'There Are Opportunities Out There': SelectLeaders Shares Insights Into 2025's Hiring Landscape
The commercial real estate industry has been navigating economic uncertainty, with some companies postponing projects or pausing deals in response to tariffs. Despite obstacles, some areas of the industry are showing signs of resilience and opportunities, including multifamily and retail.
CRE hiring has followed a similar trajectory: While some employers have taken a “wait-and-see” approach to the economy, hiring has been picking back up in some places, said Kaitlyn Pacilio, senior associate at executive recruiting firm SelectLeaders.
“CRE hiring hasn’t reached stability, but it’s more stable now than at the beginning of the year,” she said.
SelectLeaders has been consulting employers as well as providing resources to help employers and candidates navigate the hiring and onboarding process since 2007. SelectLeaders launched its recruiting services in 2021.
Bisnow spoke with the SelectLeaders team about which CRE sectors are posting open roles, how hiring managers are incorporating artificial intelligence, and their predictions for hiring the rest of 2025.
CRE's Most Wanted: Midlevel And C-Suite Hires
SelectLeaders Managing Director Ryan Neale said that hiring for midlevel and C-suite roles has increased, likely due to the search for “new, innovative leadership.”
Job platforms and recruiting partners like SelectLeaders are a great resource for navigating the job market, improving hiring strategy and efficiency during times of economic uncertainty, he said.
“A lot of executives at the senior vice president level and above now are in their 30s and 40s, rather than 50s and 60s — something that is relatively new and which comes with an infusion of new talent, ideas and perspectives into the C-suite,” he said.
Meanwhile, the number of entry-level roles has dwindled, resulting in greater competition for these roles, SelectLeaders client product and data solutions associate Jermaine Frazier-Collins said.
When transaction volume is high, there is typically a greater need for analyst and associate-level roles. However, transaction volume hasn’t picked back up enough yet, SelectLeaders Associate Director of Recruiting Katie Hart said.
For candidates looking to stand out among those competing for the same roles, the team suggested focusing on skill-building and increasing specializations, being open to commuting to the office and aligning their résumé to the open role, even if it means having multiple versions of a résumé.
Housing, Industrial Sectors Ready To Hire
The multifamily sector is leading the charge when it comes to hiring. The SelectLeaders job board showed an increase in multifamily job postings from 14% in 2024 to 22.6% in 2025.
Hart said that given the high interest rates in residential, more firms have been moving toward developing and purchasing multifamily assets. SelectLeaders has also seen an increase in asset and property management roles.
“People are always going to be renting homes, so multifamily is the most stable and consistent asset class to get involved in,” Neale said.
SelectLeaders noted an increase in job postings in the industrial sector from the previous year — from 10% in 2024 to 11.5% in 2025, which Frazier-Collins attributed to an expansion in warehousing and logistics assets. Affordable housing also saw a modest jump in postings, from 3% to 4.75%.
The retail sector’s job postings stayed at 9% in 2024 and 2025, likely due to the sector not having fully recovered from the pandemic. Job postings in the office sector decreased slightly from 12% in 2024 to 11.1% in 2025.
“This data tells a story of firms shifting talent investment toward cash-flowing, scalable asset classes like multifamily and industrial while keeping a measured eye on sectors like affordable housing and retail,” Frazier-Collins said.
AI Is Here To Stay, But Hiring Still Needs Humans
AI has been built into many applicant tracking systems, which means they can now screen résumés for qualified candidates by comparing résumés with the keywords in a job description.
“If you’re a top CRE firm, you’re likely leveraging AI, at least from a prescreening standpoint,” Neale said. “For most firms, though, AI is less about hiring and more about maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of employees.”
Hart said that while some employers are moving in the direction of using AI to streamline hiring, humans still need to be at the helm of the process, especially as AI can overlook or misinterpret information.
“I don’t think you can rely on AI solely to hire because you need to make sure that the candidates you’re talking to are aligning with the position,” she said. “AI is the future, but in a lot of ways it's still in its infancy.”
Looking Toward The Future
Neale predicted that the increase in CRE hiring will be gradual, rather than a huge spike at any point in 2025, especially if interest rates go down.
Hart said CRE employers are expected to continue engaging in “thoughtful hiring” and bringing people on with a breadth of experience and skills, especially in higher-level roles.
However, candidates looking for analyst or associate-level roles “shouldn’t feel discouraged.”
“There are opportunities out there. It just might be outside of a traditional route or might require a career pivot,” Hart said. “CRE is going to continue to progress. It’s an industry that’s had to adapt and figure out the market in a lot of ways. Hiring won’t slow down. It just might look different.”
Employers can access executive recruiting services and connect with candidates by reaching out to SelectLeaders. Candidates can also use SelectLeaders’ job board to view open roles and apply for jobs.
This article was produced in collaboration between Studio B and SelectLeaders. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.
Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.
