During the first half of 2026, the commercial real estate market continued to decline, with a 5% decrease in take-up in the rental market and a 19% drop in investment compared with the first half of 20251. In this context, what strategies can help revitalize the sector and effectively enhance the value of vacant spaces?
Converting offices into housing, an environmentally friendly solution
In an effort to reduce the environmental impact of the construction sector, converting commercial buildings into housing appears to be an interesting solution. In 2021, offices already accounted for 53% of the conversion of commercial buildings2. This helps address office obsolescence and provides a more environmentally friendly alternative to construction on undeveloped land or demolition and reconstruction projects.
However, this solution remains underutilized. Between 2013 and 2021, these conversions represented approximately 1,900 housing units per year, barely 3% of the target set by the 2010 Grand Paris law, with two-thirds located in Paris and the inner suburbs. Thus, although the health crisis has increased long-term office vacancy, offices remain an attractive investment, and conversion is just one of several options available to their owners.
This limited momentum can be explained by significant structural barriers: local taxation that is less favorable to housing, major technical constraints, and renovation costs that are often higher than those of demolition and reconstruction.
Adapting offices to new AI-driven working practices
AI also represents a promising avenue. A study conducted by JLL reveals that integrating AI into work organization fosters collaboration within teams while accelerating project delivery3. As working practices evolve, offices are becoming places where collective intelligence is built. In terms of workplace design, this translates into fewer individual workstations in favor of environments designed to alternate between focused work, interaction with AI, collective creativity, and learning.
Beyond the workplace, AI can also be used as a tool to design better cities. In their Street Review study, conducted in Montreal and published in the journal Cities, Shin Koseki and Rashid Mushkani demonstrate how the co-production of AI with citizens can foster urban inclusion4. This co-production approach involves the active participation of communities from the outset to define the issue, select criteria, analyze images, interpret data, and reflect on the tool's ethical limitations, rather than relying on simple consultation at a later stage. This collaboration must also continue after the tool has been deployed.
AI is therefore not a magic solution. It is a diagnostic tool that can help address the blind spots of other tools used by municipalities to assess urban planning, provided that:
- Transparency is ensured regarding the data used, the limitations of the models, and the decisions that may result from them.
- The results obtained are validated and compared with feedback from diverse population groups.
- Political decision-making remains strictly human.
Conclusion
Two approaches appear promising for enhancing the value of real estate assets in the coming years. The first is environmental, while the second is technological. On the one hand, converting offices into housing offers a sustainable solution but requires overcoming significant regulatory and financial barriers to unlock its full potential. On the other hand, Artificial Intelligence provides an opportunity to rethink both workplaces and citizen participation in urban planning.
References
[1] Colliers International, Île-de-France Office Market Study – First Half of 2026, 9 July 2026
[2] Emmanuel Trouillard and Clément Quatrain, Converting offices and commercial buildings into housing: a still underutilized potential, Note rapide Société-Habitat, No. 963, www.institutparisregion.fr.
[3] Flore Pradere and Diana Nait-Belkacem, The future of corporate real estate in the age of AI. From Bengaluru to San Francisco. Designing workplaces for human-AI collaboration, 2026, www.jll.com.
[4] Shin Koseki and Rashid Mushkani, More inclusive cities through AI? Yes, if communities remain in control, 10 June 2026, https://theconversation.com/.