Annexion Insights • Property and Real Estate
Behind the Numbers: Property and Real Estate Hiring in APAC
📅 28 August 2026 • Annexion Partners
Attracting talent to the Property and Real Estate sector is only part of the hiring challenge. Encouraging existing professionals to effectively use AI is a separate issue—one that, according to the data, the industry still struggles to solve.
Adoption is real. Confidence isn't.
According to the Australian Property Technology in 2026 report by Yardi and the Property Council of Australia, 55% of property organizations have adopted some form of AI. While this appears to be rapid progress, the depth of adoption is limited: only 18% consider their AI capabilities to be stable and expanding. Additionally, 6% of organizations have experimented with AI but found it either unhelpful or too risky to continue using [1].
In summary, most organizations are stuck in between—they have moved beyond initial experiments with AI but have not yet fully integrated it. Interestingly, 44% believe that Australian real estate lags behind other countries in AI adoption, even though the majority already use it in some way.
Although over half the industry uses AI in some capacity, fewer than one in five organizations have confidence in their AI solutions.
The barrier has moved.
Just a year ago, challenges to adopting AI in property were mostly practical concerns like cost, technology, and vendor support. That has changed. The 2026 report reveals that the biggest barrier now is internal skills and knowledge, with 28% of organizations naming this as their top concern [1].
As Chris Wild, Property Council director of research, data and intelligence, explains: the problem is no longer ambition but readiness. The gap in skills continues to widen as AI adoption speeds up—a more difficult issue than simple budgeting, since the industry has acquired the tools before developing the workforce to operate them.
Hiring hasn't caught up yet.
This should be a concern for anyone recruiting in the sector: even though organizations recognize a skills gap, hiring practices have barely changed. In fact, 88% of organizations say their hiring patterns remain the same or that they are still assessing how AI affects job roles. Only 7% report an increased demand for AI-focused roles, while 5% have reduced hiring due to AI adoption [1].
The real story lies in the disconnect between the recognized skills shortage and the lack of change in workforce strategy. Companies have not yet turned "we lack these skills" into active efforts to hire or train for them.
An identified skills gap combined with an almost unchanged hiring approach signals an opportunity for the sector.
What this means for hiring across the region
Australia's data offers the clearest and most up-to-date insight available, and this situation is likely not unique. The same trend—broad but shallow AI adoption, an acknowledged skills gap, and slow-changing hiring practices—will likely appear across the region as more markets release their data. At present, the candidates who should be prioritized in Property and Real Estate are not just those with transaction expertise, but those who can bridge the gap identified here: transforming existing AI investments into reliable, operational capabilities. This mirrors the pattern observed in Digital Infrastructure, where investment and adoption outpace workforce development.
Sources
[1] Real Estate Business, "AI adoption accelerates, but confidence lags in property sector," reporting on the Yardi/Property Council of Australia "Australian Property Technology in 2026" report, 13 March 2026 — realestatebusiness.com.au
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