The construction and real estate sector faces a series of complex challenges, but also exciting growth opportunities. Sustainability, digitalisation, modular construction and smart technologies play an important guiding role in all of this. Some key challenges include: 

• a price-volatile and scarce supply of building materials, which has a negative impact on the cost of construction and real estate projects 
• stringent sustainability targets (from renewable energy to EBP) require investments in green technologies and materials (even if European regulations in this area are not always clear) - banks refuse to grant loans to over-polluting construction projects 
• strict regulations and building standards, such as the construction shift or strict licensing policies 
• a structural shortage of skilled workers, partly due to insufficient inflow from schools and the negative image of the (construction) sector (BDO examines how young people - Gen Z and Alpha - view the construction sector) 
• the economic recession which is putting pressure on demand for real estate, including rising interest rates, falling demand for office property (due to more work from home) and the difficult switch from non-residential to residential property may reduce the demand for real estate 
• the integration of advanced technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) for better planning and visualisation, drones for site inspection and monitoring, artificial intelligence (AI) for data analysis and predictive maintenance, and blockchain for secure and transparent transactions, which is crucial to increase operational efficiency and reduce the cost of real estate projects. At the same time, digital transformation in the sector requires a robust strategy to ensure data privacy and cybersecurity, in order to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive information and comply with regulatory standards.