From our Location Strategy Thought Leader Partner, Colliers. Based on insights from the Colliers-sponsored poll at the 2025–2026 CoreNet Global Summit events across EMEA, North America, and APAC, four key themes were identified that are shaping the corporate real estate (CRE) industry.

Corporate real estate (CRE) leaders aren’t struggling to see what’s coming next. Across the industry, the direction is increasingly clear. Artificial intelligence, data intelligence, and evolving workplace expectations are reshaping how organizations think about their portfolios and the role real estate plays in business strategy.

The role of strategic design is not to force interaction, but to create the conditions where collaboration is chosen.

From our Location Strategy Thought Leader Partner, Colliers. Colliers’ exclusive poll at the 2026 CoreNet Global Summit APAC reveals three key forces redefining corporate real estate (CRE) and the region’s opportunity to lead the transformation. We surveyed more than 170 senior industry leaders across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, spanning occupiers, service providers and investors.

Contradictory or conflicting lease language appears far more often than many tenants realize.

Despite decades of advocacy and investment, women remain drastically underrepresented across the construction sector.

From our Thought Leader Partner, Cushman & Wakefield. Cushman & Wakefield’s 2026 Office Fit Out Cost Guides provide construction cost benchmarks for occupiers across 144 cities worldwide, spanning the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Whether planning a basic, collaborative or advanced hybrid workplace, the guides offer detailed cost breakdowns to support capital planning, workplace transformation and relocation decisions.

From our Thought Leader Partner, Gensler. The workplace creates the conditions for people to learn, exchange ideas, build skills, and experiment together in ways no digital tool can replicate. As AI becomes more embedded in daily work, the office becomes even more valuable as a place where knowledge, experimentation, and human insight come together.

The office is increasingly being redefined as a tool to support organizational performance, learning, innovation, and connection.

For much of the past decade, sustainability in corporate real estate was defined by commitments. Organizations announced net-zero targets, published ESG reports, and outlined ambitious carbon reduction goals. Those pledges helped elevate the role of the built environment in global climate conversations and signaled growing expectations for companies to address their environmental footprint.

From our Thought Leader Partner, Savills. Global occupier sentiment has strengthened, with research showing that prime office rents are expected to rise more firmly in 2026 than in the previous two years. Similar momentum is emerging across Asia Pacific, although the pace of activity differs by market, reflecting the region’s varied dynamics.

To ensure positive returns, leaders must be intentional about the implementation of programs that develop and maintain their workforce.