In this articleCBREFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTPete Lomchid | Moment | Getty ImagesA version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.AI is impacting everything, so it should come as no surprise that demand for AI-specific tech talent in certain cities is fueling real estate demand in office, residential and even retail. Across the U.S. and Canada, the pool of tech workers with AI skills grew by more than 50% from mid-2024 to mid-2025 to 517,000 workers, according to a CBRE analysis of LinkedIn data. That talent is concentrated most in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Seattle, Toronto and Washington, D.C. The top three account for 35% of the national total. Looking just at growth, the New York metropolitan area added the most AI tech talent over the past year by absolute numbers (with 20,000 new AI-skilled workers). Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Toronto and Washington, D.C., each saw 75% year-over-year gains in these workers — or more. Not all of this growth is new jobs but some is new skills, as tech workers upskilled their capabilities to perform AI-related tasks and systems development. Some, though, entered the workforce with those skills. Get Property Play directly to your inboxCNBC’s Property Play with Diana Olick covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, delivered weekly to your inbox.Subscribe here to get access today.”With this AI revolution, it’s been a fundamental game changer for the city of San Francisco, because that’s really ground zero for the AI revolution and where most of these major high-profile firms like OpenAI are located,” said Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center.Silicon Valley was, of course, the initial heart of the tech sector, but AI appears to have longer limbs, reaching into cities and sectors where basic tech is now retreating. Part of that is because AI tech talent is now in high demand by the so-called FIRE group – financial services, insurance and real estate. That’s why Manhattan is seeing so much more office and apartment rental demand.Financial services companies are having to up their game because fintech companies are becoming far more competitive in the market, thanks to AI. While the overall tech industry has cut back, financial services have been some of the top hirers of AI talent. Unlike some other types of tech, which has gone more remote, AI is still in its early innovation stages. That has a direct impact on how tech talent operate …
