Hiring Freezes
Has there been any talk about hiring freezes or trimming the headcount? I feel the current market has made firms reevaluate their needs.
Trending Content - Real Estate Forum
Career Resources
WSO Free Modeling Series - Now Open Through
June 30, 2026
9 Free Financial Modeling Lessons
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
High Finance Applications
Guaranteed
Get at least one offer GUARANTEED
- 1:1 support
- 92% success rate
- 2,000+ mentor network
- Unlimited Live bootcamps
- AI for resume + LinkedIn
- Networking automation tools
- HireVue simulation tool
- Full course library
- Private Slack community
- 20hrs of mocks
- + much more...
Removed because things have obviously changed since 3/9
It's not panicking if you're first out of the gate.
sorry is that from margin call?
Perhaps. But, panic or not, a stock market dip/correction/slide/etc. also doesn't necessarily mean a reduction in real estate activity.
For some reason people love to panic on this site and tell everyone the world is ending- Idk why I guess it makes people feel better about themselves somehow?
That's because none of you have ever lived through a downturn...
I'm in NR and this is my fourth correction since entering the workforce in 2010; on the other hand, most asset classes haven't experienced one yet. It's time you all understand that prices don't move only up for a decade without creating underlying problems.
Allowing anonymous posting was such a dumb decision by this website
Did you mean March, not May?
Nope. Time traveler.
In my opinion, the reason for so much monkey shit is that very early on while everybody was still trying to figure out the extent of the impact of Covid-19 and a recession will have on CRE, it felt like you immediately dismissed any possible impact the stock market crash will have on CRE. Not saying thats how you felt but the tone and the way your wrote your comment, it certainly felt that way. In reality, we all know that the stock market and CRE is related even if there is no direct relationship and secondly, you yourself saw how much has changed in a week, so when there is so much happening in a quick period of time, if there is limited data available, it is better to not believe in two extremes-either the world is crashing or everything is fine. The way your worded your comment, it felt like you were in one extreme and even in 08 when the world was crashing, there were people who had their heads in the sand saying everything was fine and it left a bad taste in everyones mouth particularly when the person saying everything was fine had something to gain from it. Not saying you had any nefarious intentions, just offering one perspective on the amount of monkey shit and why someone would not like what you said as it comes off like a person having their head in the sand.
I respect that.
I do think it's a result of just skimming my initial comment. OP asked if there had been any talk about hiring freezes or layoffs, and when I originally posted that my answer of "Nope" was both honest and correct, as I hadn't heard either. I also made sure to say "Don't immediately assume" in my assessment of the current stock market's impact on the real estate world, not that the two aren't tied or that it won't ultimately have an impact.
Still, clearly people took issue with it, so if I didn't get my point across that's on me.
I always thought a recession would be a good thing for opportunistic PE funds with significant dry powder (although not good for their predecessor funds or pretty much any owner of real estate).
Many opportunistic funds haven’t been able to find good deals because valuations are so high. If prices start to drop and investors begin panic selling, this could create more activity.
What you don’t want is for capital to dry up. Meaning you don’t want lenders to stop lending, LP investors to stop giving operators capital through JVs, Pension Funds to curtail their investment into PE Funds, public REITs to lose their ability to raise debt/equity.
Right now the only issue I see is public REITs losing their ability to raise equity due to their low stock prices. But again this can create deal flow if the REIT is forced to sell properties in order to pay down debt.
Anyone have a different take on this? I’m mostly thinking through the lens of the value-add / opportunistic PE fund because this is the field I want to get into
I agree, mostly, but you are assuming the credit markets will be there to support leverage levels that make sense for PE
I think there’s a chance they will because this time around a lot of the high leverage credit is coming from RE debt funds rather than banks. They have raised tons of money in the past few years. I know 2018 was an all-time record year but can admit I haven’t kept up with fundraising activity since the
The thing about market downturns is they aren't just a momentary hard reset of asset valuations followed by another 7 year run-up. You don't just get to buy something at half-price one day and then enjoy robust income growth into perpetuity. There are years and years of negative growth.
Example:After the dot com bubble of 2000 the S&P didn't return to previous highs until roughly 2007 (then it fell off a fucking cliff again). It didn't even start to recover until 2003. Most PE funds don't have a 7 year horizon to wait until pricing recovers. Most models I build don't work with 3-5years worth of negative growth assumptions.
Fair points.
PE Funds have 3 year terms? I always understood them to be 7 years at the shortest with an “investment period” at the start of the 7-10 years
Except your example seems to vindicate the idea that you buy something at a "hard reset" and then enjoy 7 years of run up. Perhaps I'm missing something, but under your example, someone who bought in early 2002 when the S&P was at 1,172 and sold in early 2007 at 1,409 would have enjoyed reasonable returns, even accounting for the fact that the S&P dipped below 900 at one point. Am I thinking about this in the wrong manner? Understood that perhaps the 4% appreciation plus whatever dividends on top isn't making a fund manager rich, but it's certainly upside. To say that the market didn't reach it's previous high to til 2007 ignores the fact that we're discussing investing in the aftermath of a correction, not before.
That's where you're wrong, bud…
[lowers sunglasses]
…welcome to the Real Estate forum.
[pops denim jacket collar, walks off into the sunset]
Deleted
Don't buy into it just yet. Seeking to draw a doomsday correlation in the private real estate markets based on public market behavior is not the best way to go. Generally, think of real estate more as a marathon and public markets as a sprint. You won't feel the volatility in real estate in the same sense so it's kind of inefficient to compare them the same way. Financial markets react immediately to both rational and irrational behavior, and that becomes compounded during times of near term uncertainty. Real estate doesn't work that way and it takes a lot more time to turn the ship around, which means we are somewhat shielded from the corrections and volatility the market is experiencing right now.
Does that mean we are immune to a headwinds? Far from it, but I believe one of the hottest places going forward would be in a well-capitalized real estate firm with execution bandwidth, a solid business plan and market knowledge.
Most experienced investors know that unstability creates opportunity.
This mindset is basically "it wont happen to be". Everyone wants to capitalize on blood in the water - but nobody assumes they're going to be the blood in the water.
Hah. I'd go further and argue that the more vociferous someone is about saying this, the more likely they are to be the one who is going to lose their shirt. Anyone who thinks that they'll be in a position to be wildly aggressive is probably already wildly aggressive.
Two places I scheduled first round interviews with got back to me before the calls and said they were suspending recriuting for the time being.
They asked I reach out later in the Spring.
Annoying, but understandable.
What experience level?
Analyst/Associate
Sounds more like a precaution for COVID-19 and not a reaction to the current market volatility
I'm no doctor, but you can't catch corona virus over a phone call/skype
Can you tell which places were these?
update: third company that I had two rounds with (and wants to continue speaking post-corona) is putting recruitment on hold
Wanted to throw a data point into this. I've been in communications/the interview process with three firms whose names you would know. I haven't heard any official "freeze" but the hiring process has become suspiciously extended and the people in question not responsive.
Maybe they're simply going with other people, but the change in "feel" for the process has been noticeable.
Makes sense, the HR people running the hiring process probably have their hands full trying to coordinate work from home mobilization
And executives aren't going to be interviewing candidates.
Currently working in Capital Markets at major brokerage (CBRE/JLL/C&W). Located in top-tier European market. Hiring is frozen for 2-3 months at least. Business activity has been slowing significantly this past week (site visits, meetings, file launches delayed or canceled among others). Hearing pretty much the same from US-based colleagues.
Yes.
CW had a round of layoffs a week ago, I heard about 500-1000 across the US.
Weren't those layoffs mainly in marketing type/back office functions and unrelated to the virus?
That is how it was reported in the Real Deal
Can confirm as I'm currently interning with one of CW's research teams. Luckily we only got slimmed down from 5 to 4 people, but man do I feel bad for my co-worker who's last day was on the 12th, right when things started to get a bit crazy with the virus situation. I can't imagine what the job market'll be like for the next few months.
Slightly related but I also know JLL froze the hiring process for some of their intern positions and I had one good friend who had signed an offer letter from a $5 Billion aum MultiFamily REIT straight up cancel their internship program for the summer.
I would expect a lot "halts", there should still be interviewing (via skype, zoom, etc.), but with offices clearing out due to COVID-19, I can't imagine a lot of people wanting to focus on hiring in the very short-term. Beyond that, every company will need to assess its cash position, business viability, valuations, etc.
In short, way too early to know the impact of everything. But, hiring is not likely to be the focus.
Understandable too. Imagine getting hired, meeting your team via phone call or video chat, having some work emailed to you that you have no reference point for on your personal computer since they haven't gotten a company laptop set up for you, not knowing your team, etc.
Speaking from the principal perspective here.
Tangential to the question, but I'm having a different perspective on the covid impact on real estate.
While recently raised funds or funds with significant dry powder may be well positioned to capitalize on value opportunities from distressed sales etc, and that historically, the inverse correlation with equities would suggest that people would gravitate toward RE in times like these, I think there will certainly be significant headwinds to the office RE space (and hospitality) in the next few quarters.
Buildings that we've been prepping for the market have all been sidelined. Nobody's touring nowadays, so no point in marketing a property if you're going to get a fraction of interested buyers. I know for our fund there will likely be a freeze on all investment activity for at least the near term, and I can't imagine too many other buyers making purchases at a time like this.
And that's not even touching upon the impacts on capital markets. I'd be surprised how many of the traditional lenders are willing to make loans now.
Aside from new investment activity, existing portfolios are going to suffer as well. As the entire country gradually comes under the restraints of 'lockdown' and employers are forcing employees to WFH, I imagine there will be little to no leasing activity for the next few quarters. Who's going to sign a large expensive lease when >50% of your workers are going to be remote? And let's not forget our friends at WeWork in all of this. Boy have they just hopped out of the frying pan and into the fire... they just can't catch a break. Our AM's are walking these wework spaces and seeing entire floors just barren. I can't imagine any short term leasing to be done at WeWork esp considering they have the highest density spaces possible so they've gotta be hemorrhaging cash. Would Softbank's investors even allow another bailout at this point?
To the point of real estate being more of a marathon and not a race, I'd think this is true for long-term hold funds, at least for the Boston Properties of the world out there who are likely in a fine position to weather this. But for those playing in the value add or opportunistic spaces out there with fund lives 7 years, even this 6 month to 1 year of severe instability is going to have long reaching ramifications to the performance and success of that overall fund given the blowback on leasing, and that major repositioning strategies / etc will be pretty much sent into a tailspin.
In terms of the hiring freeze, I'm sure this has to be coming. For layoffs, I suppose this depends on how recently your company just raised a new fund (and whether you're flush with cash or not), and I'm even wondering how this affects our current year's summer interns...
Interesting times.
You make fair points. The question is how long this "freeze" will last. People - especially Americans - tend to adapt/stop giving a shit pretty quickly. After months of scary headlines with masks/microscopic images of a virus, people will accept that as part of life and stop caring. Once the COVID-19 curve has "flattened" (2 weeks, 2 months? how long do we need to lockdown is the question), I imagine people will slowly go back to working from their offices, getting their nails done, consuming, etc. while remaining cautious. In short, i think consumer confidence will spike back quickly.
In the RE world, most owners who did not over-lever should be able to weather a freeze in activity - again assuming it only lasts for a month or so. RE institutional fund performance is relative to peers. We are all going through this so your 5-year 15% projected IRR might be a 12% IRR, but so will everyone else. As you mentioned, there is a lot of dry powder out there, I think things will reprice and buyers will start swooping in.
More concerning to me is how my buildings get built and staffed. Having vacancy rates 5-10% higher for one year than you underwrote isn't going to destroy an investment.
But if I can't get construction workers on site for 3 months and capital markets are disturbed afterwards? That could mean losing the keys.
And if I have a 500 unit building and I can't get maintenance staff out there for weeks at a time? Well sure, not sweeping the hallways won't kill anyone - but what about repairing the plumbing, keeping the boiler operating, operating the trash compactor? Losing some money on your office leasing is one thing, but there are genuine health and safety concerns for some of these asset classes. That's far more disturbing to me
Anyone have anything about BofA?!
I work for a private debt fund. We have stopped lending, many have stopped lending, to the point that we are getting really good deals we are now passing on. We have significant construction exposure of committed capital and our fundraising has come down dramatically. We cant make new loans because of this. There is some institutional capital that is trying to move out of equities and get with us, but that is the only silver lining.
There will be distressed opportunities in hotels, retail and office in the coming months. Sit tight for now.
Currently in University and just had my recently accepted full-time offer revoked. Also, haven’t heard anything from other places that I’ve been recruiting with, so looks like a freeze across the board on my end.
can you share more details about this pls?
I have a close friend who’s in a similar situation. Signed an offer letter to intern at a ~$5 Billion aum REIT that just got cancelled. I’m also supposed to be interning with the Debt Equity Structured Finance team at one of the big 3 brokerage firms come summer, and although I haven’t heard anything from HR, I’d be lying if I said I’m not shitting bricks at the moment. It’s looking like a tough situation for us students/recently graduated but hopefully we’ll get through this!
I hope it all works out for you guys. Markets like this are bad for everyone, especially recent grads. Just remember that it will pass and you'll find a great opportunity at some point in the near future. Imagine graduating in 2008...RE guys were SOL for almost 2 years. Everything I've read indicates that this recovery will be quicker. There is still ample dry powder in the market so transaction volume and hiring will pick up when the dust settles, hopefully in a few months.
I had a phone interview yesterday and was told company wide hiring freeze indefinitely
Just heard that CBRE has placed a company wide two week hiring freeze
Any updates on this?
General feeling I’ve gotten is that this is going from hiring freeze to people being concerned about lay offs. I think hiring is a non starter for a lot of companies right now.
Seems like there's three different camps.
Camp 1 - Fuck Covid. We need people ASAP for reason X, Y, or Z and that's not going to change so we're gonna keep our process going albeit online.
Camp 2 - We have no clue what's going on, so we're gonna freeze everything until it clears up.
Camp 3 - Our capital has dried up, our tenants are asking for rent abatements and/or are saying they can't pay us indefinitely. So we're either firing people or about to fire people.
Based on my personal communications, I'd say it's about 10% Camp A, 80% Camp B, and 10% Camp C. With things potentially trending toward Camp C if it keeps getting worse. Although, the one positive thing I've seen out of this situation is that people are more responsive, so it's been easier to make connections and gather information.
Good luck everybody!
Can confirm they've placed a company wide freeze indefinitely
Can confirm 2 large investment managers I have been interviewing with have put all hiring in hold. One for a couple of weeks and there for at least a month minimum.
Can confirm that we're putting a freeze on hiring too. I was interviewing candidates for my firm and we have to put everything on hold for the time being until things are a bit more stable. Tied to the lending side and most of it is at a pause, or quickly slowing down where little to no deals are being put through into application.
Can confirm hiring freeze plus had a company wide all hands of call which was somber and they straight up said "Evaluating staffing levels and discussing expense structures", which is the most professional way of saying layoffs.
Damn I would freeze upon hearing these words..buckle up!
My firm has put hiring on hold. Middle market REPE firm with two open positions. No layoffs yet (I'm hopefuly we won't see any layoffs here, our revenue stream/AM fees are reamining unchanged)
Can speak from direct involvement. Was in 4 live interview processes. All 4 said they are on hold now until this whole thing clears up. And this is for entry level analyst roles. I'm expecting to wait till Sept/Oct to land something. Best of luck to all.
Can confirm a hiring freeze in brokerage for all jobs except our PM division. Deals are still getting done but most had already be queued up in the last q. Some tenant rep assignments (100K+) are being pushed back. Banks are continuing to lend but expect that to change soon. Best of luck to all incoming interns and analysts.
In the midst of all of this, I just want to put it out there that we’re still hiring at Goldman. In asset management we’re still looking for an analyst or associate on the commercial team along with an analyst on the multifamily team
Can you PM me?
I'm interested
also interested in the MF role. can you PM me please?
I am also interested. I have a year experience in CRE/MF underwriting. Would really appreciate it if you could PM me. Thank you!
Accepted a role just before COVID went wild here in the US in early March at a debt fund and will still be starting next month.. was really holding my breath for a week.
is this in new york?
No, in another super regional area.
I am in a similar situation - took an offer/gave notice before this whole thing broke out. Start date is now pushed out by a month. I hope this role doesn't get eliminated
Just got a 25% pay reduction until further notice...
Are you in REPE and what asset classes?
What asset type? What type of firm? What role?
Hey dropkilla - sorry to hear about that. Would be very helpful if folks knew what region/role you are in. Thanks.
I've had an associate role at a newer, small, institutionally backed REPE shop doing value-add deals in a few markets. I took a pay cut for the role because I get a little bit of equity (not worth much right now, but if we grow it could become solid). I'm getting paid what new analysts are paid... much less than new Eastdil kids.
Fortunately we have a lot of dry powder and sounds like I'm good job-wise.
Question for the others. Is this a time to be contrarian? I'm certain 2009-2011 was the absolute prime time to breakout on your own despite the lack of financial security by doing so. This market is going to take 1-2 years to fully correct so I imagine 2021 is going to be a great buying opportunity as the supply/demand equation moves around.
This may be true if you had capital behind you.
It matters how long this lasts. 2009-2011 was bad because the market didn't recover immediately, so valuations were down when mortgages came due. If this goes back to some approximation of normal by August, there won't be that pressure on owners.
https://candor.co/hiring-freezes/
I have a friend in tech that reposted this on LinkedIn. As someone who was in the middle of applying for a new position, I think it would be great if we could compile a list like this.
Meridian Capital just had layoffs
Hearing Newmark has a company wide mandate to cut internships this summer and they've let incoming full-time's know their spot is fine for the time being - at least in nyc
Fuck that is a bummer about the internships. Glad to hear the incoming people are safe though.
Can confirm Newmark furloughed massive amounts of staff from analysts to corp level employees. Not sure exact %, but I know its a big number.
Deleted
Some PE funds are moving forward with recruiting virtually. Just had an interview set up at a large REPE fund and spoke with a recruiter who said many groups are still actively looking for people. Although no one has been hired through a fully virtual process (meaning first round to hire 100% virtual - no face to face), there is a chance that happens in the near future - according to the recruiter
I imagine this applies to REPE but not Lending, development or owner/operators
REITs too. I have a Zoom interview next week.
If I had to guess, they will delay making the final offer and/or on-boarding until we are able to meet in person, but much like people are doing everything they can on pursuits up until they can’t, some companies are taking the same approach to hiring.
Hiring for BB CMBS and agency lending on the West Coast (major market) is at a standstill right now.
Rumor is people at Mill Creek were given a 10% pay cut across the board. Not sure if that's specific to certain markets or not.
I work at a proptech startup in a major market and was just laid off. 20% of our global staff. Also can confirm that there are hiring freezes at at least one of the top real estate crowdfunding platforms (Fundrise, Realty Mogul, CrowdStreet, etc.).
All the best to everyone who's looking for jobs and to those who currently have jobs as well!
Cadre? I heard they were in a bad spot.
Not sure about them but it wouldn't surprise me. Not making it political, but I've heard that most of Kushner's investments aren't built to last: financially, technology-wise, etc. Cadre being one of them. So it wouldn't surprise me if they're not doing so hot. Though of course very sad for the people on the ground who got let go.
Is your firm doing okay?
Sint ex necessitatibus sit et et. Qui dolorem nisi rerum voluptatem natus. Eos eum eum expedita enim nostrum dolores non. Maxime dolores odit aspernatur sint velit animi rerum. Ipsum optio vel quaerat et perspiciatis provident.
Esse recusandae quod rerum laboriosam et sit blanditiis. Harum vitae fugiat aut minima asperiores. Aliquam vel accusantium numquam architecto voluptatem. Ratione voluptatibus maiores tempora voluptatem non velit rerum. Voluptatibus porro ipsam omnis voluptates dolore. Aliquam quod voluptatem aspernatur natus magnam fuga accusantium.
Quibusdam sit eveniet odit deserunt neque quos praesentium. Est ut accusantium est. Possimus qui dolores qui est. Esse quod optio omnis. Deleniti nam magnam minima ipsum. Rerum quod cupiditate assumenda est totam recusandae aut minima. Aspernatur aut et voluptas eum.
Et voluptatem alias quia velit veritatis. Quos magni magnam dolores maiores ullam nam. Quidem sed voluptate velit eius. Excepturi velit sapiente labore eum quis maiores itaque.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Nostrum sit explicabo omnis. Nisi voluptas harum voluptatem necessitatibus reprehenderit et. Quas tempore tempora sit vitae autem dolorem corrupti.
Dolor provident et est. Consequatur atque nulla itaque voluptas laborum et. Et eos aut est cupiditate qui ea.
Molestiae aut corrupti nesciunt nostrum. Qui ad quaerat et nihil enim. Nihil aut minus aliquam enim libero similique voluptas nam. Facere magnam veritatis voluptate. Voluptates tempore nisi tenetur dolorum quae laborum. Temporibus vel reprehenderit similique incidunt quo numquam doloremque.
Quis sunt ex rerum porro nihil autem quidem. Voluptatibus a aliquid voluptatem.
Incidunt nam quam qui. Maxime odit recusandae consectetur voluptatum. Itaque est culpa vero saepe labore quia. Suscipit accusantium ut rerum ipsam est dolores iure. Consequatur quia et architecto sit minus.
Praesentium necessitatibus exercitationem est quis qui. Et saepe exercitationem qui quibusdam. Repudiandae vero totam ut iusto voluptas illo. Quo minima quisquam corrupti non quia dignissimos debitis exercitationem.
Sapiente quaerat commodi sunt ratione. Sed veritatis quos culpa et nam ea alias. Voluptates eaque et occaecati doloremque est. Qui suscipit dolorem illum. Et dolore ipsa ratione quisquam ut. Quibusdam non ad perspiciatis ipsa beatae.
Hic laboriosam et consequatur sunt ipsa. Sed laboriosam reiciendis odio rem et aut sapiente distinctio. Modi reiciendis dolorem nihil repellendus quia quisquam eum.
Aliquid est corrupti quia numquam asperiores laborum veritatis. Est saepe earum molestiae ullam harum ut. Officiis laborum perferendis est. Excepturi repudiandae omnis rerum corrupti molestiae. Temporibus quasi odit fugiat fugiat quod. Inventore nihil voluptatem non consequatur mollitia eaque. Fuga unde architecto sed ut quia sunt.
Earum nemo voluptas cum et. Praesentium quis in aut sunt. Quo omnis impedit voluptatem. Beatae rerum iure quod et et omnis laborum et.
Dolor officia sit ut velit placeat debitis recusandae. Rem soluta neque aut natus dolores enim nihil. Praesentium possimus dignissimos ut ipsum.
Velit impedit et distinctio exercitationem excepturi cumque. Impedit dignissimos qui suscipit aut. Qui sed autem laborum non rerum. Consectetur pariatur non et quisquam consequuntur porro natus consequatur.
Iste aut occaecati accusantium sequi ullam iste occaecati. Assumenda ab autem sunt aperiam expedita aspernatur. Et repellendus in aut aut optio et illum. Magnam nesciunt blanditiis assumenda quibusdam amet voluptates adipisci. Possimus ut occaecati quas. Voluptatum recusandae quas nisi vel totam ipsa et.
Quod dolor quisquam commodi excepturi laborum aut quo. Sed soluta esse ullam consectetur. Perspiciatis optio non ut.