I have been recruiting for the Japanese real estate industry for about 20 years and the pace of change I see in this normally slow moving industry has been breathtaking. 

There hasn’t been one segment of the property industry here that isn’t planning or in the middle of executing large scale changes to adapt to the new normal as we come out the other side of this pandemic. 

Being a recruiter, I am in a position to see the very beginning of these long lasting changes in the form of talking to the companies and candidates ready to lead the property market further into the 21st century.

Below are just some of the ways the different segments are adapting based on conversations I have around the different property sectors.

Residential Real Estate

The resi sector seems to be asking itself the following questions:

• Should we spend the money to develop larger units in Tokyo so families can work/study from home without disturbing each other? 
• Should we wait out COVID-19 as Japanese families will eventually not need that extra space when the pandemic blows over?
• Should we be developing units outside the CBD of Tokyo as physically being close to the office is not as important as before?
• Does COVID-19 have a long term impact on whether consumers will prefer buying or renting real estate in Japan and if so, do the terms change?

As a recruiter, many candidates I meet are asking much more about work-from-home corporate policies than before.  

Going the opposite direction, the companies are saying they plan to bring everyone back into the office as per pre-COVID so exactly how this dynamic plays out I’m watching carefully. 

If companies are too strict then great talent is that much more incentivised to go out on their own, leaving companies unable to secure the candidates they need to grow their businesses.

Courtesy of Brandon Smith, Director of Real Estate & Finance at East West Consulting K.K.

Flex Office Space Operators

Operators in this segment are increasing, but I think that we have reached critical mass in this sector as the Japanese developers can easily duplicate the concept and offer their own version in their own buildings.  

WeWork hired a lot of bilingual candidates in the RE market several years ago, but now many of those folks have returned to more traditional real estate companies and hopefully will be able to use that start-up experience to better develop their careers and serve their clients.

Office Building Operators

Of all the different sectors I help, this is the sector I hear the least about in my recruiting activities which kind of scares me.  This sector makes up the bulk of Tokyo CBD so it will be interesting to see what happens here.

Everything is in a wait-and-see mode at the moment here as most investors, similar to the question mark surrounding the resi segment, don't know what exact shape work-from-home will take post-COVID.  

Having said that, office leasing professionals seem to be busy helping companies move to generally smaller office spaces around Tokyo.  

Warehousing & Logistics Operators

While many real estate firms own warehouse and logistics facilities throughout Japan, there is competition to provide their clients with better technology within the warehouse, such as robotics.  

The top real estate firms in this sector have created new departments to study robotics, AI and other technology to make their properties stand out.  As a result, I am now starting to see AI or robotics knowledge as a requirement for leasing positions within the sector.

Hotel Operators

It is no surprise the hotel sector has been hit hardest by the pandemic.  

After Japan’s strong push to increase inbound tourism following the Fukushima nuclear crisis and in preparation for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, this sector saw massive growth. 

As such, candidates with hotel acquisition or asset management experience were highly sought after.  

This suddenly changed when COVID hit.  For the most part, companies and candidates in this sector have been holding out, hoping to wait out the pandemic.  

Working in the hotel sector of real estate requires a very special operational skill set that is different to other commercial or residential sectors.  Most of the candidates I speak to are not interested in shifting to another sector, even if it meant a few years of low activity.

Retail Operators

Brick and mortar retail, including standalone stores and shopping centres, are still important for brands to show a “presence” on the street, but these properties have been becoming less and less relevant in Japan due to e-commerce for years.  

The pandemic accelerated that decline as people avoided in-person shopping, preferring to order online.  

The candidates who specialize in this sector have been having a hard time however what I am noticing recently is some savvy candidates are becoming hybrids of traditional real estate professionals as well as e-commerce and digital transformation consultants.

Data Centre Operators

The newest sector in real estate to grow in Japan is the data centre and as more and more companies move their servers to the cloud, the need for high quality data centres has increased.  

I am seeing more and more need for real estate experts to join these firms in Japan.  Like in the hotel sector, data centre real estate professionals need to acquire a unique knowledge base including electricity, IT security and risk management due to natural disasters.  

I generally recommend this sector to real estate candidates who are digitally-minded and don’t shy away from technology.  

If you are in need of candidates to power your real estate business forward, then don’t hesitate to reach out.  Everything starts with a conversation so contact us and get started today.