Published on Friday, December 5, 2025
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Rising medical supply costs and labor pressure push systems to deploy AI.
Provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) are among the six trends CBRE projects will influence and even reshape CRE development in the healthcare sector in the year ahead.
Amendments to the OBBBA mean that over $1 trillion in healthcare spending will be cut, while 14.2 million more people will lose healthcare insurance. Among the effects of these dramatic changes will be providers' efforts to shift patients from in-hospital treatment to outpatient settings where possible.
“Outpatient real estate demand will accelerate as providers seek more affordable options for healthcare delivery and restrictions are eased on the Inpatient-Only List,” CBRE commented.
Another trend, however, could complicate the picture. Fewer medical office buildings were completed in 2025, and 2026 is expected to see a further 26% drop, bringing the lowest level in over a decade. Construction on hospital campuses will shrink even more.
“The lack of new supply could push more occupiers into second-generation office and retail space,” CBRE noted.
“The reduced supply will drive MOB rents to historic highs by the end of 2026, led by markets in the southern and western U.S.”
These trends are manifesting alongside an explosion in the elderly population. The 76-and-older group is growing by more than a million people per year – triple the rate over the past 40 years. The trend marks a historic demographic shift that, along with increased healthcare spending, an expanding sector workforce and the proliferation of technology, also stimulates demand for medical office buildings.
One effect of these trends is to drive providers to search for CRE savings. They are expected to place greater emphasis on optimizing their portfolios and working out how to create affordable healthcare facilities. One obstacle will be the 3.4% rise in medical supply costs in 2025, following a slight decline in 2024.
The sixth trend, which many hope will help to solve some of these challenges, is the use of AI. Surveys reveal that AI use is increasing faster in the healthcare sector than in other industries.
“AI can help to improve patient volume management, reduce workforce stress, increase patient satisfaction scores, drive higher patient admissions, and optimize the use of existing space,” the report concluded.