The 32nd Annual Cornell Real Estate Conference kicked-off with good news for Real Estate job seekers in a Job Barometer presentation led by David Funk, Director of the Baker Program in Real Estate. Overall hiring in the Real Estate sector has remained on a strong path of growth since the Recession-led drop-off in 2007 and 2008, and looks to keep that trend for the near term. “It’s a good time to be looking for jobs in real estate,” said Funk. Real estate is the fastest growing asset allocation across institutional portfolios according to the Cornell/Hodes Weill & Associates 2014 Institutional Real Estate Allocations Monitor, and the United States remains the top destination for global capital investing in real estate.
The Job Barometer Team, led by Chris Lloyd (Baker ’15) with assistance from Jessica Kane (Baker ’16) and Sameer Godiwala (Baker ’16) aggregates and reviews data from SelectLeaders, Monster, The Ladders, the International Council of Shopping Centers, and eFinancialCareers to identify trends over time in each real estate job category. The results are combined with macroeconomic data to compare real estate hiring with total employment and the overall economy. The job sector results for this past year were revealing, showing strong growth in the retail and single-family sectors, and continued hiring in multi-family and office. Property management saw the most hiring, however job functions such as development/project management, accounting, and financial analysis made up large shares of the total real estate hiring market. Throughout 2009-2014, applicants flocked to workout/refinancing, acquisitions, REO/distressed debt, and asset management, and investment banking job applications have seen a marked return, however, as more older employees retire, the industry is poised to present graduates with ample opportunities, especially for those with advanced specialized degrees and certifications.
A luncheon talk with Matt Slepin, Founder and Managing Partner of Terra Search Partners followed the jobs presentation. Slepin spoke of the need for job seekers to always be vigilant in finding the right job, but also open-minded about what they’re looking for. Slepin finds that often times, the best matchups are unpredictable, and job seekers can sometimes confuse what role they see themselves in with what would make their work life most fulfilling.
In the afternoon, a panel discussed the trends in real estate career management. The panel, moderated by Lynn Gray, Chief Executive Officer of Campus Scout, LLC included panel members from Toll Brothers, Real Mortgage Finance, Related Companies, UBS, and Starwood Capital Group. Clara Kim, VP of Talent Acquisition at Related Companies stressed the importance of candidates’ fit and knowledge of company they’re seeking to join, a sentiment echoed by Jonathan Downs of Toll Brothers: “you should know as much as you can about the company, the people that will be interviewing you, and be able to express how you can apply your knowledge and experience within that company.”
