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Ring’s Surveillance Backlash Is a Warning Shot for Commercial Real Estate

Real estate technology update

Author

Franco Faraudo
February 18, 2026

Propmodo Technology

By Franco Faraudo · February 18, 2025

Greetings,

This week, commercial real estate stocks suffered their steepest sell-off since the 2008 financial crisis as investors reassessed the industry’s exposure to AI disruption. CBRE fell 26% in two days, wiping out about $12 billion in value, while JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, Colliers, and Newmark dropped 11% to 14%. The decline spread to office REITs including SL Green, Kilroy Realty, Cousins Properties, and BXP, amid fears that AI could reduce office demand and erode the labor-intensive brokerage model.

The sell-off came despite CBRE posting record revenue and 15% profit growth, highlighting investor anxiety that AI could eventually shrink headcounts and compress commissions. CoStar has already cut about 500 roles through AI efficiencies, and firms like JLL and CBRE are rolling out their own platforms. While CEO Bob Sulentic argued relationships remain central, the market reaction shows investors are questioning whether AI will boost productivity or fundamentally weaken the brokerage business.

This week’s Propmodo Technology focus is security and privacy. Amazon’s abrupt cancellation of Ring’s Flock Safety integration after a Super Bowl privacy backlash is a warning shot for commercial real estate owners who have embraced police-connected camera networks. As surveillance tools grow more powerful and interconnected, buildings that once marketed cameras as safety amenities may now face rising tenant concerns, reputational risk, and new scrutiny over how their footage is used and shared.

Let’s go!

Presented by ICSC

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Security

Ring's Surveillance Backlash Is a Warning Shot for Commercial Real Estate

Ring ended its Flock partnership after surveillance backlash, highlighting growing risks for commercial properties using extensive cameras and law enforcement data-sharing agreements.

https://propmodo.com/rings-surveillance-backlash-is-a-warning-shot-for-commercial-real-estate/

Bytes

🏠Homes vs AI
There is growing evidence that the data center boom is crowding out new housing, as home builders struggle to compete with big tech for land, materials, and construction labor.

⛱️ Bringing sand to the sandbox
Saudi Arabia has launched the second cohort of its PropTech regulatory sandbox, run by the country’s Real Estate General Authority.

🚜 Put a bot on it
Bedrock Robotics, a construction technology firm that retrofits existing heavy machinery with autonomous technology, has raised $270 million in a Series B funding round.

Overheard

More Propmodo Technology

Is Your Parking Facility Making Money While You Sleep?

Parking structures often sit empty for hours at a time. As downtown recovery lags and costs rise, operators are finding new ways to monetize underused parking through EV charging and off-peak leasing.

https://propmodo.com/is-your-parking-facility-making-money-while-you-sleep/

CoStar's $3 Billion Homes.com Bet Has Two Hedge Funds Calling for Blood

D.E. Shaw joins Third Point in demanding CoStar board changes over $3 billion spent on Homes.com generating just $80 million in revenue.

https://propmodo.com/costars-3-billion-homes-com-bet-has-two-hedge-funds-calling-for-blood/

Beyond the AI Bubble: Building Enduring Intelligence for Real Estate

In order to prevent an AI bubble, real estate tech companies are having to prove practical uses of artificial intlligence that can actually work at scale to help opperators save time and money.

https://propmodo.com/beyond-the-ai-bubble-building-enduring-intelligence-for-real-estate/

AI-Powered Feasibility Analysis Could Reshape the Development Landscape

AI is compressing feasibility study timelines from six weeks to days at a fraction of the cost, potentially enabling smaller firms to pursue complex developments.

https://propmodo.com/ai-powered-feasibility-analysis-could-reshape-the-development-landscape/

The Real Math Behind Office-to-Apartment Conversions (And a Free Tool to Run the Numbers)

Propmodo updated the Hamilton Project's 2023 office-to-residential conversion model with 2026 data. Here's what changed—and what it means for conversion viability.

https://propmodo.com/playbook/the-real-math-behind-office-to-apartment-conversions-and-a-free-tool-to-run-the-numbers/

Propmodo Technology is edited by Franco Faraudo with contributions from readers like you and the Propmodo team.

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