Organisational silos overtake budget as top barrier to AI adoption in real estate

Skill gaps and budget constraints are tied for second.

Organisational silos are the leading barrier to real estate transformation for Singapore corporate leaders, cited by 37% of respondents, twelve percentage points above the Asia Pacific average of 25%, according to JLL's 2026 Future of Work Survey.

Across Asia Pacific, AI and technology skills gaps rank as the primary constraint at 42%, overtaking budget concerns for the first time in the survey's 15-year history. In Singapore, skills gaps and budget constraints are level at 32% each, behind the coordination problem.

The survey covered more than 2,200 C-suite executives and commercial real estate leaders across 21 countries, including 100 respondents from Singapore.

Despite 80% of Singapore organisations recognising the need for portfolio action in response to AI-driven transformation, only 11% have reached the stage of actively optimising AI in their real estate operations, below the Asia Pacific average of 15%. The largest single group, 27% of Singapore respondents, remains at the sourcing stage, selecting tools and partners but not yet deploying them, against 16% across the region.

Whilst 52% of Singapore organisations actively monitor AI trends and 42% analyse implications for their real estate functions, only 28% are redesigning spaces for human-AI collaboration and 36% are modelling portfolio implications with dedicated budgets.

Some 42% of Singapore organisations identify rental cost increases as a primary cost driver, 14 percentage points above the Asia Pacific average of 28%. Energy and utility expenses at 44%, inflationary pressures at 38% and technology infrastructure investment at 34% compound the burden.

Cybersecurity and data privacy ranked as the top portfolio risk at 53%, followed by technology and AI disruption at 46% and geopolitical instability at 40%.

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