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Capital Is Moving. Talent Will Follow.
A mid-year read on U.S. CRE momentum, and the hiring signals that matter for H2 2026.U.S. commercial real estate investment volume rose 21% year over year in the first half of 2026, reaching $250.3 billion. Over the same broader period, the average pace of monthly job creation fell from 122,000 per month in 2024 to 9,700 per month in 2025, a decline of roughly 92%. Those two facts describe the same market. Capital is returning, and CRE hiring is returning with it, but both are moving selectively rather than broadly.The SelectLeaders Mid-Year 2026 CRE Market Intelligence report pairs third-party capital markets and sector data with demand data from the SelectLeaders platform to show where the recovery is real, where it is uneven, and what it means for teams building headcount in the back half of the year.Capital markets are back, and the return driver has changedH1 2026 investment volume of $250.3 billion represented a 21% year over year increase. Private investors led Q2 activity, and inbound cross-border investment rose 35% in H1. CBRE projects approximately $605 billion in full-year 2026 investment, a 16% increase.The composition of returns matters as much as the volume. With rates still elevated, income growth is doing more of the work than cap rate compression, and CBRE expects cap rates to remain broadly stable through year-end. That has a direct staffing consequence: more value is being created through operations than through repricing.Five asset classes, five different storiesThe recovery is real, but highly uneven. The clean read by sector:Multifamily. Vacancy at 4.3%. Q2 net absorption reached 167,000 units and exceeded completions for a second consecutive quarter. All 69 tracked markets posted positive absorption.Industrial. Leasing up 11% year over year. Q2 leasing reached 268.7 million sq. ft., vacancy fell to 6.5%, and quarterly completions dropped to their lowest level since 2016.Retail. Average asking rent up 2.4% year over year to $24.79 per sq. ft. in Q2. Availability held at 4.9% as limited new supply supported fundamentals.Office. Q2 net absorption of 12.6 million sq. ft., nearly double the prior quarter, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of positive demand. National vacancy fell to 18.3%, and prime vacancy fell to 12.3%.Data centers. Leasing is tracking toward an all-time high. The binding constraint is power and grid access, not demand.The labor-market paradoxThe 92% drop in monthly hiring pace between the 2024 and 2025 averages did not erase CRE demand. It concentrated it. Fewer, more deliberate hires raise the cost of a miss, and they shorten the window to land a standout candidate before a competitor does.Where platform demand is actually growingSelectLeaders platform hiring demand rose 24% over the latest six-week period. The mix is the more useful signal:Segment Change in DemandProperty management+75%Office asset class+64%Asset management+60%Capital markets+15%Acquisitions-32%Overall demand+24%Operations functions are growing fastest, which is consistent with owners focused on occupancy, NOI and active portfolio stewardship rather than transaction throughput.The acquisitions contradictionAcquisitions postings are down 32%, yet acquisitions professionals are the largest actively searching candidate segment on SelectLeaders. With investment volume rising and a stronger full year forecast, that gap reads as a pipeline window rather than a dead market. Employers who map that talent now will not be bidding for it at a premium when deal volume turns into urgent hiring.Three signals to watch in H2Acquisitions. Build the bench before transaction volume becomes a hiring sprint.Data centers. Power access is the bottleneck. Development, project and asset talent will follow cleared projects.Office recovery. Vacancy is falling and absorption is rising, but top-quality space continues to lead.What this means for employersPipeline early. Map talent before a role becomes urgent. Hire for leverage. Blend CRE judgment with AI and analytical fluency. Protect the bench. Do not let today's junior slowdown become tomorrow's leadership gap.CRE is not moving in one direction. Capital is returning selectively, and hiring is doing the same. The advantage goes to the teams that read the pockets of strength early and build the right team before the market makes it obvious.
How Hiring Managers And Candidates Can Increase Their Visibility And Make The Right Match
Artificial intelligence is becoming more ingrained into the hiring process, with 71% of companies using an applicant tracking system and 65% of candidates receiving assistance from artificial intelligence at some point in their application process. For employers, the presence of AI has shifted how they assess applications — with increased emphasis on resumes matching the job description; for candidates, it has changed what “standing out” means, in which having a creative format and building a resume without relevant keywords may lower the chances of passing through an ATS.While AI tools can help with resume editing and moving an application out of the slush pile, CRE hiring still needs the human touch, said SelectLeaders Associate Director of Recruiting Katie Hart. Using online platforms, such as SelectLeaders, LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter, as well as meeting industry members in person and making connections with recruiters can make a huge difference in matching employers and candidates, she said.This year, SelectLeaders refined its platform’s capabilities and suite of resources to further align with employers’ and candidates’ needs — including the ability to optimize profiles for increased visibility, target specific roles and more. The new rollout, based on feedback and suggestions from hiring managers and candidates, also includes a guide to using the platform.Learn more about how to leverage SelectLeaders to fill open roles and navigate the hiring process.For Employers: Communication And Clarity Are Key To Successful HiringSelectLeaders’ enables hiring managers to fill out the following fields in their profiles: overview of the company, relevant images, a frequently asked questions page and a list of open roles, which would give credibility and personality to their company while allowing candidates to learn more about what they do, said SelectLeaders Director of Tech and Product Ray Miranda. While going through this process, the platform creates a profile score reflecting how much of the profile is filled in, with each section weighted differently. Miranda said that while employers should aim to reach the full 100%, the higher the percentage, the greater the matching ability.For employers, a strategic way to approach hiring is to think about what they expect from their employees and to outline how they want their interview process to look, Hart said. For their profiles to appeal to the right candidates, employers should be transparent about benefits and compensation, what skills they’re looking for and how they want employees to contribute to their culture. “Being clear about expectations makes for a better candidate experience and helps you answer their questions throughout the process,” she said.Instead of sifting through a sea of resumes, employers can now use filters to search for candidates by role and find those who have tags in their profile indicating that they are looking for that role. From there, they can curate their own candidate pool, right in their SelectLeaders account. Employers can make decisions on applications with accept and reject buttons, with a customized email that can go out automatically to candidates they have decided not to move forward with.Employers can gain access to the Candidate Connection feature to target CRE candidates. Candidate Connection comprises three tiers: 200 resume downloads for one month, 600 downloads for three months and 1,200 downloads for six months. Resumes can now be filtered by parameters such as what role they’re looking for, their skills, education and experience, where they’re located, whether they’re actively or passively job hunting and more.Hiring managers can reach out to SelectLeaders’ executive recruiters, who can help not only with searching for the right candidates, but also with translating requirements and expectations into a job description.For Candidates: Prioritize Intentionality Over Quantity Of Applications SentIn addition to a clean, organized format, stand-out resumes should include specifics on what their role entailed day-to-day and special projects that the applicant took the lead on, such as how many units were managed for a property manager role, Hart said.She emphasized the importance of a resume being in one’s “own voice,” and the resumes that don’t look like they were formatted in Claude or ChatGPT are the ones that stand out.“When you see a lot of the same type of standard resume made with AI tools, it starts to look the same,” she said. “Candidates have a better chance if they use their own formatting and still use their own voice when it comes to crafting a resume, even if you are using AI to help with formatting and content.” Candidates can now set up alerts for roles, thereby increasing their chances of being among the first to apply, said Bisnow and SelectLeaders Account Manager Jermaine Jackson. The database can recommend roles based on their profile. Similar to the employer page, candidate profiles are also scored based on how much of it was completed. With the revamp, applicants are also able to upload multiple resumes to their profile and choose which resume to submit to which role.While many job seekers may think applying to more jobs will increase their chances of finding a match, it’s more important that they be selective about where their applications are going, said SelectLeaders Enterprise Account Executive Roman Velichko.“Choosing opportunities where you can provide direct value to the company and that are closely aligned with your interests, passions and skills versus trying to get anything means you’ll have a higher probability of staying in that job long term,” he said. Both candidates and employers can access resources on SelectLeaders to help them gain insight into how to navigate hiring today.“Whether it’s your first time on the site or you’ve been using it for a while, the new features and tools can help you get closer to your goal,” Miranda said. Reach out to SelectLeaders Enterprise Account Executive Roman Velichko here to set up a demo and learn more about how to get started.
Show Me The Money: How Pay Transparency Can Help Create A Fair Workplace
When commercial real estate candidates look for their next career opportunity, they will weigh several factors including location, company culture and the day-to-day of the role. But one of their top priorities will likely be salary.This is why salary transparency in both job postings and throughout a company is so key. By disclosing salary details in a job posting, employers can help ensure that applicants are on the same page. Also, being upfront with current employees about salary decisions also helps create a culture of transparency in the workplace.“Employees who understand why they earn their specific level of pay are much more likely to trust their employer, and that trust can go a long way toward boosting a company’s ability to recruit and retain top employees,” the Society of Human Resource Management stated in a Jan. 2024 article.What Is Pay Transparency? Pay transparency is the act of putting salary details out in the open, whether in the context of a job description or to employees internally about how companies determine compensation. Being forthcoming about salaries helps promote equity and diminish pay differences based on gender and race.SelectLeaders Associate Director of Recruiting Katie Hart said that when employees understand how pay is structured upfront, it helps mitigate concerns about pay inequality. “Transparency establishes a shared system that feels fair and consistent, giving everyone a framework they can trust,” she said. “Employees are more engaged because they know the pay scale from the start and what it takes to advance within the organization. This also strengthens the interview process, as candidates can evaluate opportunities with clarity rather than negotiating in the dark.”What Are State Laws Regarding Pay Transparency?For some states and jurisdictions, disclosing salary and benefits is a “must-have” rather than a “nice to have”.Pay transparency laws refer to the regulations regarding how employers share salary information. Paycor found that currently, 14 states plus Washington, D.C. have legislation around pay transparency, with Ohio having local laws in place. These states’ laws are based on one or more of the following criteria:How many employees the company hasWho they’re required to inform about compensation and benefits (external applicants in job postings and/or employees)If other disclosures need to be made, such as those around commission-based roles or upon promoting or transferring employeesAdditionally, 22 states have laws dictating that employers can’t ask candidates how much they earned previously.“Rather than basing offers on a candidate’s current or previous pay, employers should focus on what candidates are targeting in their next role, as for most, making a career move is tied to both professional growth and an increase in compensation,” Hart said. By asking candidates about their compensation goals early in the process, employers can create an open dialogue around pay structure and, in turn, be transparent about the budget for the role from the outset.How Can Employers Navigate Pay Transparency?Hire Candidates Who Value TransparencyA prominent reason that candidates say no to a company’s offer if the salary is too low and negotiations end up going nowhere. Presenting a salary upfront in the job post can help employers avoid the scenario of candidates backing out after multiple rounds of interviews and ensure that they’re not missing out on top talent. Get Everyone AlignedWhen employers take time to create and communicate pay structure to employees, they are fostering transparency. According to SHRM, employers should be working out salary details in advance of hiring to minimize pay disparities, as well as informing their internal teams about how the company’s roles are structured.Avoid Large Pay ScalesWhile it may seem that providing a salary range is enough to comply with pay transparency, leaving too wide a gap within the range, such as offering a salary between $50K and $150K can cause candidates to either be dissatisfied by the posting or scratch their heads about where they land on that scale. It can cause candidates to not only start negotiations at the higher end of that scale, which can risk them turning down the offer, but also leave them with negative views of the company.Employers can consult with executive recruiting firms like SelectLeaders to gain insight into how to disclose pay properly and comply with state laws. Click here to get started with posting a job and securing CRE top talent today.
NAIOP Research Foundation: Succession Planning for Commercial Real Estate Firms
Preparing and implementing a plan to transfer control of a firm to a new generation of leaders can be a daunting prospect. Leaders of commercial real estate companies often face additional, unique challenges due to their firms’ complex valuation processes, intricate tax strategies and multifaceted ownership structures. The NAIOP Research Foundation, in conjunction with Wipfli and The DRG, authored this study to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with succession planning for CRE firms.View the study here: Succession Planning for Commercial Real Estate Firms: Benefits, Best Practices and Common Challenges
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