It pays to be a corporate real estate consultant or investment agent in London, and it doesn’t to be a surveyor in Wales. Amanda Seidl looks at the results of the 2002 EG/PSDSalary & Benefits Survey
The cloud of pessimism that has settled over the UK property industry since last September is reflected in the gloomy predictions for pay rises this year. Most agents expect rises of less than 5%, 2% less than last year. Despite this, average salaries across the industry are £40,500 and bonuses are £6,000.
In a change from last year, this year’s Estates Gazette/PSD Salary & Benefits Survey was conducted over the internet. This modern medium produced a different profile of respondent from last year’s survey. The average respondent is now younger, at 34 years, male and based in the South East.
Of the 1,524 respondents, over half (56%) work in commercial surveying, while 20% work in investment and 16% in commercial development. The survey also attracted a greater number of female respondents – 28% of the sample are women – perhaps a sign that equality is creeping into the profession. Although there are female respondents in all the job categories, the greatest numbers appear in property management, portfolio management and rent review. Their average salary is £28,690.
Job function really counts
As usual, the salary averages hide huge variations in the pay accorded to different job functions. Investment work is highly rewarded, with an average pay packet worth £54,300. And while 20% earn between £50,000 and £70,000, a fortunate 10% of investment surveyors earn over £100,000.
But these high rollers are not the best paid on average this year. That prize was snatched by corporate real estate consultants, who earn £54,480 on average. What’s more, this category of property professional – new to the survey this year – contains some of the highest earners: 38% take home over £50,000, while the top 8% earn over £100,000.
Working in commercial development is also financially rewarding, meriting an average £50,730. These three activities exceed the average wage by a large margin.
Among the respondents working in commercial agency, there is a wide variation in remuneration. Retail agents are the best paid, earning £43,820 on average, while industrial agents generally take home just £28,630. Office agents receive £33,800, but business space agents are paid £37,630. Industrial agents are not the lowest paid in the survey, however. That honour goes to planners, who earn just £26,300 on average.
The variation between similar agency functions may be explained by the age of the respondents in the sample. The average salary for the youngest respondents (18-25 years) and those with less than two years’ experience is just over £20,000. As staff gain more experience, remuneration increases steadily from £25,470 for those with two to three years in the industry, up to £31,790 for those with four to six years in practice.
The average salary for respondents aged 36-45, typically with between 10 and 20 years’ experience, is a respectable £50,710, while those with more than 20 years in the business earn £63,380 on average.
Location also counts. Average salaries in London and the South East are the highest in the country, at £46,100 and £37,970 respectively. In Scotland, average salaries are £32,300, while property professionals in the North are not far behind at, typically, £31,520. In the Midlands and East Anglia average pay is £29,960.
The lowest salaries are in Wales and the South West, where surveyors typically earn just £27,380.
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Expected salary change |
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Most expect pay rises of less than 5% this year |
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Average salaries by job function |
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Planners earn less than half the average salary of corporate real estate consultants |
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Benefits included in current package |
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Paid maternity leave is available only to 25% of the female respondents |
Benefits and bonuses
Investment proves the best area
Over half the sample receives a performance-related bonus that on average is just under £6,000. Respondents working in investment receive the highest bonuses, typically £14,000. However, the average masks a wide variation in bonus payments: while a quarter of investment surveyors receive under £6,000 in bonuses, 24% earn over £25,000.
A similar range is found in other job functions. In commercial development, 15% enjoy bonuses of over £25,000, while 30% get less than £1,000 each. Few respondents across all job functions earn bonuses in the £10,000-£30,000 range.
Among the range of benefits offered to respondents, a health plan is the most popular perk, and is available to 61% of the sample. Almost the same proportion (59%) are part of a contributory pension plan.
Other perks are less popular. Only 39% drive a company car and even fewer (30%) receive an allowance for a private car. Share options are offered to just 17%, while only 14% are in profit-sharing schemes.
The profession still does not seem to care much about the next generation. Only 25% of women in property can expect paid maternity leave, and only 9% of men get paid paternity leave.
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Last bonus by job function |
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Investment surveyors earn more than double the average bonus of £6,000 |
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Fees earned by job function |
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On average, fee-earners bring in £150,000 to their company |
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How the survey was compiled Research took the form of an online self-completion questionnaire, which was e-mailed to 18,748 contacts, the vast majority of which were EGi subscribers. In total, 1,524 people responded over the two weeks from 30 January to 13 February. The survey was administered by Virtual Surveys Ltd, an independent research agency. Macmillan Nurses received a donation of £1 for every completed questionnaire analysed. The full report of the EG/PSD Salary & Benefits Survey will be available later this month. Please contact Clare Plummer at EG on 0207 411 2636 or Dominic Rushby at PSD on 0207 970 9700. |
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Pay and experience |
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Unsurprisingly, salaries rise rapidly with experience |
Fees
Biggest earners found in London
Three-quarters of the respondents to the Estates Gazette/PSD Salary & Benefits Survey earn fees for their companies. On average, fee-earners bring in almost £150,000 per year, though 20% accrue more than £170,000 in fees. A respectable 12% pull in more than £250,000 for their organisations.
The highest fees are found in investment companies, where a quarter of investment surveyors rake in over £300,000 apiece. However, a similar number of respondents working for investment companies say that they earn no fees at all.
Most commercial agents report fee earnings below or around the average for the survey, but 32% of office agents are among the lowest fee-earners, earning less than £65,000. Their performance is outstripped by the 21% of retail agents who bring in between £170,000 and £199,000 for their companies.
The highest fees are picked up in Greater London, where the average fees earned are £173,000, and 12% of surveyors based in the region report earning over £300,000.
Female respondents match or exceed their male counterparts’ fee-earning capacity up to £100,000, but few women rank among the highest earners.
