Siqi Zheng spent a week meeting developers, investors, and real estate faculty at the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Among the themes: a cautiously improving Hong Kong market after several difficult years, severe office oversupply in Shenzhen alongside a resilient tech economy and strong luxury residential demand, and data center investment shifting toward Southeast Asia under US chip export restrictions.
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What a wonderful evening at the United Centre in Admiralty - I gave a public talk to the MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node and MIT Club of Hong Kong community on AI's impact on real estate - traditional sectors and the rise of data centers last Thursday, June 18, 2026. The room was full of energy — a great cross-section of developers, investors, and real estate professionals, as well as MIT alumni from tech, finance, banking, and various industries, and professors and students from HK universities. I introduced my recent data centers research project with Rui Du, Aaron Sun, as well as my good friends FSU professors Tingyu Zhou, Chongyu Wang's research on the AI shock to traditional real estate sectors. I also provided a brief introduction of some data center technology projects by other MIT professors and labs.
A few threads I explored: AI's impact on the real estate sector is double-edged. On one hand, it's dampening demand for traditional space — smarter, AI-enabled workflows mean companies need less square footage to do the same work. On the other, it's a massive driver of new demand through data center expansion — the pull of compute infrastructure reshaping where capital and construction flow.
Not all data center demand is the same. AI training and inference facilities have very different power requirements, siting needs, and sensitivities to regulations and incentives, as well as sustainability profiles — and investors need to understand the difference before deploying capital. The built environment has to adapt. From property repositioning, building retrofits to power infrastructure to location strategy, this shift is forcing real estate players to rethink assumptions that held for decades. The Q&A afterward was fantastic — sharp, specific questions that pushed the discussion further.
Grateful to everyone who came, and to the MIT Club of Hong Kong & MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node, Marina Chan for organizing such a warm gathering afterward at a nearby restaurant. I also saw many of my former and current MIT students from MIT School of Architecture and Planning, MIT Center for Real Estate, and MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning! A very nice reunion!
-Professor Siqi Zheng
