The results are in. On its third annual DNA of #CRE Survey, Buildout and the Broker List heard from 485 commercial real estate professionals, a 60 percent jump from last year. So what insights did the respondents provide about the industry?
First, consider the demographics of the survey takers. One third described their primary role as “generalist” while another quarter as “seller rep.” However, those roles flipped last year, as more respondents (27 percent) said they spent most of their time in 2017 as a seller rep than as generalist (18 percent, tied with landlord rep).
Most work in small offices of between two and five brokers and generally have one to two decades of experience. The industry remains overwhelmingly male at 77 percent and the largest majority were between 50 and 60 years old.
The biggest challenge—by a wide margin at 39 percent—that respondents reported when marketing a property was maximizing exposure and ensuring that enough eyeballs are on the listing. Looking at the positive, an even bigger population (75 percent) claimed that relationships were the single biggest stimulus to winning business last year.
The survey then asked the respondents to put on their prognostication caps and predict where the industry is headed in 2018. A sweeping majority (70 percent) were quite bullish, believing that industry brokerage commission revenue will increase this year compared to last. 22 percent believed it will stay the same while only 8 percent predicted a decline.
If these survey results prove true, the CRE industry should see some impressive job growth. Nearly half expect that staffing needs will increase (with only 15 percent predicting a decrease); 57 percent feel that brokers specifically will see a rise while merely 9 percent feel that the opposite is true.
Visit the DNA of #CRE Results for more results.
