Commercial real estate firms are navigating a market that still feels uncertain, but the overall outlook from this year’s Keller Augusta Workplace & Compensation Survey is more forward-looking than cautious. Across the industry, firms are planning to hire, bonus trends were stronger than salary growth, and AI is becoming a more meaningful part of day-to-day operations and long-term planning.

Keller Augusta’s annual Workplace & Compensation Survey captures salary and bonus trends alongside broader market sentiment from employers, employees, and candidates across commercial real estate. This year’s survey also took a deeper look at topics such as hiring plans, investment focus, and AI adoption. The results point to an industry that is being thoughtful about costs, but is still investing in talent, growth, and new capabilities.

This year’s findings highlight several clear themes: compensation remains mixed, hiring demand is strong in key functions, and AI is increasingly viewed as a tool for expansion and increased capacity rather than reduction. Below is a roundup of the key takeaways from the survey.

Hiring expectations remain strong across the industry

Even with continued uncertainty in the market, most commercial real estate firms are still planning to grow. More than 78% of senior- and executive-level respondents said they or their firms expect to increase internal headcount this year.

That hiring demand is especially concentrated at the entry and mid-levels, with 74% of respondents pointing to entry-level roles and 69% pointing to mid-level roles as priorities. That suggests many firms are continuing to invest in the talent needed to support existing portfolios, strengthen teams, and prepare for future opportunities.

Bonuses outpaced salary growth, while benefits largely held steady

This year’s survey points to a more mixed compensation picture. For many professionals, bonus compensation was stronger than base salary growth, while benefits remained largely unchanged.

More than half of respondents said they either did not receive a raise or received only a 1–3% increase for 2026. At the same time, 43.5% reported that their bonus increased year over year, while 48.7% said their bonus either stayed the same or declined. Just over 7.7% said they did not receive a bonus.

Benefits also remained largely unchanged. More than 79% of respondents said areas such as 401(k) contributions, healthcare, professional development support, reimbursement policies, remote work flexibility, parental leave, or paid time off were not improved for 2026. Taken together, those results suggest firms are still being measured on fixed compensation costs, even as they continue to reward performance in more targeted ways.

AI adoption is growing, without a corresponding pullback in headcount

AI is becoming more embedded in daily business activity across commercial real estate. Among respondents who identified as employers, 92% said their firms have either already adopted AI, are currently implementing it, or are actively exploring AI tools for daily operations. Among employees, 97% said the same.

Use is also increasing at the individual level. Nearly 91% of employee respondents said their use of AI in day-to-day business operations and decision-making has increased over the last 12 to 18 months. About 60% of employer respondents said they currently use AI to help conduct daily business.

Importantly, firms do not appear to view AI adoption as a reason to reduce staff. About 83% of employers said headcount would either increase or stay the same as their firms adopt and implement AI, while only 3% said they expect AI to lead to a decrease in internal headcount.

Firms are hiring most heavily in revenue-driving and portfolio-critical functions

The roles firms are prioritizing also say a lot about where leaders see opportunity. Senior- and executive-level respondents said they are primarily looking to add talent in asset management (48%), acquisitions (33.9%), development and construction (33.1%), and finance and capital markets (33.1%). There is also notable demand for property management professionals (29.9%).

The pattern is consistent with an industry that is focused both on driving performance from existing assets and positioning itself for future deal activity.

Multifamily and industrial continue to lead asset class focus

When asked where firms expect to spend the most time over the next 12 to 18 months, respondents pointed most often to market-rate and luxury multifamily (65.9%), followed by industrial, logistics, and warehouse facilities (40.7%). Retail (31.8%), affordable or workforce housing (25.9%), and office (25.1%) also remained part of the mix.

These responses suggest that while capital is still selective, firms are continuing to focus on sectors where they see relative resilience, opportunity, or long-term demand.

Rates, inflation, and labor dynamics remain the biggest watchpoints

Despite the stronger hiring outlook, firms are still paying close attention to several pressures that could shape business performance and recruiting strategy over the next year. Among employers, interest rate volatility (58.5%) ranked as the top concern, followed closely by inflation affecting deal economics (57.8%). Labor market dynamics tied to hiring and retention came next at 34%, followed by the growing impact of AI at 28.1%.

That combination reinforces the broader story from this year’s survey: firms are still operating carefully, but they are not standing still.

Keller Augusta’s 2026 Workplace & Compensation Survey was conducted over nearly three weeks in March. Contact kaitlin@kelleraugusta.com to learn more about the full compensation benchmarking and market trends study.

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