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Competition for real estate talent, particularly property managers, is expected to continue in 2013 as principals continue to grapple with staff recruitment and retention, a specialist recruitment firm has said.
Joel Barbuto, managing director at Gough Recruitment, expects a positive 2013, although this means competition for quality staff will continue, he says in the December issue of Real Estate Business.
The specialist real estate recruitment company, which has offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide, along with Singapore, expects sales agents, property managers and property manager BDMs, to be in hot demand next year.
He says he has noticed principals, faced with a tougher sales market, moving more towards property management to help bolster their income.
“They’ve seen a few tough sales months, so property management is becoming more important to them,” he said.
This, in turn, continues to put heat on finding quality property management staff.
“Good people aren’t moving, and there is a lack of talent overall,” he said.
“At any given point in time we have 60 property management roles in Sydney. Some jobs are taking eight weeks to fill, and they’re listed with multiple recruitment agencies.”
Nationally, his firm currently has 120 property management job vacancies.
The only good people that are moving are being headhunted, he continues, with the remainder often too nervous to leave their current employer for fear of not finding another job.
Moreover, some of the good property managers have simply had enough of what he says can be a “crappy job”, leaving the industry altogether. This further dilutes the talent pool. This dearth of talent is likely to lead to salary increases next year, Mr Barbuto said.
The hospitality industry is one potential source of fresh talent, he continues. Employees in this sector are used to hard work, long hours and low pay.
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