Hiring in the single-family industry is heating up and has reached a six-year high, but what fields are in high demand?
The year is proving to be the single-family industry’s best ever for job postings, reaching levels not seen since the Cornell/SelectLeaders Job Barometer began tracking them in October 2006.
According to the report, which is a joint research effort between Cornell University’s Baker Program in Real Estate and the SelectLeaders Real Estate Job Network, the sector experienced the biggest increase in postings between January and May compared to other real estate sectors. The report measures real estate job postings in retail, multifamily, office, industrial and single-family.
Since 2008, the single-family housing has accounted for less than 10% of job postings, and yet represented 14.4% of all real estate job opportunities in May, which is up 113% from a year ago, according to the job barometer. "A combination of the housing industry ramping up as well as the single-family rental business maturing and now generating jobs is behind this jump," said David Funk, director of the Baker Program in Real Estate at Cornell University.
Meanwhile, finance firms are representing a lesser portion of the real estate hiring picture as they accounted for 7.7% of job opportunities in the second quarter. That’s down from their historical average of 14.5% of real estate job openings and the lowest percentage since 2008. "The slowdown in refinancing activity combined with an overall decline in transactions has made real estate finance opportunities comparatively scarce," said Funk.
As overall single-family hiring heats up, multifamily opportunities are in slight decline. Multifamily housing positions, which led the recovery by consistently being at the top of job opportunities have finally declined slightly through the first half of 2014, from 13.1% in the fourth quarter of 2013 to 10.7% so far in the second quarter of this year.
“It is too soon to tell whether the single-family growth is indicative of a long-term trend, but the multifamily sector appears poised to decline for the fifth quarter of six since hitting a mark of 16.3% in the fourth quarter of 2012,” the report stated.
So, what are currently the most sought-after individual jobs in real estate?
While property managers continue to lead this year, development project managers are closing this gap, according to the report. These jobs hit their highest point on the job barometer at 13% in the first quarter and 13.7% in the second quarter.
Accounting candidates are still in demand, as 11.6% of postings are for these positions, yet they are representing a smaller share of postings than in recent years. The category has not surpassed its long-term average of 15.6% since the second quarter of 2010, according to the Cornell/SelectLeaders Job Barometer.
Financial analyst positions have spent 10 consecutive quarters above their long-term average of 6.3%, culminating in a mark of 10.2% in the first quarter of this year. Through April and May, however, financial analyst positions have represented only 5.9% of jobs analyzed.
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