Navigating the
“Retirement Cliff”

How can we secure lead­er­ship and knowl­edge in an indus­try that is ageing faster than its build­ings? And how can lead­er­ship contin­ue to succeed in the future when the most expe­ri­enced minds will soon be gone? 

In the real estate indus­try, trans­for­ma­tion and demo­graph­ic change are direct­ly collid­ing. In today’s Lead­er­ship­Im­pulse arti­cle, we focus on an often over­looked dimen­sion of future viabil­i­ty: the conscious handling of expe­ri­ence, knowl­edge and succes­sion – as the core of sustain­able lead­er­ship. This arti­cle is close­ly relat­ed in content to the previ­ous Lead­er­ship­Im­pulse arti­cles “Lead­ing Sustain­abil­i­ty”  and “Lead­ing in Success”.

In our daily work in exec­u­tive search, we are increas­ing­ly encoun­ter­ing compa­nies that sense that the lead­er­ship land­scape is chang­ing notice­ably. Expe­ri­enced person­al­i­ties have shaped the real estate indus­try for decades – but many of them are about to retire.

What will remain when this gener­a­tion of lead­ers leaves? And what will happen if succes­sion is not prepared for in good time?

Demo­graph­ic change is hitting the indus­try partic­u­lar­ly hard. The age pyra­mid is steep, while the pipeline of lead­er­ship talent is flat. While the market is under pres­sure to trans­form – digi­tal­i­sa­tion, ESG inte­gra­tion, new busi­ness models – there is a threat of a loss of expe­ri­ence, knowl­edge and conti­nu­ity: the “retire­ment cliff”.

An indus­try at a turn­ing point

Inter­na­tion­al stud­ies paint a clear picture. Accord­ing to Deloitte (2024), around 40 per cent of employ­ees in the real estate indus­try will reach retire­ment age in the next ten years – includ­ing almost 60 per cent of today’s exec­u­tives. A study by RETS Asso­ci­ates² (2025) refers to “Peak 65” – the year in which the major­i­ty of C‑suite lead­ers will retire at the same time due to age.
This dynam­ic is also clear­ly notice­able in Germany. The VDIV indus­try barometer3 (2024) cites the short­age of skilled work­ers as a key risk for prop­er­ty manage­ment. The ZIA/EY digi­tal­i­sa­tion study4 2025 confirms that a lack of skilled work­ers is the biggest obsta­cle to moderni­sa­tion and digi­tal transformation.

This creates a double chal­lenge: compa­nies must tack­le their strate­gic succes­sion plan­ning – and at the same time empow­er new gener­a­tions of lead­ers to take on responsibility.

In ship­ping, the chang­ing of the guard is precise­ly regu­lat­ed: the new crew only takes over once they know the course. In manage­ment, too, the qual­i­ty of the handover deter­mines the success of the next voyage. Those who plan succes­sion steer – those who post­pone it drift. When the most expe­ri­enced captains leave the ship, the fleet needs new points of refer­ence. The retire­ment cliff is not a storm, but a change of course – provid­ed we navi­gate it consciously.

Recom­men­da­tions for prac­ti­cal action

Current stud­ies show that those who act now can active­ly shape the retire­ment cliff. Seven areas of action are crucial:

• Anchor succes­sion as an ongo­ing task – succes­sion plan­ning must not be a one-off project. Success­ful compa­nies regard it as an inte­gral part of gover­nance – regu­lar­ly reviewed, adapt­ed and assigned clear respon­si­bil­i­ties. (RETS 2025)
• Rethink roles – instead of copy­ing posi­tions. Lead­er­ship change is an oppor­tu­ni­ty to modernise struc­tures: roles can be redesigned, compe­ten­cies bundled or expand­ed – for exam­ple, in the direc­tion of ESG, digi­tal­i­sa­tion or stake­hold­er commu­ni­ca­tion. (RETS 2025, EY 2024)
• Insti­tu­tion­alise knowl­edge trans­fer. Mentor­ing, reverse mentor­ing and struc­tured handover process­es system­at­i­cal­ly secure expe­ri­ence. Lead­er­ship thus becomes a joint effort across gener­a­tions. (Deloitte 2024)
• Estab­lish compe­tence-orient­ed talent manage­ment. Future-proof organ­i­sa­tions devel­op lead­er­ship poten­tial based on skills, not titles. Trans­par­ent devel­op­ment programmes and clear compe­tence profiles close the gap between aspi­ra­tion and succes­sion. (Deloitte 2024)
• Ensure culture and conti­nu­ity. Succes­sion is more than a change of person­nel – it is cultur­al work. The style, values and cred­i­bil­i­ty of lead­er­ship must remain compat­i­ble to ensure accep­tance and stabil­i­ty. (RETS 2025)
• Design tran­si­tions in a target­ed manner. Over­lap phas­es between old and new lead­er­ship ensure knowl­edge trans­fer with­out slow­ing down renew­al. It is impor­tant to have a clear­ly defined dura­tion and distri­b­u­tion of roles. (RETS 2025)
• Active­ly involve gover­nance bodies. Super­vi­so­ry and advi­so­ry boards should view succes­sion process­es as a strate­gic issue – not an admin­is­tra­tive task. Gover­nance deter­mines whether tran­si­tions succeed or stall. (ZIA/EY 2025)

Lead­er­ship in the real estate indus­try is thus at a turn­ing point: between expe­ri­ence and renew­al, between stabil­i­ty and change. The task is not to replace the old, but to trans­fer it wise­ly into the future. Those who think strate­gi­cal­ly about succes­sion, secure knowl­edge and share respon­si­bil­i­ty will build bridges between generations.

Conclu­sion: Lead­er­ship as a task for the future

The retire­ment cliff is not fate, but a steer­ing impulse. It marks the moment when compa­nies decide whether knowl­edge will be lost – or become new capital.

Those who think strate­gi­cal­ly about succes­sion, devel­op lead­er­ship and conscious­ly shape tran­si­tions not only create conti­nu­ity, but also future viabil­i­ty. In this context, gover­nance means preserv­ing expe­ri­ence, enabling renew­al and pass­ing on respon­si­bil­i­ty – with atti­tude, struc­ture and vision.

Sources

1. Deloitte (2024): Devel­op­ing the Next Gener­a­tion of Real Estate Lead­er­ship (Next gener­a­tion real estate lead­er­ship | Deloitte Insights)
2. EY (2024): Real Estate Board of Direc­tors & Exec­u­tive Compen­sa­tion Survey (Real estate compen­sa­tion survey results | EY — US)
3. RETS Asso­ciates (2025): The Retire­ment Ripple – Inside CRE’s Succes­sion Wave of 2025 (The Retire­ment Ripple: Inside CRE’s Succes­sion Wave of 2025 — RETS Asso­ciates)
4. ZIA / EY (2025): Digi­tal­i­sa­tion Study: Real Estate Indus­try 2025 (Digi­tal­i­sa­tion Study: Real Estate Indus­try in Tran­si­tion | EY — Germany)
5. VDIV (2024): Indus­try Barom­e­ter for Prop­er­ty Manage­ment (The Indus­try Barom­e­ter of VDIV Germany)

(Image source: dreamstime)