Real Estate & Construction News (2/19/25) – An Embrace Of AI, A Squeeze On Construction and a Jump In Mortgage Refinance Request
The real estate industry is embracing AI to enhance a variety of applications. (Kathleen Walch Forbes)
A joint-venture between OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle plans to spend $100 billion on AI infrastructure. This could grow to $500 billion at the end of 2028. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive)
- Construction firms are likely to feel the squeeze within months if the new fees on imported materials take effect in March. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive)
- Legislation designed to prevent companies from using algorithms in order to collude on prices returns to the U.S. Senate floor after a previous version failed to pass in the last Congress. (Mary Salmonsen, Multifamily Dive)
- The Department of Defense has ordered its contracting officers to halt the use of project labor agreements on “large-scale construction projects.” (Zachary Phillips, Construction Dive)
- Applications to refinance a home loan jumped 10% compared with the previous week and were 33% higher than the same week one year ago. (Diana Olick CNBC)
- Rent is falling faster in some parts of the U.S. (Ana Teresa Sola, CNBC)
