While salaries and bonuses are rising, long-term incentive (LTI) amounts are staying flat indicating that many firms still take the view that cash is king in today's marketplace. Nevertheless, over 80% of companies expect to broaden LTI eligibility, issuing LTI awards to a larger group of employees in 2019.

“Long-term incentives vary by business model, so there are multiple forms across the types of companies in the survey. The more common forms are stock-based awards, carried/promoted interest, equity in deals, profit-sharing, and deferred cash awards,” Anbil says.

Looking ahead, the upward trend in hiring seen in both 2017 and 2018 will continue into 2019. 53% of companies expect an uptick in workforce in 2019 and the average projected increase among these firms is 9%. Only 6% of firms will reduce workforce in 2019, whereas 14% of firms made reductions in 2018 and 15% of firms did the same in 2017, says the survey.

Geographically, workforce expansion will be most prevalent in Asia and the U.S., the same as this past year. Mid-level professionals are also in more demand than more senior and junior levels within organizations.

Middle management jobs in key real estate functions, including acquisitions, asset management, capital raising, and development are in demand, Anbil says. There are two reasons for this: First, there were fewer jobs at real estate companies for young professionals in 2008, so now there is a smaller talent pool for individuals with 8-10 years of experience. Second, members of the more senior ranks are approaching retirement at many organizations and succession is top of mind, he says.

Property management, asset management, and acquisitions were the functions most frequently cited by survey participants as the function in greatest demand, which can be explained by recent challenges in finding attractive investment opportunities and an emphasis on growing cash flow from existing assets. “Said differently, real estate companies need people who can put capital to work in a tough pricing environment and those who can maximize the performance of the existing portfolio.”