Commercial real estate has remained largely unchanged through major technological shifts over the past three decades, with brokers continuing to juggle multiple disconnected systems despite digitization efforts. According to Dan Mosher, Co-Founder and CEO of DealGround, this resistance stems from the industry's fundamental nature as a relationship-based field where data has traditionally served as a strategic advantage, leading to a culture of data hoarding that shaped slow, piecemeal technology adoption.
This fragmented approach has resulted in what Mosher calls the "Five-System Problem," where advanced brokers navigate complex workflows involving multiple tools. They typically start in one system, pull data into another, sometimes utilize ChatGPT, drop results into mapping tools, switch to different systems for contact information, and finally check their CRM before making a single informed phone call. The core issue, according to Mosher, was never a lack of technology but rather the absence of integration between specialized tools that forced brokers to serve as the connective tissue between disparate systems.
The current transformation differs fundamentally from previous technology waves because artificial intelligence is uniquely suited to handle commercial real estate's specific data challenges. "The unstructured data that defines CRE – offering memorandums, excel spreadsheets, lease documents, surveys, due diligence materials, property notes, contact information – that's almost exactly what AI was made to handle," Mosher explains. The industry's decades of accumulated messy, siloed, unstructured data now represent an opportunity rather than a barrier, as large language models excel at synthesizing precisely this type of information.
DealGround was developed specifically to address this fragmentation by creating a centralized platform where brokers, investors, and analysts can consolidate private data, access public property and title records, and query everything through a single AI-powered interface. The platform aims to become the comprehensive database tracking all property developments including new tenants, lease expirations, rent increases, and loan maturity dates in one location. As Mosher describes it, "Properties are living, breathing organisms. DealGround moves with them over time."
This represents what Mosher terms the third wave of commercial real estate transformation, which involves collapsing the entire technology stack rather than simply adding AI features to existing workflows. The envisioned future consists of one integrated system that contains all broker knowledge, surfaces relevant insights at appropriate times, and allows professionals to focus on relationship-building and deal-closing activities where human interaction remains superior to software capabilities.
The practical implications for the industry are significant, with the potential to shift broker focus from administrative tasks to strategic relationship development. "The goal is for brokers to spend more time on relationships and less time on administrative legwork," Mosher states. The system can automatically flag important developments like upcoming lease expirations or loan maturities, enabling brokers to contact owners with timely, well-informed proposals. After decades of technological lag, Mosher believes the necessary conditions for genuine transformation now exist: comprehensive data availability, mature AI tools, and growing broker willingness to explore more efficient approaches. Additional information about the platform is available at https://www.dealground.com.
This shift represents more than technological adoption; it signifies a fundamental change in how commercial real estate professionals leverage information. The fragmentation that previously hindered efficiency now serves as the foundation for AI-driven solutions that can process and connect disparate data sources. For an industry built on personal relationships and proprietary information, the emergence of tools that can synthesize decades of unstructured data while preserving brokers' relationship-focused work represents a pivotal development in commercial real estate's technological evolution.
