As year-end approaches, reflection is necessary. One particularly useful type for the career-conscious is to consider where industry compensation has been going and the data shows a disparity between different groups.
CRE consulting firm RCLCO shared with GlobeSt.com some data from their 2025 National Real Estate Compensation & Benefits Survey. Overall, 88.1% of participating companies reported an increase in salary or wage overall, including promotion and non-promotion increases; 10% of companies indicated no change and 1.9% reported decreases in salaries. The average base salary increase was 4.7%, while the average drop was -5.7%.”
Employees receiving promotions averaged 8.9% growth, while employees not receiving promotions received an increase of 4.2%.
The results varied by employee type. For exempt workers, 86.9% of participating companies reported an increase; 11.6%, no change; and 1.4%, decrease. The average increase was 4.5% and the average decrease was pegged at -7%. The projected increase for 2026 for the exempt class is 3.9%.
“As firms work through their 2026 budgets, we’re seeing a thoughtful approach to annual compensation reviews,” Kate Keller, founder and principal of Keller Augusta, tells GlobeSt.com.
“Many firms are rewarding strong performance through year-end bonuses, while others are implementing modest base salary increases tied to cost-of-living adjustments. The high cost of hiring continues to influence compensation decisions.
For non-exempt employees, 82.7% of participating companies reported increasing base salaries; 16.2% reported no change and 1.2% reported a decrease in base salaries. The average increase was 4.3%; the average decrease was -6.5%. The projected increase for 2026 is 3.8%.
For senior management, 83.6% of companies reported an increase; 15% reported no change; and 1.4% had decreases. The average increase was 4.8%, while the average drop was -4.4%. The average 2026 increase is forecasted at 4.1%
Top executives were the group with the smallest percentage of increases: 68.2% of participating companies reported increases, 29.7% reported no change and 2.1% reported cuts. The average increase was 5.0%; the average decrease was -10.8%. The 2026 projected increase is 4.2%.
Long-term incentive plan eligibility is heavily oriented towards higher positions, with 94.8% of companies extending this to executive management, 69.4% to senior management, 23.9% to mid-level professionals and 10.4% to junior-level professionals.
“I don't think there is a slowdown of overall compensation, but it seems deals are moving much slower than they used to,” says Stephanie D'Amico, vice president at CrossMarc Services.
“I think this can be attributed to many factors, mostly occurring in a post-Covid world.”
Anthony Saitta, leader of the executive compensation and corporate governance solutions group at FTI Consulting, did say that the view of compensation can change significantly depending on who specifically is talking. Recruiters, for example, “depend on a hyperactive market with lots of executive turnover to generate their commissions and it is certainly true that there hasn’t been as much movement as in the past, so their business is likely down," according to Saitta.
“What our practice has seen is that the recent decline in equity values, both in public and private companies, has allowed for a reset, if you will,” he continued.
They have worked with companies that have begun “new long-term compensation programs that effectively allow management/executives to benefit from the recovery of values as the cycle turns.” During a slower period, some companies are looking at new talent levels and identifying internal succession candidates.
Vertically integrated, Manhattan-based owner, developer, and operator, Gregory Jones told GlobeSt.com, “Most owners are dealing with their own troubled properties, now worth significantly less, and not focusing on expanding headcount and increasing compensation. If anything, downsizing has become the norm."”
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