Top Real Estate Companies

<p>What are some top real estate companies to work for, if you want to learn the real estate business?</p>

<p>You really seem to go all over the place. </p>

<p>Real estate is extremely broad, you need to determine what area in the industry you would want to work for. I am not the greatest reference, but looking at the industry, there is everything from property managers, reits, general purpose holding companies, project managers, etc. </p>

<p>And then what would you want to do after learning? This should narrow it down a little bit. For me, rather than just learning the market, i want to know the ins and outs of an actual house, which includes the plumbing, building codes, energy efficiency, etc. And going back to the market, i want to know how the overall job market, regional/national economy, history, etc effects demand and price. And i want this so real estate can be one of my investment vehicles in the future. I am an apprentice at a cabinet shop, i have done home improvement on the side etc, all which has helped me in understanding my goals.</p>

<p>Just an idea, it needs thought, but really the 3 main options are investment companies, home builders and prop managers. Take a look at those and see what interests you and fits in with you future goals</p>

<p>Something along the lines of real estate acquistion.</p>

<p>Blackrock rocks, to nobody's surprise.</p>

<p>Just for anybody intereted in development I was pouring over the Vault guides and found some info. The main players in the developement industry are companies called Hines, and Trammell Crow. It's structured sort of like this:</p>

<p>Analyst: The perform ROI analysis, due dillegence, keeping track of debt payments etc. You are expected to become a whiz on Excel. Pay is about 40-60k depending on the company. Just like with banking you have to get an MBA to get to the associate level(most of time)
Associates: Work above analyst and are assigned to a specific project, and do a great deal of analysis also. Also contact with investors, lawyers etc. Pay is in the range of 80-90k with a bonus of approx. 20% of salary.
Vice Pres. are responsible for multipule projects, with a ton of responsibility and pressure they handle sales nego. leasing etc. The salary is 150K+ with a bonus as much as 100% of your salary.
Principal is the highest position in a company, you are expected to contribute to equity, and help raise money etc. Salary is dependent on project perfomance, but can be in the millions.</p>

<p>There is a lot of money in this line of work, but competition is probably stiffer than banking because they don't hire a lot staff. You work less hours, and probably get nearly the same prestige as an ibanker.</p>

<p>Interesting, I'll have to look into this.</p>

<p>theFireballKid, My sentiments exactly. Read the Vault guide on Real Estate Careers.</p>

<p>by the way, hows INROADS going mssales?</p>

<p>Like I mentioned in another thread I talked to an intern coordinator from R.W Baird last week, and I'll set up an in person interview with Baird early next month. I got an email yesterday from a client manager stating the HSBC/and Northern Trust were looking for interns, so I submitted my resume to her, to sumbit to the two. Thats pretty much it so far. </p>

<p>Are you still trying for Inroads?</p>

<p>yeah, they had a mix up with me and i'm transferring offices. otherwise, its good.</p>

<p>Major developers like Hines are among the best. For acquistions (which I did for about 10 years) the large pension fund advisors have the most $$$ along with the REITS. Equity was great but just got taken over. RREEF is a strong one. There are dozens. For big-time brokerage CBRE is the best and just bought Trammell Crow. Bigtime real estate is a very interesting rewarding business. I love it. It will not be outsourced to any degree. Wisconsin has one of the best RE programs around.</p>

<p>Barrons, To get in with one of these firms, doing analysis, what does it take? Are the extremely picky like banking where they want Ivy League degrees, or will they take people with degrees from decent schools, who are willing to work hard or is it both? Barrons what is acquisitons like? As far as potential for career growth, pay, and long term benefit? Also what about real estate advisory? I've always had a strong interest in real estate, but I thought to work in the development business you needed to already have deep pockets.</p>

<p>All large development firms hire analysts to crunch numbers etc. Some go the Ivy route--mostly in NY and Boston, but most hire from many of the Top 20 or so business schools and also those few with good real estate programs. It is far more open than Ibanking. </p>

<p>Acquisitions for a large firm means finding and analyzing potential buys. You travel and develop contacts with the developers and top brokers. Lots of analysis and numbers plus some neogotiating as you get more experience. Pay is very good and the career path to a national director of acquisitions brings very good pay--high six to seven figures. Some only hire MBA's (my firm) while others have some lower requirements.</p>

<p>Do large firms recruit for the analyst from undergrad of MBA, also what about the Master in Finance from schools like UW, MIT, USC, Cornell etc, will that get you in the door?</p>

<p>Both but the MBA grads make lots more $$$ and move ahead more quickly. All those master's programs will get you into a good job with a major firm either in investments or development. Investment firms (equity and mortages) hire much more than developers.</p>

<p>So my best bet, then is to try for an analyst position with a major REIT after undergrad, then work and then shoot for a top MBA program and specialize in finance? I guess that does make more sense.</p>