The tech that’s reshaping commercial real estate

Innovation is reshaping how value and advantage are built in commercial real estate 

Disruption rarely moves in straight lines, and in today’s commercial real estate (CRE) landscape, innovation has evolved far beyond the ‘buzzword’ category into an industry-wide competitive imperative. From where we stand today, tech-enabled transformation powers every corner of the built world, integrating CRE data, analytics, and automation into decisions that once relied solely on intuition and experience.

Within this environment, investors and operators alike are rethinking not only how properties are managed and valued, but how opportunities are surfaced and operational challenges are solved. In the latest installment of our CRE Innovation Series, host Jane Gold, Offer Manager is joined by Isabelle Granahan-Field, Investor at Camber Creek, to discuss what proptech innovation truly means for CRE today, and how these changes can be leveraged to drive sustainable performance. From “nice-to-have” technologies to essential ROI-driven solutions, Gold and Granahan-Field illuminate how savvy investors and forward-thinking operators are collaborating to tackle CRE’s most persistent pain points, and how the leaders of tomorrow are already preparing for what comes next.

From “nice-to-have” to non-negotiable

For decades, “innovation” was billed as a promise for tomorrow. But in 2025 - as technological change becomes deeply embedded in how properties are managed, valued, and even imagined - the call for proptech innovation is no longer something companies can afford to push to the periphery.

“When proptech was first emerging as a real tech category, you saw this focus on tenant amenities and experience driven by market competition, not necessarily necessity,” Granahan-Field recalls. “Now, owners and operators want clear and demonstrated ROI for the technology investments that they’re making. They want to see how it’s either going to drive topline revenue or help reduce costs, and they want to be able to measure that and value it.”

Gold echoes the stakes, noting that while real estate has an unfortunate reputation of being a late adopter when it comes to technology, inaction in today’s landscape might be more costly than the experimentation or adoption of something new. Of course, in a market where margin compression and rising operating costs are a reality, understanding which innovations truly make a difference is paramount. More specifically, as capital and attention flood into proptech, the needle has moved decisively from flashy features to “need-to-have” fundamentals.

A new playbook for proptech investment

Camber Creek’s approach exemplifies the modern standard for innovation by investing across a wide range of technologies with the goal of delivering consistent, tangible outcomes. “We invest in all kinds of real estate technology. So anything that serves the built world, which I would say encompasses fintech, construction tech, insurtech, and retail tech,” Granahan-Field explains. Central to this strategy is the integration of real-world operator feedback - formalized through Camber Creek’s ‘Beta Lab’: “We test the technology with our LP partners or other people in our network to really get a sense of the value that those technologies are providing before we invest in the technology,” she adds.

This direct engagement provides not just validation, but vital insights into pain points across a diverse asset landscape, driven by a network of over 300 strategic partners managing billions of square feet. “We remain very connected to the brick-and-mortar world in every sense,” Granahan-Field says. “A lot of the thematic sourcing we do is really based on the real-time conversations and feedback that we're getting from those operators.” This flywheel model, where investors, operating partners, and emerging tech companies share data, experience, and feedback, keeps investment decisions grounded and helps to fuel the rapid scaling of solutions tailored to CRE’s complex realities.

“That focus on real operator insight is what has driven our own evolution here at Altus Group, from ARGUS to our advisory solutions,” Gold explains. “Tactical expertise plus the right tools - this is how organizations lead the industry forward.”

Operational excellence unlocked: Twin Knowledge and Whale

Granahan-Field shines a spotlight on Twin-Knowledge, a recent portfolio company, as a model for how robust diligence and early operator involvement can validate tangible value, even in pre-investment phases. “We introduced Twin-Knowledge to a home builder, and once they started using it, they were able to speed up their drawing review process by two times and reduce construction-related costs by 25%,” Granahan-Field shares. “Even during our diligence process, we could see the tangible value Twin Knowledge delivers to customers, along with the broader market potential across different use cases and end users.”

The story is similar for Whale, a company addressing the often-overlooked pain points of security deposit management in residential property operations. “Security deposits is another area that’s very cumbersome and costly,” she says, noting that Whale is uniquely positioned to improve that traditional security deposit flow. “Now the renter can earn interest on the deposit in an account that Whale sets up for them - controlled by the property manager - but they can watch their interest grow throughout the duration of their lease. Operationally, the landlord is no longer managing the receivable of the deposit, the compliance of the deposit throughout the lifecycle of the lease, or refunding the deposit.” This saves the property owner time and operational burden, mitigates the risk traditionally associated with managing those deposits, and residents benefit from newfound transparency and access to their own capital.

Identifying patterns of success

When asked about recurring patterns among high-performing portfolio companies, Granahan-Field points to a strategic approach to customer acquisition and industry integration. “I'll talk about two of our consumer-facing technologies, Bilt and Flex. Most of our investments are primarily B2B, so selling into real estate owners and operators or that kind of enterprise,” she explains, noting that Bilt and Flex have excelled (both within their portfolio and as standalone companies) by figuring out how to leverage the real estate world to acquire those customers efficiently. “Both of those companies have partnerships and alliances with real estate portfolios where they can distribute the product through a network of buildings and real estate owners at very low costs. Part of that is obviously a testament to the quality of the product and general consumer interest, but these companies have understood the strength of real estate footprints and how to leverage that to reach customers effectively. Direct-to-consumer is a very different sales motion, and these companies have figured out how to use that industry network.”

The lesson for founders and operators? Whether B2B or B2C, the ability to navigate and build relationships across real estate networks is a decisive factor. Successful companies don’t simply create great technology - they integrate into the CRE ecosystem, align with its operational realities, and scale through strategic industry partnerships.

Up next: Platform consolidation and cross-industry innovation

Looking ahead, Granahan-Field anticipates the next wave of CRE innovation will be defined by platform integration and consolidation. “What I see changing in the industry is really how tech stacks are configured… I think the next few years we're going to see more platform consolidation and the ability to plug in solutions with each other.” This shift should give way to more unified tech stacks that give users access to all of their data and capabilities in one place – a far cry from the more fragmented solutions the industry is still seeing (and using) today.

She also points to the power of learning from adjacent industries. “We've seen a lot of innovation in workflow orchestration and embedded finance and underwriting automation. All of these are areas in commercial real estate where there's still reliance on manual decision making and we're seeing horizontal tools or other fintech solutions innovate.” According to Granahan-Field, there is a lot of opportunity for those tools to be applied in the vertical real estate use case.

Setting new standards for CRE leadership

In today’s CRE ecosystem, innovation is no longer a luxury. Rather, it’s the defining factor separating industry leaders from the rest of the field, and the market is rewarding those who can recognize, adopt, and scale technologies that solve the industry’s most pressing pain points to deliver measurable value.

For founders, investors, and CRE operators alike, the message is clear: tomorrow’s industry winners will be defined not by the quantity of innovation, but by its impact. The future belongs to those who face the real problems head-on, forge smart partnerships, and build the infrastructure - both technical and relational - to support a smarter, more resilient built environment. As the ecosystem continues to evolve, those willing to embrace these truths will transform today’s obstacles into the next wave of industry-defining opportunity.

Watch the full episode from the CRE Innovation Series.

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