Cushman & Wakefield shares plunged 14% Wednesday as the commercial real estate services sector faced a broad selloff driven by AI disruption concerns. Peers Jones Lang LaSalle and CBRE Group also tumbled, falling 12% and 13% respectively, as investors rotated out of labor-intensive business models.

Analysts attribute the decline to what they're calling the 'AI scare trade,' which has recently impacted software, insurance, and financial stocks. The latest selloff follows Anthropic's release of tools aimed at automating professional services tasks, raising concerns about the future of complex deal-making in real estate. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Jade Rahmani suggested the market reaction might be overblown, noting that the selloff 'may overstate the immediate risk' even as long-term AI impacts remain uncertain.

The real estate services sector now joins a growing list of industries facing investor anxiety over AI automation. While the market reaction appears severe, analysts suggest the fundamental business models of these firms may prove more resilient than current stock prices indicate, particularly given the complexity of commercial real estate transactions.