PSD’s position in the market allows us to assess recruitment trends and activity that will mirror what is happening in the property market. We see demand in real time. When employers pause, push, or suddenly accelerate hiring, we spot patterns that a single company can’t. With our extensive senior hiring and network, we see the strategy (new funds raised, acquisitions, pivots, restructures) often before transaction data reflects it. That gives an earlier read on where firms are heading than purely volume hiring. We also see unfiltered versions of where deals are happening: salary bands, bonus expectations, hybrid policy, counteroffers, scarcity in certain skillsets, and what’s winning candidates right now.
Expectations
Real estate recruitment sentiment in 2026 is pragmatic. Costs, debt, interest rates and geopolitics still demand caution, but there is a sense that growth is coming.
In the UK, the wider labour market is cooler than a year ago, with vacancies falling in late 2025 and salary growth slowing. Employers are more selective and candidates face greater competition.
Hiring is concentrated in sectors with structural demand or clear “value-creation” plans.
What Sectors will be expanding?
- Data centres remain the headline growth engine. Demand continues to outstrip supply across Europe, with forecasts pointing to even tighter vacancy by the end of 2026, which will drive recruitment across development, transactions, and technical roles.
- Industrial and logistics keeps hiring, but with new deliveries expected to remain below recent peaks and development pipelines softer, firms are leaning more into asset management, pre-let strategy, and upgrading stock to meet occupier requirements. We expect continued demand for leasing, project management, and refurbishment skill sets.
- Living stays a steady recruiter. Build-to-Rent and other operationally intensive residential models in particular. The big difference versus traditional “transaction-first” real estate is the operating platform: resident experience, retention, and revenue optimisation create roles in operations, customer experience, and revenue management, not just acquisitions. We expect Co-Living to make a return. Recruitment in traditional housebuilders and strategic land operators may remain subdued, whilst residential-led mixed-use developers appear busier as local authority joint ventures drive activity and viability issues begin to ease.
- Offices are not dead, just picky. Research consensus going into 2026 is that occupier demand is highly location- and quality-led, with a lack of new supply in the best submarkets. That tends to create selective hiring in prime office investment, leasing, and repositioning.
- Retail & Leisure recruitment reflects a polarised market. We have seen recruitment in prime areas, asset, investment and leasing hires. In secondary, areas, the focus is on repositioning and repurposing. In 2026, recruitment will centre on protecting and growing income and repositioning stock, rather than big speculative build-outs. Across all sectors, the cross-cutting hiring theme is sustainability and compliance: EPC upgrades, decarbonisation capex planning, climate risk, and reporting.
- Recruitment in property finance and lending in 2026 should be cautiously positive. With interest rates likely falling further and liquidity increasing, lenders will add headcount selectively rather than in bulk. We saw an increase in roles specialising in Bridging and Mezzanine Lending, last year and are expecting a shift to more core senior debt.
- The busiest hires will sit in credit: underwriting, portfolio management, restructuring/workouts, and covenant monitoring, reflecting a continued focus on risk and asset quality. As transaction flow returns, origination roles will re-open, especially in resilient segments such as logistics, living and data-centre related debt, plus refurbishment and EPC-upgrade financing.
- Demand may rise for specialists in ESG-linked lending, climate-risk analytics, and regulatory reporting. Employers will prize candidates who can bridge real estate and capital markets, model complex cashflows, and negotiate terms. Pay should edge up for scarce skills, while bonuses remain tightly performance-linked.
Salaries in 2026
- Base pay should rise, but unevenly. Generalist roles will see more normalised progression because candidate supply is healthier and employers have more leverage.
- But scarce-skill pockets, for example, data centre expertise, specialist logistics development, top leasing talent should still command premiums.
- The biggest jumps often come from moving employers, not internal promotion. We saw mid-teens average uplifts when moving roles, keeping retention pressure on firms. Bonuses are likely to stay conservative, and closely tied to transaction volumes.
- With increased liquidity as cheaper debt and equity becomes available, variable compensation could loosen later in the year, with more focus on bonuses.
The year ahead will not be about volume, it will be about precision. As a specialist search partner across Real Estate & Construction, we continue to advise clients and senior leaders navigating these shifts. The themes above are already shaping hiring decisions; the firms that act with intent will be best placed as momentum builds. If you would value a confidential discussion about your hiring plans or your own next move, we would be pleased to speak.
