Employment trends
Brokerage
Career Tracks
How are commercial real estate companies staffing for the future?
By Mark Momongan |
Building
upon cautious optimism in the U.S. institutional real estate sector, the market
for human capital is recovering, and the outlook calls for momentum to continue
in the year ahead. This projected uptick in hiring follows a modest increase in
real estate executive searches in 2013, reflecting slow and steady improvements
in property fundamentals and overall valuations.
As
the new year commences, executive-level commercial real estate hiring will
remain favorable as the majority of investment managers expect to continue to
growing their organizations. Approximately 71 percent of the 61 U.S. firms
surveyed in the 2013 NAREIM/FPL Global Management Survey expect their headcount
to grow, while 17 percent expect no change. Only 12 percent of firms anticipate
a decline in employees.
Staffing
levels increased by approximately 4 percent at median in 2012, although there
was significant variance from firm to firm. Firms that performed in the top 10
percent and 2 percent increased headcount by 27 percent and 13 percent
respectively, whereas firms in the bottom 75 percent and 90 percent reduced
headcount by 2 percent and 14 percent respectively. Interestingly, large firms
grew their organizations by the same amount percentage-wise as their small and
mid-size counterparts. Although this may seem counterintuitive, it makes sense
when considering the trend toward concentration of capital among establishing
firms. The growing demand for human capital reflects a shift in general
sentiment, which has gradually turned positive over the last five years.
Assets
under management grew by approximately 11 percent at median in 2012, although
once again, there was significant variance from firm to firm. With limited
options for earning attractive yields in other asset classes, institutional
investors increased their commitments to real estate vehicles by 23 percent
through May 2013, with the top five REIMs accounting for more than 40 percent
of these new commitments.
Despite
the positive trends in 2013, the general sentiment was tempered somewhat by
political and macroeconomic uncertainties, both domestically and abroad. Of
particular concern is the future interest rate environment, as some believe
that recent industry performance has been driven largely by cheap debt and
historically large spreads between capitalization rates and bond yields.
Looking
ahead, the REIM industry will benefit if macroeconomic indicators continue to
improve, and investor interest in real estate accelerates. But not all firms,
particularly among those in private equity, will benefit equally. Capital flows
have been fairly predictable, shifting from distressed deals to core, and more
recently, from core gradually up the risk spectrum to value-add, though it is
unclear how enduring this trend will be. What does seem clear is that capital
is becoming consolidated among a small number of successful managers, with
performance and track record as the primary factors in fundraising.
REIT Hiring Remains Active
There are
interesting recruiting and hiring trends emerging among real estate investment
trusts, private equity firms, and operating companies. Our data shows hiring at
the senior level to be more active than hiring at middle management and lower
levels. Among public firms, mid-cap REITs that have recently gone public, or
that may be considering an initial public offering as they head into 2014, have
been active in searches. Also active are underperforming REITs that need to
change the perception in the public market, and as a result, may be looking for
new leadership. REIT hiring is expected to remain steady in the near term.
On
the private side, the blue-chip, global institutional names continue to focus
on succession opportunities. The continuity and stability of sponsor management
teams and at the board level are important considerations for investors, given
the long-term, illiquid nature of real estate investments. While succession
planning has always been important, it has become even more so in recent years
as an increasing number of industry leaders are near or past retirement age. To
illustrate, approximately 25 percent of our clients had a top-five executive
leave in 2012.
In
addition to succession-related hires, a select group of up-and-coming managers,
as well as best-in-class operations that are transitioning from a joint venture
model to a fully-integrated investment platform, continue to make key hires as
many of these firms raise follow-on funds. In demand are capital raisers who
can source equity directly from pension funds, foundations, and endowments.
Given the fact that most of these firms have closed-end funds in which capital
deployment is critical, there is also a tremendous need for senior acquisitions
professionals with a proven track record of acquiring deals directly rather
than sourcing them exclusively through joint-venture partners.
The
trend in acquiring real estate directly is being driven by downward pressure on
management fees. As a result, these firms have become, effectively, an
owner/operator rather than a capital allocator. Allocations for value-added
funds have increased recently as investors slowly head out along the
risk/reward spectrum. Going forward, acquisitions hires should continue to
increase modestly in 2014 across all levels.
Although
most of the REIM hiring trends met projections and expectations, the number of
development-related hires, particularly in the retail sector, was an unexpected
surprise. Looking ahead, a key trend to watch will be the likely substantial
increase in merger and acquisition activity this year, reflecting the ability
to drive scale on the private side. Lastly, organizations
will also continue to rebuild their teams at the junior and middle management
levels, which is simply a reflection of how much organizations “cut their core”
following the economic meltdown. More than half of the clients surveyed in late
2012 expected to hire at the middle and junior levels, and more of the same is
expected in 2014.
Compensation Structures Are Shifting
Turning
to compensation, structures have changed modestly and are more weighted on firm
profits and fund performance. With 71 percent of firms expecting to grow
headcount as noted above, compensation at the C-suite level has been trending
slightly upward. However, there is clearly more weighting on long-term equity
rather than annual cash compensation, driven by pressure from limited partners.
We expect this trend to continue over the next cycle.
In
summary, cautious optimism and improving capital flows are creating increased
demand for human capital across the real estate investment industry. Provided
that these fundamentals remain positive, hiring trends should continue to build
momentum in 2014, resulting in new hires at the top levels as well as in key,
strategic positions.
Mark Momongan is a
senior director at FPL Advisory Group, a global professional services firm that
specializes in providing executive search, compensation, and management
consulting solutions in real estate. Contact him at
mmomongan@fergusonpartners.com.
Commercial Real Estate Employment
Postings Show Uptick
The
commercial real estate job market continued to grow, with 3Q13 job postings up
5.2 percent over the previous quarter and up 16.2 percent year over year,
according to the Cornell University/SelectLeaders Job Barometer. “Recent
interest rate hikes and the impending tapering of the Fed’s quantitative easing
policy have not had a significant impact on the momentum in commercial real
estate job postings,” says David Funk, director of Cornell University’s Baker
Program in Real Estate. “We continue to see strong growth as the industry
builds its bench.”
Development Continues
to Dominate
The
development sector continued to be a strong contributor to overall job postings
in commercial real estate during the past year. Job postings from development
firms reached 18 percent in 3Q13 — more than double the same period in 2012.
New
opportunities are emerging in commercial real estate as the recovery continues.
“Managing current assets led the recovery, but now as firms acquire and create
new assets, we see opportunities in more categories and functions and sectors
within our industry,” says Susan Philips, chief executive officer of
SelectLeaders.
Asset
management and investments firms accounted for the largest share of employment
postings (23 percent) in 3Q13. In addition, the consulting and advisory
services sector grew along with the finance sector.
Looking more
closely at the specific functional area of the job postings, development roles
continued to dominate in 2013. Overall, development roles, including project
and construction management, have more than doubled over the last year and
comprised nearly 10 percent of all postings in 3Q13, up from just 4 percent in
1Q12.
Other trends
include a steady increase in financial analysis postings, which totaled 11
percent in 3Q13. This demand continues a trend that started in 2009 for
financial analysis expertise in investment firms as well as at development
companies. Asset management roles saw the largest decline in 3Q13 as the number
of postings fell below 5 percent, a significant drop from the peak of 15.3
percent in 4Q11.
Industrial Jobs Lead
Sector Growth
The biggest
trend of 3Q13 was the strong growth in the industrial sector, which comprised
nearly 12 percent of all job postings, beating out the number of retail sector
postings for the quarter. Institutional investments in the single-family asset
class continued to produce job growth in 2013, averaging 11 percent of postings
over the first three quarters of the year. While this is down from the 4Q13
peak of 15.6 percent, a shift from acquisitions and financial analysis postings
to more property management postings is occurring as the sector matures.
Multifamily,
office, and single-family homes topped the list of job postings in 2013 and
combined made up almost 50 percent of all postings for the year. Multifamily
and banking have both seen significant declines since 2008, but the Job
Barometer indicates that office has experienced tremendous growth, jumping from
about 3 percent in 2008 to 20 percent in 2013. Industrial and retail postings
have also seen substantial growth in the last year of 9 percent and 11 percent
respectfully.