CRE Job Postings Rebound to 2007 Levels

NEW YORK CITY—Commercial property values in some asset classes have surpassed the peak seen in 2007, and now the same can be said about commercial real estate job opportunities. Job postings as June began were 2% above levels seen in mid '07, and represented the second highest level since the Cornell/SelectLeaders Job Barometer began in October 2006.

“All indicators point to considerable strength in real estate job opportunities,” says David Funk, director of the Baker Program in Real Estate at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. “With this momentum, we should expect to see compensation start to return as well.”

Postings for the first quarter were up 25% over the same period a year prior, while April and May postings rose 18% and 33%, respectively, year over year. There have now been 13 consecutive quarters of positive Y-O-Y growth in CRE job opportunities.

“Admittedly some of this was catch-up ball, because our industry was hit so hard, employers were cautious about hiring until they absolutely had to,” says Susan Phillips-LoPinto, CEO of SelectLeaders Job Network. “Entering June, the Job Barometer recorded job posting levels that we have not seen since '07.” GlobeSt.com's Career Center is powered by the SelectLeaders Real Estate Job Network.

The Cornell/SelectLeaders Job Barometer also found that since the global financial crisis took hold in the fall of 2008, employers appear to be searching for more well-rounded applicants who have a diverse skill set and can fill many roles.  “Employers have not settled back into their pre-2008 traditional job functions, with many job duties remaining fluid,” says Anna Mossa, research director for SelectLeaders. The result, Mossa says, is expanded roles for new hires.

Although the single-family housing sector traditionally has lagged other sectors in job postings, this year it experienced the most significant increase in postings between January and May, up 113% Y-O-Y.  “A combination of the housing industry ramping up as well as the single-family rental business maturing and now generating jobs is behind this jump,” Funk says. 

Conversely, multifamily opportunities declined slightly, from 13.1% of postings in the fourth quarter of 2013 to 10.7% so far in Q2 Retail remains the strongest sector, accounting for 15.7% of job postings.  Although retail postings declined from 19.8% at the start of this year and 27.1% of postings a year ago, it has continued to chart above its long-term monthly average of 9.0% since February '08.

In terms of job type, the Job Barometer found that investments (asset management) is the most prevalent field of opportunity in CRE, accounting for 19.2% of all postings thus far in Q2 and marginally above its long-term quarterly average of 18.1%. Development and property management each represent 15% of all postings, while advisory services/consulting comes in fourth with 11.8%. The Cornell/SelectLeaders Job Barometer Report is live on GlobeSt.com Career Center Resource Pages.