Salaries in the property industry continue to rise modestly, according to the latest Avdiev Property Industry Remuneration Report. The report reflects survey data collected bi-annually from built environment, construction industry, and investment professional companies.

Avdiev Group Managing Director Rita Avdiev said the property industry is doing well overall, though “significant shifts are emerging in hiring and remuneration practices”.

Leading the way were employees in the Retirement Living/Aged Care and the Built Environment Professionals market sectors, who saw increases of 5–7 per cent. Across the construction, investment, and property markets, a 3 per cent pay rise has been the median figure.

Looking ahead, pay increases of 3 per cent are expected, though Built Environment Consultants, such as Architects, Designers, and Project Managers, are expecting a boost of 4–5 per cent.

Professionals in the Retirement Living/Aged Care, Health Care, and Built Environment sectors appear to be well positioned, as survey respondents report creating new positions for these cohorts, which require non-routine cognitive skills. Conceptual, interactive, and personal skills in these groups are driving higher pay increases.

According to the report, 59 per cent of respondents reported doing well, and 23 per cent report doing very well. A drop in company performance was reported by just 7 per cent of respondents.

Avdiev said Generation Y, with their transformative approach to careers, is doing well. “The winners are the young, flighty Gen Y with non-routine cognitive skills, as identified by RBA research, and fresh ideas in jobs requiring thought and initiative”, she noted.

Employers are embracing the “gig economy”, with 30 per cent of employers planning to boost the number of casual hires. According to the report, increasing the number of casual hires enables employers to shake up workplaces, changing entrenched attitudes, and updating skill sets. In addition, the gig economy helps employers satisfy Generation Y’s preference for rapid career change.

The latest report echoes the report from last spring, which noted strong demand across most sectors. High demand for senior property development managers resulted in pay increases of 10–20 per cent, with designers, architects, property consultants, and construction staff also seeing robust increases.

The property industry as a whole is a mixed bag, according to the latest quarterly ANZ Property Council Survey. With more than 1800 responses, all states but South Australia and Queensland reported a rise in confidence. Chief Economist for ANZ, Richard Yetsenga, said the survey results show that firms are more optimistic about the outlook for the property sector. “A net 29% of respondents expect conditions in the property sector to improve over the next 12 months”, he noted, “up from 27% in the previous quarter. Encouragingly, this improved outlook is broadly based across most areas of the economy.”

Confidence in government appears to be dragging down expectations in Queensland. According to the survey, confidence is falling with each successive quarter, and respondents have the lowest opinion of their government of all survey respondents. Western Australia and Queensland stand alone, with all other respondents expecting positive house price growth for the 12 month ahead.