Building consultancy has been among the slower corners of the real estate world to adopt artificial intelligence (AI), according to Alex Herrmann, head of building consultancy at MAPP.
Its advice arrives at critical moments like acquisitions, capital raises, and major capital expenditure planning.
Herrmann thinks the tide is slowly turning, and AI’s potential is now being understood. They are now exploring how AI can sharpen performance in the sector.
Building consultants and surveyors are engaging with AI tools, exploring how they can improve their work.
Unlike other real estate functions, such as leasing analytics, portfolio modelling, and market forecasting, building consultancy is an area where traditional approaches, like site visits, should remain in use.
One area being tested is what AI can deliver ahead of the site visit, such as running lease documentation through an AI platform to reveal material obligations or break clauses.
Related: High Street Revival Gains Momentum
AI tools can also trawl through historical building records, interrogate drone surveys, or flag anomalies, ensuring a surveyor arrives better equipped to ask the right questions and look in the right places.
A tool might identify a crack in an external wall from a drone image or historical survey, allowing a human to establish cause and effect.
The crack may have resulted from past settlement, live structural movement, or something more benign, requiring human experience and professional intuition to judge.
Human experience is essential because if the site observations are faulty, AI will simply package poor information more efficiently.
There remains great importance in the value of human conversation during site visits.
Some of the most valuable intelligence gathered comes not from any system or sensor, but from a quiet word with a location manager, who can provide information about the site’s busy periods or any whispers about lease renewals.
These anecdotes can fundamentally shape the advice given to a client, and when it comes to writing up site assessment reports, AI can bring efficiencies by structuring content and applying some analytics.
Related: More Sparkle, Less Footprint: Manchester Couples Choose Lab-Grown Diamonds for Commitment Ceremonies
The output is only ever as good as the underlying data, and predictive maintenance adds value by processing historical maintenance records and populating planned preventative maintenance schedules.
Understanding when a boiler is likely to fail or when plant equipment is approaching the end of its life helps property managers forecast budgets and maintain compliance with health and safety legislation.
AI adoption in building consultancy is still in its infancy, and it is imperative that the industry proceeds with care, as the reports produced serve demanding audiences, such as insurers and institutional investors.
They require MRICS-standard surveyors and the kind of accountability that comes with a regulated qualification, and AI tools can enhance the surveyor’s capabilities.
If used alongside professional judgement and sensory awareness, we can expect unparalleled levels of precision and efficiency in the future, particularly in areas like predictive maintenance, where AI is already adding significant value.
The industry will move forward with AI continuing to shape the role of building consultants.
