy systems, enterprises can cut energy consumption by up to 30% while improving occupant comfort. The ecosystem spans device makers, connectivity providers, cloud platforms and system integrators, all wrestling with legacy integration and cybersecurity concerns. Market momentum is fueled by sustainability mandates, rising real‑estate operating costs, and the promise of predictive maintenance through digital twins.
Jumbo Lending Playbook: Automation, Overlays and ROI
Lenders are increasingly using automated underwriting systems (AUS) to originate jumbo mortgages, aiming to cut complexity while meeting tighter investor overlays. Borrowers face stricter debt‑to‑income ratios and higher rates, though some jumbo pricing can dip below conforming levels when secondary‑market...
The Skylines of the Future Will Be Made of Wood
Architects are increasingly turning to engineered wood—cross‑laminated and glue‑laminated timber—to construct high‑rise buildings that rival steel and concrete. The 284‑foot Ascent MKE in Milwaukee opened in 2022 as the world’s tallest timber tower, and Vancouver’s Hive recently became North America’s...
Housing Markets Run on Speed. Buyers Run on Timing.
The housing market is engineered for speed—instant listings, rapid mortgage closings, and automated insurance validation—yet buyers feel left behind. A Cotality survey shows only 8% of home seekers are confident after finding a property, rising to just 13% on closing...
LoanDepot Taps Figure to Launch 5-Minute Loan Product
LoanDepot announced a partnership with Figure Technology Solutions to launch the 5x5 HomeLoan, a digital mortgage product that can approve borrowers in as little as five minutes and fund loans within five to seven days. The offering integrates Figure’s credit‑underwriting...
CertifID Pulls In $47.5M Series C Financing
CertifID announced a $47.5 million Series C financing round led by Centana Growth Partners and the hiring of Josh Linn as chief product officer and Liz Conn as chief marketing officer. The funding bolsters the company’s ability to enhance its wire‑fraud protection...
Podcasts: MDU Security Solutions Are Smart and Financially Sound
ASSA ABLOY’s VP of strategic relations, Sandy Jack, highlighted on the Beyond the Cable podcast that smart security systems like Vingcard should be affordable for all multifamily residents, especially those in workforce, student and other underserved housing. She emphasized that...
Energy Service Contracts Grow as Operators Look to Spread Costs
Energy‑as‑a‑Service (EaaS) and energy‑service companies are experiencing rapid growth as building operators pursue decentralized, resilient power solutions. The U.S. market, valued at $42.7 billion in 2025, is projected to reach $101.2 billion by 2035. Major players such as ABB, Siemens, and Ameresco...
Intel Moves to Build Pro Graphics Trust
Intel announced that its new Core Ultra 3 mobile CPUs, featuring integrated Arc Pro B390 graphics, have earned expanded ISV certifications for major CAD, BIM and engineering applications. The certifications now include Autodesk, Ansys, Bentley, Dassault, Nemetschek, PTC and Siemens tools, and Intel...
JE Dunn Launches Offsite Manufacturing Arm
JE Dunn has created Form Off‑Site Solutions, an off‑site manufacturing subsidiary that will produce metal, wood, building‑skin, and multi‑trade assemblies. The unit offers end‑to‑end services from product planning and design through engineering, fabrication, shipping and logistics. Leveraging five years of...
New Survey Reveals Overwhelmingly Optimistic Results on the Use of AI in Construction
A CMiC‑Dodge survey of more than 6,000 construction firms found that 87% of contractors believe artificial intelligence will have a meaningful impact on the industry. Respondents expect AI to cut time on repetitive tasks (85%), improve decision‑making (over 70%) and...
UK to Require 62,000 New Rapid Chargers by 2030 to Meet EV Demand
Knight Frank’s latest report warns that the UK will need an extra 62,000 rapid EV chargers by 2030, requiring roughly 1,900 acres of land. The country’s electric‑vehicle fleet is expected to swell to 7.6 million vehicles, representing about 20% of all...
UK Real Estate Software Development Companies
The United Kingdom has emerged as Europe’s premier PropTech hub, fueled by strong venture capital, a deep talent pool, and a mature real‑estate market. London and other cities host a growing roster of startups and development firms that build digital...
Digital Realty Pledges S$7 Billion Investment in Singapore, Including New Data Centers
Digital Realty announced a near S$7 billion (US$5.48 bn) investment plan for Singapore, with more than S$4.3 billion (US$3.37 bn) earmarked for new data‑center projects. The company already operates three facilities—SIN10, SIN11 and SIN12—providing 925,000 sq ft of colocation space and 70 MW of capacity. Singapore’s long‑standing...
The Housing Market Is More Fragmented Than Ever—Here’s a New Way To Understand the Data
Realtor.com unveiled the Market Clock, a visual tool that maps buyer‑seller dynamics across the United States on a 12‑hour clockface. While the national market sits at a balanced‑cooling 3 o’clock, the top 50 metros are split—26% are seller’s markets, 16% buyer’s,...
Beyond Facility Surveillance: The Rise of the AI ‘Video Supervisor’
Facility managers are shifting from passive video recording to AI‑driven “video supervisors” that can interpret visual data in real time. Advances in video language models from firms like Google and OpenAI enable cloud‑based analytics that replace costly edge hardware while...
Qonic Introduces Native Drawing Generation
Qonic’s April 2026 update adds native drawing generation to its browser‑based BIM platform, letting architects and engineers create fully annotated floor plans and sections directly from BIM or IFC models. The tool automatically adds dimensions, room tags and other annotations,...
AI Impersonation Is Exposing a Regulatory Gap in Real Estate Platforms
Proptech platforms have accelerated digital real‑estate transactions, but they expose a regulatory blind spot as AI‑driven impersonation scams become more convincing. Cybercriminals use generative AI to forge emails, documents, and voice messages that appear to come from trusted brokers, lawyers,...
First-of-Its-Kind 24/7 Robotic Kitchen Doubles Peak Dining Capacity at WellSpan York Hospital in Just 400sf
WellSpan Health has launched Fresh Take Eatery, a 400‑sq‑ft AI‑driven robotic kitchen at its York Hospital. The system, built with RoboEatz and ABB Robotics, can operate 24/7, store 80 fresh ingredients and prepare hundreds of customized meals on demand. By...
New Link-Up Aims to Streamline Lettings – Here’s How
HomeLet and Let Alliance have linked their Vision+ tenancy management platform with the Street.co.uk CRM, enabling letting agents to share property, landlord and tenant data across both systems. The integration eliminates manual data entry, cuts error risk, and allows agents...
Rightmove Updates Tools for Letting Agents Ahead of Renters’ Rights Act
Rightmove is upgrading its Tenancy Manager and the Rightmove Plus dashboard to help letting agents meet the new Renters’ Rights Act requirements. The Tenancy Manager now produces compliant tenancy agreements, notifies existing tenants of changes, and updates referencing criteria after the...
Thailand: Smart Structural Innovations for Earthquake Resilience
Thailand is accelerating smart‑disaster initiatives after a 7.7‑magnitude quake rattled Bangkok and caused a high‑rise collapse. The Structural Engineers Association of Thailand (ASETDA) partnered with government and private firms to launch an Earthquake Monitoring and Building Occupant Alert System that...
Small Business Builders Scale
Peggy Smedley interviews Steve Yates, CEO of Buildxact, about the fast‑changing construction sector and how small‑business builders can scale with limited resources. Yates highlights cloud‑based software that streamlines estimating, quoting, and project tracking, turning data into actionable insights. He also...
Recycling Heat In Data Centers
Data center workloads are surging, tripling U.S. power demand over the past decade and set to double or triple again by 2028. The resulting thermal output, especially from AI‑driven, high‑density racks, is prompting facility leaders to shift from merely rejecting...
Startups Are Everywhere in Construction. Builders Want Them to Meet the Moment.
Construction productivity has lagged far behind other sectors, with McKinsey reporting only 0.4% annual gains from 2000‑2022. Builders are now adopting technologies—AI, autonomous equipment, and digital invoicing—to close the gap, and many are partnering with later‑stage startups to customize solutions....
Most Owners Willing to Insure Less of Their Property to Cut Costs: Nationwide
Nationwide’s 2026 survey of commercial‑real‑estate owners reveals a growing willingness to trim coverage in order to curb soaring insurance premiums. More than half of respondents said they would consider insuring less of their property, up 13 points from the previous...
Finova Broker Payments Partners with MBT for Brokers
Finova Broker Payments, the mortgage club known for competitive procuration fees, announced a partnership with Mortgage Broker Tools (MBT). The agreement grants Finova members an exclusive 20% discount on MBT’s affordability and criteria research platform. MBT currently serves more than...
A New Model Lets Real Estate Professionals Own a Stake in AI Disruption
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the $600 trillion global real‑estate ecosystem, automating valuation, deal sourcing, tenant screening and market analysis. Miami‑based World Property Ventures (WPV) is launching a venture‑studio model that builds, funds, scales and fully owns AI‑driven platforms ranging from...
Planon Lists Its IWMS in AWS Marketplace, for Centralized Procurement with Full Control of Security
Planon announced that its Integrated Workplace Management Solution (IWMS) is now listed on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace, allowing organizations to purchase and renew the software directly through the cloud marketplace. The move offers centralized procurement, the ability to...
How Getting Landlords Into (Heat Pump) Hot Water Can Get Tenants Out of High Gas Bills
The article proposes a budget‑time lever that would let Australian landlords claim an instant, full depreciation on heat‑pump hot‑water systems, replacing gas units. Gas‑tank hot water costs roughly AU$600 (≈US$396) per year, while an instant‑gas system runs about AU$400 (≈US$264);...
MultiTech Ships a Niagara Driver to Bring LoRaWAN Sensor Onboarding Into Building Automation Workflows
MultiTech unveiled a Tridium Niagara driver that lets building teams add and manage LoRaWAN sensors from within the Niagara Framework. The driver bypasses traditional middleware, custom APIs, and MQTT pipelines by delivering sensor data as normalized points ready for control...
Arcol Helps SERA Architects Boost Collaboration
SERA Architects adopted Arcol, a cloud‑based BIM 2.0 platform, to streamline its 80‑acre mixed‑use master planning project. The firm replaced a fragmented workflow that relied on SketchUp, Rhino, Revit, spreadsheets, and static PDFs with a single, real‑time, multi‑user environment. Designers...
This Program Pays Nonprofits to Take the Time to Consider Solar
The Solar Upgrading Nonprofits (SUN) program, backed by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and Resonant Energy, offers nonprofits financial stipends and technical assistance to evaluate solar projects before the federal Investment Tax Credit expires. In its first 2025 round, SUN...
Renters’ Rights Act: Tech Steps up to Help Agents Adapt and Comply
The UK Renters’ Rights Act will overhaul tenancy structures, rent‑review rules and tenant‑request processes across the private rented sector. MRI Software is rolling out platform upgrades—including bulk conversion to periodic tenancies, a centralised rent‑review dashboard, digital pet‑request workflows, and timestamped...
Fast-Growing European PropTech Eyes UK Estate Agency Market
European PropTech firm Nodalview is launching in the UK, opening a London office to serve the country’s more than 20,000 estate‑agency branches. The Belgian‑founded company, which has raised over €10 million (about $11 million) from investors such as PROfounders Capital, offers AI‑powered...
Low-TFA Refrigerants: A Future-Ready Solution for Chillers and Heat Pumps
Facility owners are confronting tighter carbon‑emission and PFAS regulations, prompting a shift toward low‑TFA refrigerants. R‑444A, a composite blend of R‑1234ze, R‑32 and R‑152a, delivers negligible trifluoroacetic acid formation and a GWP below 150, satisfying emerging policy thresholds. Performance tests...
Smart Cooling Solutions: Air Conditioning Installation London for Modern Living
London is experiencing hotter summers and more frequent heatwaves, turning air‑conditioning from a luxury into a necessity for homes and businesses. Professional installation is critical to maintain system efficiency, avoid higher energy bills, and comply with UK safety regulations. Modern...
Why HomeSmart Said ‘No’ to Exclusive Distribution
HomeSmart announced it will not join exclusive "Coming Soon" or preview distribution models like Zillow Preview, opting to keep listings on open MLS platforms. The brokerage argues that broad, transparent access drives competition, protects fair‑housing compliance, and benefits both buyers...
Nscale Teams up with Fortum for Data Center in Harjavalta, Finland
Neocloud Nscale has teamed with Finnish energy firm Fortum to develop a new data‑center in Harjavalta’s Sievari industrial area, on land owned by the town. Fortum will act as the site‑development partner, while Nscale negotiates a preliminary land purchase. The...
Electrovaya Secures $5m of Funding From US DOE to Test Use of Energy Storage Systems in a Data Center Environment
Canadian lithium‑ion battery maker Electrovaya received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Critical Facility Energy Resilience program to test a 1.2 MWh battery energy storage system at Binghamton University’s data‑center testbed. The Infinity BESS, housed in a 20‑foot...
Newmark: AI Adoption Makes Quick, Broad-Based Office Recovery Unlikely
Newmark’s latest research predicts office‑using employment will remain flat through 2030 while vacancy nudges higher, making a broad‑based office recovery unlikely. In its base case, vacancy rises 10 basis points to about 21% despite modest job growth, and faster AI...
Autodesk Strengthens Bridge Between Revit and Forma
Autodesk has launched a tech preview that positions Revit as the first Forma Connected Client, linking the desktop BIM tool directly to Autodesk’s AECO cloud platform. The integration enables teams to import site, terrain and parcel data from Forma Site...
Tenant Turner Releases AI Virtual Agent Beta to Automate Lead Conversations and Schedule Showings Faster
Tenant Turner has launched a beta version of its AI Virtual Agent, a conversational tool that automates routine prospect inquiries and pre‑qualification for rental listings. The agent operates 24/7 via a web widget and SMS, instantly answering common questions and...
Proptech’s Buzziest Buzzword: Workflow
Agentic AI is prompting proptech firms to add a missing workflow layer that ties together data platforms and management tools. Executives from Enaia, MRI Software, Kode Labs and Inspace argue that fragmented point solutions hinder efficiency and AI performance. Integrated...
Why Power Access Is Critical to Data Center Site Locations
Power availability has become the primary driver of data center design, influencing layout, phasing, and cooling strategies from the outset. Lenders now require executed power purchase agreements or firm interconnection commitments before committing capital, turning power certainty into a financing...
RET Ventures Launches First AI-Native Accelerator for Multifamily
RET Ventures announced the launch of an AI‑native accelerator focused on early‑stage proptech startups serving the multifamily market. The inaugural cohort features Brightplace, an AI apartment‑search platform, and LeasingAI, which optimizes visibility on generative search engines like ChatGPT and Gemini....
Bay Area Startup Introduces Flat-Rate, Single-Room Heat Pumps
San Francisco startup Merino Energy launched the Merino Mono, a through‑the‑wall, single‑room heat pump priced at a flat $3,800 including professional installation. The unit installs in under an hour, draws 900 watts from a standard 120‑volt outlet, and serves spaces up to...
Dubai-Based Firm Launches ‘Tokenised’ BTR Product with UK Asset
Dubai‑based Tokinvest has introduced the first regulated tokenised build‑to‑rent (BTR) product in the UK, backed by a 29‑unit residential conversion in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. The Great Hampton Street Works development, completed in 2025, will be offered as digital tokens that...
Why Portable Cooling Isn’t a Plug-and-Play Fix
Portable cooling is often mischaracterized as a simple plug‑and‑play solution, leading facilities to deploy units without proper planning. Experts from JLL and Limbach stress that these systems require the same diligence as a temporary MEP project, including electrical load analysis,...
DoorBird Launches New IP Video Indoor Stations
DoorBird unveiled two new IP video indoor stations, the A1103 and A1104, at Light + Building in Frankfurt. Both units sport a 7‑inch true‑color touch display, HD video, two‑way audio and a configurable RGB LED status bar. The models have...