RCLCO | CEL Compensation Advisors Announce Release of the 2025 National Real Estate Compensation & Benefits Survey
36th Annual Report with Record Levels of Compensation Data from the Market
BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading real estate consulting firm RCLCO | CEL Compensation Advisors announced today the release of the 36th annual National Real Estate Compensation & Benefits Survey. The nearly 400-page report covers year-end compensation projections, short- and long-term incentive structures, benefits practices, and pay levels for 160+ positions. The findings reflect responses from more than 400 commercial real estate companies across all major asset classes, ownership structures, and service offerings.
"We are excited to share that this year's survey report includes additional questions on metrics and KPIs, LTIP structure, and management co-investment," said Lucy Bertsch, co-head of RCLCO's Compensation Consulting Practice. "Based on participant feedback, we also incorporated more detailed results surrounding participants' anticipated position on 2025-2026 compensation adjustments. We hope that these enhancements will further equip commercial real estate firms with the data they need to make compensation-related decisions in 2025 and beyond."
In addition to detailed position-level compensation data, the report highlights year-end planning projections and trends on incentive structure and human capital. The vast majority (88%) of survey participants reported increasing base salaries from 2024-2025, with an average companywide increase of 4.7%. Looking ahead, 86% of participants anticipate increasing salaries in 2026 by an average of 4.1% year-over-year. While base salaries continue to trend upwards, annual bonuses are projected to remain steady over the previous year. Over half (58%) of participants expect to keep companywide bonuses flat for performance year 2025.
Informed by RCLCO & CEL's unparalleled understanding of real estate data and trends and paired with industry best practices gleaned from relationships with hundreds of real estate companies, the survey report has been the gold standard in the industry for more than 35 years. With detailed breakouts of compensation data by company size, ownership, asset class, region, and metropolitan area, the report provides valuable insights to all types of U.S. commercial real estate organizations.
The entire report can be purchased here. Inquiries into RCLCO's compensation consulting services that leverage this comprehensive data can be directed to Lucy Bertsch at lbertsch@rclco.com.
ABOUT RCLCO | CEL COMPENSATION ADVISORS
RCLCO | CEL Compensation Advisors was formed from the 2023 partnership of RCLCO Real Estate Consulting and CEL Compensation Advisors, LLC (CEL), which expands and enhances its industry-leading talent advisory practice, building on CEL's annual Real Estate Compensation & Benefits Survey and its compensation consulting practice, and RCLCO's management consulting and executive search practices. Today RCLCO | CEL Compensation Advisors releases the results of the 2025 Survey, providing comprehensive compensation and benefit data of employees of 400+ real estate companies.
Since 1967, RCLCO Real Estate Consulting has been the "first call" for real estate developers, investors, public institutions, and non-real estate companies seeking strategic and tactical advice regarding property investment, planning, and development. RCLCO leverages quantitative analytics platforms and a strategic planning framework to provide end-to-end business planning and implementation solutions at an entity, portfolio, or project level. With the insights and experience gained over 57 years and thousands of projects, RCLCO brings success to all product types across the United States and around the world. Within the firm, RCLCO Management Consulting focuses on organizational consulting, strategic planning, capital, portfolio and operational strategy, executive search, and compensation consulting, all for the real estate industry. RCLCO is headquartered in Bethesda, MD, and has offices in Los Angeles, CA, Orlando, FL, Austin, TX, New York, NY, and Denver, CO. To learn more about RCLCO, visit www.rclco.com.
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SOURCE RCLCO