Something strange is happening in real estate right now. The same AI reshaping how we work is also reshaping where we work, and who can afford to live nearby.

This week Jon, Kanav, and TK look at why office space is suddenly in demand again, why product development is now moving faster than marketing teams can keep up, and why San Francisco's housing market has flipped from pandemic ghost town to the most competitive market in the country, largely on the back of AI salaries and secondary stock sales. Then the conversation turns to Seattle's tech layoffs, the current state of capital markets for real estate investors, and a sharp pullback in foreign buyers' purchases of US property.

The Punch List brings together a developer, a founder, and a general contractor every week to debate what's actually moving the AEC and real estate industries, rather than just repeating the headlines.

Topics covered

• The case for in-person collaboration over remote work
• Seattle's tech layoffs versus San Francisco's AI-fueled real estate boom
• How AI salaries and secondary stock sales are reshaping Bay Area home prices
• Why foreign buyers are pulling back from the US real estate market

Timestamps
(00:00) Introduction
(01:19) Kanav's update from Bangalore and the return to office
(01:48) Why office space is in demand again
(02:58) The case for in-person productivity over remote work
(07:43) Why AI means you shouldn't become "a markdown file"
(10:05) Building products faster than we can market them
(10:57) A tale of two cities: Seattle versus San Francisco
(14:39) How AI wealth is reshaping San Francisco real estate
(17:26) Private credit, capital allocators, and real estate investing right now
(24:03) Why foreign buyers are pulling back from US real estate

Connect with us:

• Connect with Tanmaya Kala on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanmaya-kala-pe-3324a13/
• Connect with Jon Wright on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonpwright/
• Connect with Kanav Hasija on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanavhasija/

Resources:

• CRE and office leases are back: Office vacancies had a sharp decline - https://www.facilitiesdive.com/news/office-vacancies-drop-sharply-in-q2-as-organizations-seek-space-cbre/826949/
• CREs are top investor picks - https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/articles/cre-surges-back-top-investor-162724040.html
• Decline in foreigners' buying real estate in US - https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/04/foreign-buyers-us-properties.html
• Tale of two cities: Housing in Seattle dropped due to layoff - https://www.geekwire.com/2026/home-sales-slump-in-seattle-among-nations-worst-as-high-costs-and-tech-layoffs-inject-fear-into-market/
• San Francisco is rising like anything - https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/san-francisco-homebuyers-officially-lost-082301561.html