In 2016, more than 37K people died in car accidents in the U.S. That same year, one person died in Florida when his Tesla’s Autopilot feature failed to sense a truck cutting across the road, though the death was ruled an accident since there was no system defect detected.

Smart technology is improving all the time, incorporating machine learning and artificial intelligence to handle more and more complex tasks. Now more than ever, all commercial buildings have to get Smart out of necessity – it is no longer a luxury. Particularly, there are 5 ways that CRE buildings continue to advance and change the industry.

Shockwaves but not a lot of surprise rippled through the news in March when it was announced that Toys R Us would be closing all of its U.S. stores. For some, it was one more sign of retail’s struggles in the face of a changing consumer environment. For others, more vacant space in a tightening CRE market is good news.

There are dozens of reasons to join the CRE conversation on Twitter. If this is your first attempt at using the platform to promote yourself or your business, here are 5 ways to jump in.

Most people have little idea what blockchain even is as it relates to cryptocurrency. Now that the same technology behind virtual currency is being adapted for use in many other industries, firms in the CRE sector are bracing for its impact.

Perhaps, the grocery anchor is more relevant now than ever. Every mall smattered across the U.S. is anchored by one big name store that is expected to be the biggest draw – the other stores are there to sop up the traffic going to the anchor. Retailers are attracted to new mall developments based on how strong a draw they think the anchor will be.

Last year, e-commerce brought in close to a half a trillion dollars, growing by over 10% from year-to-year. In order to meet that demand and the projected 10% increase over this year, retailers will need to acquire at least 50 million more square feet of industrial warehouse space.

In a study by Harvard Business Review about the revolution of big data as a management tool, it was found that artificial intelligence used to analyze and apply data to decision making by those at the top of the CRE industry saw an increase of up to 6% in productivity compared to their competitors.

In February, reports from CNBC surfaced that Uber was making moves to prepare for an IPO next year. Lyft, Uber’s main competitor in the U.S. is also laying the groundwork necessary for going public attracting $1 billion from Google’s parent company. At first blush, this news may not seem relevant to CRE, but its impact could be felt in three important ways.

Though Excel has become standard for spreadsheet data tracking across the business and academic world, it has had some shortcomings. For one, Excel for business is expensive, especially when you consider some of the more advanced options now that are free or cost less than $10 per month.

Winn-Dixie is getting a lot of press, but Albertson’s Grocery stores appears to be poised to buy up the stalwart Rite Aid as reported by the WSJ. E-commerce alone is not the reason for these bankruptcies but it has pushed brick-and-mortar to revamp or get out. Here are 5 ways that brick-and-mortar is pushing back in order to survive the e-commerce onslaught:

When employees at Google were asked to rank their favorite things about working there, the games and perks weren’t the biggest lures. It’s the high wages that Google employees earn, averaging nearly three times the national median wage at $140K per year. It’s providing three free gourmet meals a day for employees. It is weeks of vacation time and company trips and holiday parties that are out of this world.

Fintech is sweeping the globe. In the real estate sector alone, according to Deloitte’s recent survey, real estate tech startups grew from just 176 new businesses a decade ago to more than 1,200 in 2017. Investments have increased more than tenfold in RE tech and fintech startups over the last ten years. With all of this capital interest there are 3 key reasons we should be watching RE fintech startups in 2018.

There are NAI Global offices crushing it all over the globe. Last year, we watched some of our North American members soar on social media. Here are 14 of the top NAI offices that made a big splash in 2017.

Despite the widespread perception that brick-and-mortar retail is on the decline, the numbers say otherwise. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) recent emerging trends survey, the long term growth rate for traditional retail sales has remained at a steady 4 – 4.5%. Although the industry is changing, the retail landscape is still strong. Here’s how it is changing, why it’s changing, and what to watch in 2018.