The average salary in South Africa’s real estate industry is R960,000 per annum according to Macdonald & Company’s annual ‘Salary, Rewards and Sentiments’ survey report.
That dataset excludes salaries for those respondents who are in the graduate/assistant level.
Taking all salaries into account, the real estate recruitment specialists estimate the median average to be $31,765 annually (R582,000), or approximately $2,650 per month (R48,500).
The data, collected among 11,400 professionals, including 2,024 in South Africa, found that local professionals were also paid R84,000 in bonuses from 2024-25 with two-thirds awarded a pay rise, and a 10% increase on average.
In South Africa, the real estate investment market recovered at the end of 2024, with transaction volumes reaching R34.3 billion, a 21% increase from the previous year.
This growth was driven by large-scale transactions and a favourable interest rate environment, Macdonald & Company said.
“However, confidence from our survey respondents is relatively low, with only 37% of respondents expressing optimism about the economy over the next 12 months.”
A large proportion of employees (61%) are likely to move jobs in 2025, indicating a dynamic job market driven by the search for better compensation, the report found.
However, according to the hiring specialist, recruiting skilled candidates remains a significant challenge for hiring managers in real estate, with three-quarters of employers reporting difficulty in attracting individuals with the necessary skills.
“With an average base salary of R960,000 and bonus of R84,000, the job market is dynamic, with six in ten hiring managers looking to grow their teams this year, highlighting the ongoing challenges to recruit skilled candidates. Despite a significant recovery in the real estate investment market, economic confidence remains uncertain, but more upbeat than in previous years,” said Julie Teague, managing director, South Africa.
Overall, global real estate salaries have seen a modest increase, with the average salary reaching $79,410, a 4.0% rise compared to the previous year.
Approximately two-thirds of employees globally received a pay raise. The rate of increase varies across regions, with the U.K. experiencing a significant year-on-year rise in salary with an average 6.7% uplift, following the lowest increase back in 2023-2024 (0.4%).
The US and Southeast Asia saw an average uplift of 6.6%, Europe at 8.1%, South Africa with 8.9%, and the Middle East region seeing the most significant average uplift of 11.2%.
Annual pay reviews or cost of living/inflation adjustments are the most common reasons for salary increases. For annual pay reviews, the average salary increase was 6.1%, promotions saw an uplift of 12.8%, and moving jobs resulted in an average 14.4% increase.
Concerns about the cost of living and inflation have led to a notable proportion of employees (20.5%) receiving pay increases as a cost of living/inflation adjustment. This figure represents an increase from 16% the previous year.
The global inflation rate in 2024 was 5.8% and is expected to decline to 4.3% in 2025 (Statista).
Of those surveyed in real estate who cited that their pay was increased to account for the cost of living/inflation, the average pay rise was 4.4%, and for annual pay reviews, it was 6.1%.
Combined, the average increase is 5.7% in line with global inflation. This suggests that many employers continue to address the impact of inflation on their staff.
Work-life balance continues to outrank salary level as the most important factor in a role. Three-quarters of employees in real estate are offered some level of flexibility in the location and/or hours they can work.
However, there is a slight increase in the number of days organisations are mandating a return to the office.
Despite this, 76% say they have some level of flexibility in their workplace, including flexible hours and where they can work.
Globally, confidence in real estate is on an upward trajectory. After a subdued 2024, this year sees renewed confidence, with 57% confident in the primary asset class they work with.
Leading the charge, saying they are confident or very confident this year are those that work with data centres (83%), industrial/logistics/IOS (69%), and infrastructure (68%).
