Junior staffers in commercial real estate are feeling optimistic again about the hiring market after a year of sagging sales activity that hampered opportunities.
Of the roughly 300 analysts and associates surveyed by RETS Associates, about two-thirds viewed the hiring market as the same or better than the previous year, while 34% saw it as significantly or slightly worse. That’s a reversal from the year prior, when 72% held a negative outlook on hiring, according to the firm’s 13th annual CRE Financial Analyst/Associate Survey, which is set for release this week.
Hiring at the lower ranks of real estate investment, development and management shops tends to mirror sales activity, making it a gauge of how those firms perceive the market. Last year, a decline in sales activity amid higher borrowing costs and larger economic concerns put the brakes on what had been a robust hiring market at the junior level — a reality reflected in respondent feedback.
But demand appears to be returning. “Broadly speaking, there is analyst [and associate] hiring going on right now,” said Kent Elliott, a principal at RETS. “It is nowhere near the go-go days, but it is happening:’ To that point, RETS has seen a 24% increase in search assignments for associates and analysts year over year. But that number is still about 45% off the peak in 2022.
Demand is roughly evenly split for positions that support asset management and acquisitions, and it’s coming from large investment firms and others looking to ramp up activity in the year ahead, Elliott said. “Those early adopters want to have those seats filled … so when the calendar flips in 2025, they are hitting the ground running to look at new opportunities; he said.
In the first half of 2024, property sales of at least $25 million were down 8.6% year over year, according to Real Estate Alert’s published rankings. But sales activity is widely expected to pick up steam next year, buoyed in part by continued interest-rate reductions from the Federal Reserve.
That means junior staffers are out interviewing more, with 74% reporting they’ve had at least one interview over the last year and 35% saying they’ve had four or more. As is typical, the most-junior staffers were the most likely to be job hunting, with 82% of survey respondents with four or fewer years of experience saying they are seeking new opportunities.
Women, who made up a minority of responses, reported being more likely to leave a job due to the company’s supervisor, culture or nature of the work, while men were driven predominantly by growth potential and compensation. ❖
Link to original article here.
