Digital opportunities: CRE trends for 2026 and beyond

As the global economy continues to balance inflation, interest rate volatility, an evolving labor market and rapidly evolving technological change, the commercial real estate (CRE) sector faces a combination of uncertainty and opportunity in 2026.

Even with the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates again, the sector continues to face stress from the higher-for-longer rate cycle and the popularity of hybrid work environments – especially in core cities and the office subsector. Yet, challenges and uncertainty are accompanied by new discoveries and opportunities to grow and to build the kind of efficiencies that allow CRE firms to capitalize when favorable conditions present themselves.

The consensus among participants at the 11^th annual U.S. Bank Commercial Real Estate Treasury Conference was that stabilization of interest rates could open the door for more lending and space to invest capital that has been parked on the sidelines.

What are CRE treasury leaders watching?

The intersection of banking, technology and market expectations is complex, as payments have become faster, more embedded and a greater strategic tool for CRE organizations. As they consider where and when to invest resources, industry leaders are leaning more into innovation and transformation.

“Our clients are increasingly focused on streamlining their daily operations, while carefully managing the risks tied to emerging technologies and continuing fraud threats,” says Chelsey Osborne, U.S. Bank Senior Vice President, Head of CRE Deposit & Payment Solutions.

What drives innovation as artificial intelligence (AI) goes mainstream and the threat landscape intensifies? What motivates jettisoning paper for electronic payments? Industry leaders are focusing on these trends:

1. Harnessing artificial intelligence to produce true insights

AI has moved beyond buzzword status, creating real opportunities to transform business operations and customer service, while also opening the door to bad actors exploiting it for nefarious purposes.

AI in commercial real estate can produce true insights for developers and property managers to help them better understand their customers and investment opportunities. AI absorbs and leverages more data than companies could before, with less waste, to deliver what markets want instead of speculating about what they need.

That mixed-use project you want to construct at a certain price on a specific site might prove to be misvalued or misguided. AI can precisely distill information to identify the optimal mix of tenants to build the highest and best use, helping commercial property developers market directly to clients with a refined focus on target customers.

Operationally, AI can gain faster insights by:

• Automating routine tasks
• Identifying lease syntax and vetting tenant data
• Standardizing budget data
• Resolving customer service tickets

As organizations expand their use of AI, it’s essential to approach implementation as an ongoing evolution, not a one-time revolution. Begin with small, manageable pilot projects where you can test use cases, gather feedback, and refine your approach based on real-world results. Prioritize internal applications first, where you can better manage risk and compliance. As your team builds confidence and clarity around legal and data requirements, gradually scale to client-facing solutions.

2. Outpacing sophisticated AI threats

Cybercriminals are creatively using AI to manipulate people into sharing sensitive information through sophisticated social engineering tactics. For example, developing new technologies like deepfake audio to mimic executive voices and trick employees into believing they are talking to someone in a position of authority.

Some even follow ransomware-as-a-service models in which technology developers create, maintain and update malware for attacks – brashly encouraging victims to contact their “sales department” to prevent disclosure.

The impact is significant. On average, successful third-party attacks interrupt business operations for two to three weeks. Forensic investigations into network exposures and vulnerabilities can take up to two months and prove costly.

Staying ahead of these threats takes agility and best practices, including:

• Employing third parties in addition to your own assets to respond to vulnerabilities and prevent fraud
• Inventorying data outside of your network when making security decisions
• Developing a threat and disruption response playbook that includes third parties
• Patching and updating software applications and regularly assessing vulnerabilities
• Using multifactor authentication with secure methods like hardware tokens, authenticator apps, fingerprint or facial recognition

To combat the dangers posed by AI in commercial real estate, companies must vigilantly monitor network ports, protocols and services for threats and should only grant administration privileges and access when necessary.

3. Optimizing payables, overcoming resistance and boosting profit

The industry continues moving beyond paper and manual processes. What if you could turn accounts payable from a cost center into a profit center?

Virtual cards make it easier for companies to ditch paper and reconcile payments with more visibility. Earning rebates and increasing float on those card payments can optimize working capital during an environment of increased cost.

Going paperless also means less time spent keying invoices and more time to answer vendor and property manager emails so employees can research their payment needs.

The question for most businesses isn’t whether to innovate, but where to innovate – or how to do it most effectively. As a result, the most popular sessions at the U.S. Bank Commercial Real Estate Treasury Conference covered the various ways CRE firms are approaching their tech stacks, creating efficiencies and leveraging data to grow and protect their businesses:

• Unlocking value through virtual accounts
• Leveraging intelligent AP for better insights
• Turning utility bill pay data into a competitive advantage

The digitization of payment processes in CRE is evolving rapidly. The future of payments pushes the transaction itself into the background, allowing you to focus on your brand experience for both tenants and vendors.

To learn more about how digital payments are transforming treasury management in Commercial Real Estate, contact a U.S. Bank relationship manager.