Young professionals are driving change in the commercial real estate industry. For years, new technologies—from virtual rent collection to digital document signing—have promised to deliver efficiencies to the market, but adoption has been another story. The industry has an older average age demographic than most other industries. According to NAR, for example, brokers have a median age of 60 years old. These groups tend to be reluctant to adapt new technologies, but as more millennials and gen-Z members enter the industry, technology adoption is becoming inevitable.

"Integration of technology has become very important. Simple things like electronic document signing and hopping on zoom calls, to using drones and CRM systems is becoming standard. Incorporating things like that into the normal business practice has an impact on client trust and their success," Henry H. Alexander, III, a partner and the director of industrial service at Colliers International, tells GlobeSt.com.

Young professionals are not only fluent in technologies, but using them to conduct daily tasks is a standard for these generations. "Young professionals are changing the industry by bringing their skill set and familiarity with the latest Internet technology," Joe Ambrose, SVP of production at UC Funds, tells GlobeSt.com. "They are fluid in navigating internet-based CRE data programs, such as Co-Star and LoopNet. They have never owned a rolodex and are comfortable with the quick pace of communication and internet-based data search and storage. These young professionals are not afraid of change; they are able to track down information quickly and are taking the analyst position to the next level."