A Period of Normalization – June 8, 2026
Asset managers in CRE are transitioning from crisis management as market conditions stabilize
Commercial real estate’s asset management sector is entering a new phase this year, search firm RETS Associates says in its 2026 Asset Management Survey, based on input from 255 asset management professionals across the U.S. For the past several years, this job function has been the center of gravity in CRE as firms have focused on protecting value amid economic uncertainty, changing capital markets and operational challenges. However, RETS says the latest survey data suggest the industry is transitioning from crisis management to a more normalized environment.
“Sixty-three percent of respondents indicate that asset management has grown in strategic importance at their firms — a meaningful majority, but notably down from 73% in 2023,” according to the survey, titled Asset Management in Motion. “That 10-point shift is not a decline so much as normalizing conditions.”
Of course, “normalizing conditions” may carry a different meaning today compared to a decade ago. In the long-ago era of pre-pandemic conditions, it was pretty much a given that asset management functions would be conducted onsite, i.e., at company headquarters. Today, 65% of asset managers surveyed by RETS indicated that they work from home at least one day per week, although that figure has leveled off from 72% of 2023 respondents. Still, it’s a minority of asset managers (33%) who come into the office five days per week.
Whatever geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties face CRE today, in many ways the operating environment is more settled. When RETS first conducted the survey in 2023, the COVID-19 pandemic was not as distant in the rearview mirror as it is today. And there was a macroeconomic shock that drove stepped-up hiring in CRE asset management: the Federal Reserve’s series of increases to the federal funds rate after years of near-zero interest rates. Transaction volume plummeted, and owners focused on getting more mileage out of existing properties. In 2026, owners and investors have adjusted to a higher-for-longer climate.
However, one unfortunate effect of the pandemic prevails, and that is that one of the basic “food group” CRE sectors is now a problem child. “Office stands apart — and not in a favorable way,” the survey says. “Survey respondents consistently identify office as the most challenging property type to manage. Hybrid work patterns have permanently reshaped occupier demand, lease-up timelines have extended, and the gap between well-located trophy properties and the rest has widened considerably.”
At the same time, though, other types of real estate are muscling onto the scene. For asset managers, working with these may require that they be like Liam Neeson’s Taken protagonist and possess a particular set of skills. “Emerging asset classes — most notably data centers — are beginning to appear in the conversation. The pipeline of capital flowing into digital infrastructure is creating new roles that blend traditional asset management skills with technical literacy.”
“The 2026 RETS Asset Management Survey reveals a sector that is well-paid, geographically anchored to capital-rich markets, and clear-eyed about what drives a career change,” the survey concludes. “The findings point to opportunity for firms that build pathways, not just paychecks.”
It’s fair to say that the state of CRE asset management illustrates where the industry is at present. Professionals in this discipline have absorbed the changes seen in the past six years, both in terms of job requirements and working conditions. That’s likely true across the board in CRE.