Verdantix 2026 Global Real Estate Survey: Where Leaders Are Doubling Down – And Where Change Is Structural

As organizations plan for 2026, corporate real estate leaders are no longer debating whether change is required, but where it will deliver the greatest operational and strategic impact. The 2026 Verdantix real estate global corporate survey, which gathered responses from 300 senior real estate and facilities leaders, reveals a clear pattern: while some priorities are being refined and reinforced, others are emerging that signal a fundamental reset in how portfolios are managed.

Energy management is being sharpened, not reinvented
Energy sits firmly at the top of the agenda: 88% of respondents report actively implementing energy efficiency upgrades, positioning energy management as the most widely adopted resilience measure across corporate real estate portfolios. This reflects the role energy performance plays in controlling operating costs, maintaining asset reliability and supporting business continuity across increasingly complex estates.

Energy management initiatives are expanding into physical resilience:

• 74% of decision-makers are investing in resilient building design or retrofits
• 58% are deploying on-site renewables or microgrid capabilities

Together, these investments indicate a tightening of energy and resilience strategies around measures with proven operational impact. Rather than pursuing entirely new approaches, organizations are deepening and scaling interventions that directly affect asset performance and risk exposure.

AI is forcing a structural reset on data
Where change becomes more fundamental is data, a shift that is explicitly being driven by AI. Responses to the question “How has AI changed your real estate and facilities management strategy or actions?” show that AI initiatives are surfacing long-standing weaknesses in fragmented data environments.

• 74% of organizations say AI has pushed them to centralize data from multiple systems and solutions
• 71% report updating their long-term digitization strategies as a result

These responses point to more than incremental improvement. Disconnected building, energy and operational data limit visibility, slow decision-making and constrain automation. As AI use cases expand, these limitations become harder to ignore. Rather than layering additional tools onto existing estates, firms are prioritizing shared data foundations that support reporting, performance management and cross-functional coordination at scale.

AI is changing delivery models, not org charts
Despite the attention AI attracts, it is not having the extreme organizational impact that some predicted. Survey responses show a consistent pattern in how leaders are adapting:

• 79% of respondents say AI has driven investment in upskilling teams
• 60% cite access to specialist skills as the most valuable outcome of outsourcing
• 56% are using commercial AI-powered platforms
• Only 20% report restructuring teams in response to AI

Rather than redrawing organizational charts, firms are absorbing AI into existing operating models and relying more heavily on specialist partners to address gaps in data integration, analytics and AI deployment. Outsourcing is being used to accelerate delivery and manage complexity, not to reduce headcount. For 2026, the priority is scaling value from AI through hybrid delivery models that combine internal ownership with external expertise.

To explore these shifts in detail – with cuts by industry, region and revenue band that reveal where momentum is building and where it is starting to stall – read the Verdantix Global Corporate Survey: Real Estate Technology Budgets, Priorities And Preferences For 2026 or schedule an analyst inquiry to discuss the findings in more detail.