MEREDA Forecast Conference takes deep dive into AI in Real Estate

On Thursday, February 26th, nearly 900 of Maine's real estate and development professionals gathered at the Holiday Inn By the Bay to hear the latest in economic trends from a respected group of peers. However, it was the opening and closing sessions that kept the crowd buzzing throughout the day.

"The Forecast Conference is a unique and special event. It pulls almost every Maine real estate and development professional together in one place," shared MEREDA President Shannon Richards. "Ideas are generated. Critical discussions happen. Connections are forged and yes, deals are made. If you are committed to responsible development, you have to be here".

A constant theme throughout the day was Maine's attractive lifestyle and the quality of its environment. Maine continues to be attractive to investors, and although there are challenges, Maine offers development opportunity.

As in other years, the Forecast Conference featured a strong lineup of industry experts - heavy hitters from all corners of the state. This year, the day was book ended with presentations on artificial intelligence and the potential impact on development. Steve Weikal, Industry Chair, Real Estate Transformation Lab |MIT Center for Real Estate Managing Partner, MET Fund II, presented a strong case for using AI to reshape every aspect of real estate development. Weikal reminded the crowd that AI isn't new - it's been around for over 70 years. The generative capability of AI is new and presents opportunities to perform at higher levels. He went on to reassure attendees that AI won't replace every worker. Weikal explained, "We still need humans involved who know how to ask the right questions. Scarce expertise will become more abundant as AI helps all of us become smarter. And the superstars of today will become even more super."

The program continued with an overview of MEREDA's legislative agenda. In her update, Elizabeth Frazier, Partner, Piece Atwood, LLP noted that some victories were realized in 2025 but with 80,000 housing units needed by 2030, there is no pausing for celebration. Nimbyism is still a significant obstacle to solving the housing crisis. And she hinted that the November election adds another element of uncertainty as new elected officials will bring their priorities to Augusta.

Gold sponsor, TD Bank asked Michael Coster, Managing Director, Head of U.S. Real Estate Investment Banking and M&A, TD Securities, to present an economic update. Coster sees indications of a thaw happening as decisions that have been languishing since 2023 are slowly coming to fruition. He offered optimism by sharing that non-US investors still see the US as a good investment. "Demand is at a record level," Coster explained, and he closed by offering, "It's a good time to be a borrower."

Optimism continued to flavor the discussions as the afternoon breakout sessions rolled out. Marieke Thormann, Fathom Companies led the Construction Outlook discussion. She was joined by Dave Thomas, Consigli Construction, Ron Milley, Consultant Services, and Drew Wing, Zachau Construction. Deals are still challenging to "pencil". The challenges of predictability still exist, and the labor pool is still aging, but overall the outlook for construction was positive.

Jennifer Small, Malone Commercial Brokers, moderated the Office and Industrial Outlook, with Nate Stevens, The Boulos Company, and Sam LeGeyt, The Dunham Group joining in. Both LeGeyt and Stevens reported some improvement in vacancy rates while also discussing innovative ways to repurpose space. LeGeyt termed the industrial sector as "recalibrating… Demand is higher for modern purpose-built properties," while citing that many Maine industrial units are aging.

Tariffs were mentioned throughout the day with most noting surprisingly little impact so far. However, in the Retail & Hospitality panel moderated by Jason Howe, Preti Flaherty, panelist Ashish Sangani, Giri Hotels, explained that tariffs of 5-10% on hotel basics such as food & beverage and housekeeping supplies were hitting hard. Adding to that was a 56% increase in the cost of labor. Sangani urged attendees to travel and stay in hotels, citing an Expedia report showing business travel is on the rise while leisure travel is declining. Nick Margitza, WS Development sees the retail trend for 2026 to continue with strong demand for retail space, a preference for lifestyle or grocery anchored open-air formats instead of enclosed malls.

MEREDA President Shannon Richards, Hay Runner, led Nova Tower, Waypoint Brokers Collective, and Brit Vitalius, Vitalius Real Estate Group, through a discussion of the residential and multifamily sectors. Tower showed the stark reality of the 5-year Home Price Gains since pre-covid. Maine leads the country with a 5-year gain of 81% since 2020 Q1. First-time buyers continue to struggle, and Tower pointed out that many of today's first timers want a larger home with more amenities instead of the "starter home" of prior generations. Overall, even though she thinks the market still favors sellers, the word she used to describe the current market is "careful." On the multifamily front, Vitalius reminded the audience how Portland's rent control policies were impacting sales. "Overall, the multifamily market is settling down," he explained, and his expectation for 2026 is a flat market.

After all the sector data dumps were finished, Shannon Richards welcomed Steve Weikal back to the stage to lead a panel on AI in use. Steve was joined by Lauren Hasson, JLL New England, Dominic Endicott, Knowledge Towns, and Dan Koloski, Roux Institute. All four acknowledged Maine's unique sense of "place" as a powerful economic attraction. The conversation got lively around how Maine could use AI to grow and attract more responsible development. Endicott envisioned a redevelopment of the Maine Mall into a town within a town with 50,000 housing units on site. "The restaurants would be filled every day and the retail would be booming," he explained. Some of those residents would work remotely while others would augment Maine's labor pool. The discussion certainly kept the crowd buzzing as they closed the day with a networking event situated among the 66 vendors displaying at the Member Showcase.

The 2026 MEREDA Forecast Conference was generously supported by member sponsors: Gold sponsors include TD Bank and Perkins Thompson. Silver sponsors include the City of Bangor, Landry/French Construction, Maine Redevelopment Land Bank, Sebago Technics, M&R Development. Bangor Savings Bank sponsored the Keynote Speaker. Mainebiz was the Media Sponsor.