RCLCO Announces Release of the 2026 National Real Estate Compensation & Benefits Survey

37th Annual Report with Record Levels of Participation and Compensation Data from the Market

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading real estate consulting firm RCLCO announced today the release of the 37th annual National Real Estate Compensation & Benefits Survey. The more than 450-page report covers year-end compensation projections, short- and long-term incentive structures, benefits practices, and pay levels for 180+ positions. The findings reflect responses from 436 commercial real estate companies across all major asset classes, ownership structures, and service offerings.

"This year's report continues to provide commercial real estate firms with real time data on pay practices, compensation projections, incentive structures, and benefits," said Lucy Bertsch, Managing Director and head of RCLCO's Compensation Consulting practice. "In addition to this information, participants will benefit from additional human capital insights covering topics including turnover, work schedules, and hiring trends."

In addition to detailed position-level compensation data, the report highlights year-end planning projections and trends on incentive structure and human capital. Nearly all of survey participants (93.3%) reported increasing base salaries from 2025-2026, with an average companywide increase of 4.0%. Looking ahead, 88% of participants anticipate increasing salaries in 2027 by an average of 3.6% year-over-year. For incentive payouts, annual bonuses are projected to remain steady over the previous year. Over half (54.4%) of participants expect to keep companywide bonuses flat for performance year 2026.

Informed by RCLCO'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 37 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 [email protected].

ABOUT RCLCO

RCLCO compensation practice was formed from 2023, adding to RCLCO's management consulting and executive search practices. Today RCLCO releases the results of the 2027 Survey, providing comprehensive compensation and benefit data of employees of 430+ 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 nearly 60 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 has offices in Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Orlando, and Washington, DC. To learn more about RCLCO, visit www.rclco.com.

SOURCE RCLCO