MARKET PULSE: The property industry is finally “turning a corner in 2025” after chronic skill shortages, high staff turnover and soaring costs impeding business growth, according to the most recent Avdiev Report.
Principal Rebecca Sachse said there has been a 15 percentage point increase in the number of businesses performing well compared to six months ago.
Sachse said among real estate agencies and advisory firms, those that were performing poorly in March 2025 were now some of the best performing.
Key stats include
- 75 per cent of property businesses report positive trading performance, up from 49 per cent 6 months ago
- property industry remuneration is outpacing inflation, with multiple sectors recording rises of up to 8 per cent
- these will slow to between 2 to 5.3 per cent in 2026
- three in four businesses have expanded staff levels by 10 per cent over the past year
- skill shortages are increasingly concentrated in manager level positions
- staff turnover has fallen by 45 per cent year on year, caused by dramatic falls in voluntary turnover
- the “right to disconnect” has had minimal impact on working condition
“We observed a significant spread in remuneration increases over the past year, between 1 per cent and 8 per cent,” Sachse said.
“Notably though, the higher percentage increases tended to be for junior and mid-level staff. And for 30 per cent of companies surveyed, these were offered as catch-up increases from previous years.”
Meanwhile design, advisory and engineers are fighting uncertainty
Meanwhile, the 2025 Market Conditions Report by Consult Australia found that project uncertainty, business risk and cost pressures are continuing to weigh on the nation’s consulting and engineering sectors.
The report based on a survey of its 41 member businesses in engineering and related consulting business, representing 29,000 employees, said 97 per cent of respondents reported they are at current or near term capacity, which it said is a continuation of last year’s “subdued market conditions.”
Chief executive officer Jonathan Cartledge said the results show that there needs to be pipeline clarity and more government coordination, said the companies are “facing the pressures of uncertain project pipelines, escalation business costs and heightened risk”.
Cartledge said the companies are “demonstrating remarkable resilience” with 49 per cent of respondents indicating they were optimistic about the year ahead, indicating the market is stabilising and confidence is returning.
Key stats include:
- 51 per cent of respondents have redeployed staff to other projects; 43 per cent have made additional resource cuts due to delayed or cancelled projects
- 43 per cent said they are operating in a higher-risk environment than a year ago
- 57 per cent indicated it will continue to face rising professional indemnity insurance premiums despite marginally improved availability
- 62 per cent cite digital, data and AI as critical skill gaps for the next three years