Inside CBRE: How much do pros at the brokerage powerhouse make?

Commercial giant still hiring as market tightens

CBRE CEO Bob Sulentic (Illustration by The Real Deal with Getty, CBRE)
CBRE CEO Bob Sulentic (Illustration by The Real Deal with Getty, CBRE)

Many real estate companies are paring back headcounts, wary of the turning housing market. CBRE can’t relate.

The real estate giant employs more than 100,000 people worldwide and is looking to add to its ranks, Insider reported. The service and brokerage firm posted more than 250 jobs in the United States last week.

The company is apparently riding high after a big year. CBRE set an annual record with nearly $28 billion in revenue last year, capitalizing in surges in the multifamily and industrial markets.

An Insider analysis of the US Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s 2021 and 2022 disclosure data revealed how much CBRE may be willing to pay its next hires. A senior software engineer makes anywhere between $90,000 and $165,000. A construction project manager reels in between $125,000 to $135,000. A digital marketing director can make up to $170,000.

The disclosure data accounts for permanent and temporary foreign workers in the United States. CBRE hired nearly 300 employees from H1-B and similar visa programs, a 119 percent increase year over year.

While CBRE is expanding its ranks, other real estate companies have announced major cuts. After the cooling U.S. housing market spurred layoffs earlier this summer at firms like Redfin and Compass, the mortgage industry has seen a recent bloodbath as rates climb and application demand falls.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Read more

Last month, LoanDepot announced it would lay off 4,800 people, roughly 42 percent of its workforce. The company’s chief executive pointed towards the sharp contraction of the mortgage market as a reason to take “decisive action.”

Larger companies have reduced mortgage-specific personnel in recent months, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Keller Williams and Better.com.

Some mortgage companies haven’t even been able to stay afloat after the market’s sharp turn. Long Island-based Sprout Mortgage recently announced it was going out of business, shortly after Texas-based First Guaranty Mortgage essentially shut down after making a deep cut to its staff.

— Holden Walter-Warner