Talent Management
Building more than buildings: Why real estate needs to invest in its people
India’s real estate growth is putting talent strategy at the centre of competitiveness, making capability building, leadership development and retention critical to long-term growth.
For decades, boardrooms in Indian real estate measured performance in square feet delivered, projects launched and land banks secured. That scorecard is no longer sufficient. As the sector digitises and expands, talent has moved from a support line item to a strategic asset.
The scale of the opportunity makes this urgent. India's real estate industry is projected to grow from roughly US$200 billion in 2021 to US$1 trillion by 2030, according to IBEF. That growth will need to be led by those navigating the digital transformation, sustainability, changing consumer behaviour and regulation.
The talent gap presents a board-level risk. India’s talent shortage, at 82 per cent, was higher than the global average of 72 per cent in 2026, with real estate being among the sectors bearing the brunt. At the same time, real estate hiring rose 21 per cent year on year in December 2025. Demand for capability is outpacing supply, making talent strategy a growth lever.
Domain Expertise to a Hybrid Capability
Real estate has always been a business of relationships and experiences where market knowledge and execution were keys to success. Those capabilities are still important but now need to be combined with digital fluency and analytical thinking across functions. Organisations pulling ahead are integrating these functions rather than managing them as silos.
Project leaders now need digital and data fluency; sales leaders must understand digital customer journeys; and finance and operations must operate within technology-enabled decision-making. This is creating demand for hybrid leaders who combine domain expertise with technology, data and judgement.
For CXOs, the lesson is not to turn every employee into a technology specialist, but to build an organisation where technology, data and domain expertise work together. Identifying future capabilities early and developing them internally can reduce dependence on the external talent market.
Building Capability, Not Head Count
Closing such a gap will take more than just hiring from outside. Continuous learning needs to be embedded through structured training, mentoring and cross functional exposure. Deloitte’s 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey states that 94 per cent of India’s Gen Z professionals feel that on-the-job learning is a critical driver in career growth. This reframes learning and development as a retention and succession strategy.
Rather than asking where to find the right talent, organisations need to ask how they can build the talent and capabilities that will be in demand tomorrow. Upskilling should extend beyond conventional real estate training. Digital literacy, artificial intelligence, data interpretation, negotiation and stakeholder management are becoming valuable across functions. The mandate is to build a workforce that operates confidently within technology-enabled industry.
Capability building should be measured through internal mobility, succession readiness and critical-skill development.
Rethinking the Employee Proposition
Talent strategy is becoming inseparable from compensation, performance design and inclusion. Compensation in the sector grew at an 8.87 per cent CAGR over the three years to FY25, compared with roughly 5 per cent before the pandemic. These figures reflect the premium the market is placing on high-impact capabilities.
Demand is also concentrating around functions such as fundraising, IT application development, project design, procurement, construction and strategic sales, where compensation grew at 9 to 12 per cent CAGR. Meanwhile, women's workforce participation rose from 19 per cent to 23 per cent in FY25, signalling progress on inclusion that leaders will need to accelerate. Together, these trends show that compensation, progression and inclusion can no longer be addressed in isolation.
Candidates are increasingly weighing growth opportunities, purpose, transparency, flexibility and wellbeing alongside financial security. For leaders, the employee proposition is therefore a business priority, not simply an HR programme. Organisations that offer pathways to develop skills and progress will be better placed to retain scarce talent.
Capability building must extend into the leadership bench. Middle managers sit at the intersection of strategy and execution, shaping culture and developing the next generation of talent. Leadership programmes should build business acumen, coaching ability, emotional intelligence and decision-making. Succession planning should begin early, with organisations identifying high-potential talent and providing cross-functional exposure.
Wellbeing belongs on the same agenda. Real estate roles, particularly in sales and site operations, remain demanding by design. Manageable workloads, supportive managers, mental-health resources and flexibility are operating conditions that sustain performance.
Building Capability Before the Market Demands It
The numbers point to a shift: talent scarcity, rising demand for specialised skills and changing employee expectations are not just HR challenges; they signal how the industry's competitive model is changing.
For CXOs, the response cannot stop at hiring or paying more for scarce talent. The opportunity is to build capability ahead of the curve through continuous learning, hybrid leaders, succession pipelines, inclusion and wellbeing. Companies that do this well will retain institutional knowledge, adapt to disruption and execute through changing cycles.
The next competitive advantage may not be another asset, project or platform. It may be the ability to build people who are ready for what comes next. Buildings define a real estate company's footprint; its people determine whether it can create value repeatedly.
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