Total compensation was up across the board for nearly all positions in the survey for 2022, though base salaries saw only marginal increases. Bonus compensation accounted for most of the gains, with many employ-ers reporting the widespread use of discretionary hiring and retention incentive payouts to counter the continued rise in the cost of living, while avoiding the longer-term financial commitment of salary increases with a potential recession looming.
2023 is shaping up to be a mixed bag for compensation across the functional position categories. Investor interest in student housing is increas- ing due to its stable rent growth, and in slowing economic cycles this typi- cally equates to a focus on asset value enhancement/preservation, which benefits professionals in the property operations category. At the other end of the spectrum, development and construction professionals whose skill portability drove up their compensation during the conventional multifamily boom of the past five years will face downward pressure as an unfavorable lending environment leads to significant staff reductions for market-rate developers and a flood of available talent.
