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New Survey Reveals Equal Pay the Biggest Challenge Facing Women in Commercial Real Estate

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Despite Contributing More Than $935 Billion to the U.S. Economy in 2017, Commercial Real Estate Lags behind in Gender Equality According to New Survey from RETS Associates

Newport Beach, CA – June 27, 2018 (BUSINESS WIRE) RETS Associates, a leading commercial real estate (CRE) recruitment and staffing firm, today announced the findings from its 2018 Women in CRE Survey, which garnered results from women holding entry- to senior-level positions across the nation. Notably, 87.2 percent of respondents agree or strongly agree that the biggest challenge facing women in CRE today is equal pay, followed closely by a lack of promotion opportunities and feeling that female opinions aren’t as valued or respected as their male counterparts (79.2 and 79.1 percent respectively). According to the survey, gender pay and opportunity discrimination appears to be pervasive within this industry that accounted for 7.6 million American jobs and contributed $935.1 billion to U.S. GDP in 2017.1

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“The days of commercial real estate being an ‘old boys club’ are over,” said Jana Turner, principal, RETS Associates and a former executive of a Fortune 500 global CRE company. “We had a great response to the survey with more than 615 participants. That’s significant. Women are more empowered than ever before to stand up to discrimination, but change must come from the top and currently there aren’t enough women in leadership positions. We’re working to change that.”

Gender Pay and Opportunity Discrimination

Sixty-five percent of respondents noted that they were made aware of being paid less than a male counterpart at some point in their career. Of those, seventy-five percent noted it happened at least two times.

Sixty-one percent of survey respondents noted that they felt they were bypassed for a job, assignment or listing at some point in their career based on gender. Of those, 82 percent reported that it happened more than once, and 54 percent noted it happened three or more times.

  • Almost two-thirds (63 percent) did not take action after being bypassed for a job, assignment or listing
  • Of those who did take action, 45 percent began looking for a new job, 28 percent discussed with HR or management and the issue was not resolved to their satisfaction, 17 percent resigned, 7 percent had the issue resolved to their satisfaction, and 3 percent took legal action
  • The top three reasons for not taking action were as follows:
  • 29 percent – Fear of losing future career opportunities
  • 27 percent – Fear of poor treatment from leadership
  • 25 percent – Fear of reputation damage

“The conversation around gender equity has gained significant traction as more individuals, business owners, executives, and policymakers are looking to solve issues surrounding gender bias – issues such as the ones identified in this study,” said Katica Roy, international speaker, gender economist, and CEO of Pipeline, an award-winning Denver-based technology company that increases financial performance of companies through closing the gender equity gap. “There is a solution to gender equity in the U.S. It starts with an understanding of where we are so that we can improve. Data is the key to that understanding and the solution to parity.”

“Many industries, including CRE, still operate with unconscious gender bias, which arises from cultural assumptions and organizational structures, practices, and patterns of interaction that inadvertently advantage men while putting women at a disadvantage,” said Dr. Bernice Ledbetter, Director of the Center for Women in Leadership at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. “If women in CRE hope to advance, these biases must be addressed head on.”

Sexual Harassment Continues

While sexual harassment wasn’t identified by respondents as one of the biggest challenges they face, more than half (52 percent) reported having been sexually harassed at some point in their career.

  • 84 percent noted it happened more than once
  • 41 percent reported that it happened five or more times
  • 33 percent noted that they were sexually harassed by five or more people throughout their career
  • 76 percent did not report the sexual harassment to HR or management
  • 10 percent of those that reported the harassment noted that the accused lost their job
  • 34 percent of respondents that reported the harassment noted that no action was taken against the accused

When Women Do Well, We All Do Well

“What leaders in commercial real estate and all industries need to understand is that gender equality means economic growth,” continued Turner. “The way in which we treat women in the workplace is a key component to boosting not only our own industry’s success, but our entire economy. When women do well, we all do well.”

“In fact, the business case for why women in leadership is good for business is well established. Companies with gender parity experience a 34 percent3 higher total return to shareholders than those that do not,” continued Dr. Ledbetter.

For example, Nordic countries – which consistently rank as some of the happiest in the world – have grown considerably richer due to decades of policies designed to improve gender equality, according to a new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The region has added nearly 20 percent to economic growth per capita over the last 50 years. Additionally, it’s reported that women-friendly work policies could add up to 30 percent to economic growth rates by 2040.2

“No one wants to work somewhere where they are undervalued or treated unfairly, and the RETS Associates survey shines a light on the fact that the CRE industry still has significant work to do in the area of gender equality,” said Andra Ghent, associate professor of real estate & urban land economics and academic director of the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at Wisconsin School of Business. “What CRE companies need to do is have performance-based metrics justifying the differences in compensation between employees of similar rank, and understand that when women are treated well, businesses will be rewarded with a motivated workforce, lower turnover rates and ultimately an improved bottom line.”

About the Survey

The 2018 Women in CRE Survey, based on responses from 618 women in commercial real estate across the continental U.S., Hawaii and Canada, was conducted online in English and these are some of its findings.

About RETS Associates

Founded in 2002, RETS Associates is a premier executive search firm specializing in the recruitment, staffing and placement of interim, permanent and executive positions in the commercial and residential real estate industries, as well as land development and home building. RETS Associates’ clients include REITs, developers, investors, pension fund advisors, operating companies and real estate services firms doing business in property management, development, construction, investments and financial analysis. For more information on RETS Associates, please visit www.retsusa.com.

1. “The Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate,” NAIOP, 2017.
2. “The key to getting much richer is all about how you treat women,” Bloomberg, May 15, 2018. https:www.bloomberg.com
3. “The Bottom Line: Connecting Corporate Performance and Gender Diversity,” sponsored by BMO Financial Group, working with Catalyst; http://www.catalyst.org/media/catalyst-study-reveals-financial-performance-higher-companies-more-women-top

Contacts

Media Contact:
IDEA HALL
Angel Granillo
(714) 263-8743
angel@ideahall.com

Redfin Report: Even With a 20% Wage Increase, Less Than 1% of Homes in Phoenix Will Be Affordable to Teachers

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Pittsburgh is the Most Affordable Metro for Teachers, With 39% of Homes for Sale Affordable; Denver is the Least, With 0.3% of Homes for Sale Affordable

Seattle, WA – May 9, 2018 (PRNewswire) (NASDAQ: RDFN) Of the 14,406 homes currently for sale in Phoenix, only 0.5 percent are affordable on the average local teacher’s annual salary of $45,965, according to a new report from Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. Last week, following a six-day teacher strike in Phoenix, Arizona legislators approved a 20 percent wage increase for teachers across the state. Once those increases are in effect, the share of homes affordable to Phoenix teachers will more than double to 1.1 percent.

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“A 20-percent wage increase is a small victory in the national fight for fair compensation for teachers,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “However, in today’s housing affordability crisis, teachers still lack the opportunity to become homeowners and investors in the communities they serve. We still have a long way to go to close the homeownership gap, giving more teachers and other public servants the chance to achieve the American dream.”

The approved raises will increase the average Phoenix teacher’s maximum home-buying budget from $130,000 to $170,000 by the time they’ve been fully awarded in 2022.

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The wage increases come at a critical time. The share of homes affordable to teachers across 28 metros has fallen from 19.7% percent in 2016 to 11.5 percent in 2018. With the lowest average teacher salary, Phoenix ranked second-to-last in Redfin’s latest teacher affordability analysis, with only Denver coming in behind.

Here is Redfin’s 2018 ranking of the most affordable metros for teachers:

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To read the full report, complete with a methodology and a downloadable data set, visit the following link: www.redfin.com

About Redfin
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in the consumer’s favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the country’s #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate, the automated home-value estimate with the industry’s lowest published error rate for listed homes. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $60 billion in home sales.

It Takes 11 Years for a Single Homebuyer to Save for a Down Payment

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– Saving for a down payment on the median U.S home takes six years longer for a single person than a couple, according to a new Zillow analysis.

– Less than half of all U.S. homes are affordable for a single homebuyer.

– A single buyer can afford a home up to $176,100, less than the national median home value.

– A married or partnered couple could afford a home worth more than twice as much as a home a single homebuyer could afford.

Seattle, WA – Feb. 9, 2018 (PRNewswire) In today’s highly competitive housing market, finding an affordable home can feel increasingly out of reach, especially for singles.

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A single homebuyer would need to save for nearly 11 years to reach a 20 percent down payment on the typical U.S. home, according to a new Zillow® analysis. However, for married or partnered couples, it would take less than five years. In San Jose, California, a single buyer would need more than 30 years to save for a down payment – longer than the lifespan of a typical home loan.

Zillow’s analysis combined home values and income data from Census to estimate how long it would take for both an individual and couple to save for a 20 percent down payment on the median-priced home, assuming they saved 10 percent of their income every year.

Single buyers typically have a smaller budget than couples, which leaves them with fewer homes to choose from and limits them to the most in-demand portion of the housing stock. The number of homes for sale is limited across the country, down nearly 11 percent over the past year, and nearly 18 percent for the least expensive homes. A single person could afford to buy less than half (45 percent) of the U.S. housing stock, compared to a married or partnered couple, who could afford 82 percent of all homes.

“Nearly two-thirds of Americans agree that buying a home is a central part of living the American Dream, but for unmarried or un-partnered Americans, that dream is increasingly out of reach,” said Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas. “Single buyers typically have more limited budgets, which means they are likely competing for lower-priced homes that are in high demand. Having two incomes allows buyers to compete in higher priced tiers where competition is not as stiff.”

The difference between what a single person could afford compared to a couple is greatest in Portland, Oregon, and Sacramento, California. In Portland, 73 percent of homes are affordable to a couple, but only 6 percent are affordable to a single buyer. For Sacramento buyers, a couple could afford 75 percent of homes while a single homebuyer could afford 8 percent of homes.

Single buyers will have it easiest in Indianapolis, where saving for a down payment takes less than eight years, and they can afford the highest share of homes among the largest American housing markets.

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Zillow
Zillow is the leading real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with the best local professionals who can help. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow’s Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. Dr. Gudell and her team of economists and data analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts, and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG), and headquartered in Seattle.