Real Estate Development Analyst vs. Coordinator

Guys, what is the difference between a real estate development analyst and a real estate development coordinator? I am applying for jobs with real estate developers and it seems that coordinators are more senior than analysts.

Or does a development analyst have a different career path?

 

Although all real estate development managers are truly coordinators of timing, people, events, etc.. you typically hear this title/term associated with corporate real estate groups whose objective is to provide/manage real estate for their business operations.

This is a generic statement and could vary from firm to firm, but I would speculate that a coordinator is more of a project management type position. You need to provide more color if you want some one to provide you with a more specific response.

 

I would imagine a real estate development analyst would be in charge of creating/updating pro formas for acquisitions/Asset Management. The real estate development coordinator sounds like a project manager to me. In my experience, it is definitely a more senior position.

I know of analysts that have worked in development moving on to REPE.

 

I've seen it done. It is certainly possible. Based on my observations, there seems to be no "typical" path to REPE, if that is your end goal. My one friend worked in acquisitions directly out of college, but that is rare.

 

In short, probably not. However, I know of people who have made the jump to real estate development with no prior experience (after MBA). As cliche as it sounds, it really is all about how badly you want it.

Also, networking is HUGE in real estate because it is a smaller industry within finance. Coming out of a target school, if I were you I'd reach out to alumni in the industry. Networking is the way to go. It can't be stressed enough.

With no prior experience, I'd imagine you would be most competitive for analyst positions. I don't know if internships (paid or unpaid) are an option for you, but they can be a great way to get your foot in the door.

 

Thanks Kaymer for your insights. How long do you think it would take to get from the bottom rung in real estate development to a development manager? I have seen examples of newly minted grads (from undergrad) who made development manager after 1 year, which seems pretty impressive.

 

i find that really hard to believe. i don't think there is even a slight chance that a newly minted undergrad could pick up all the intricacies of local zoning, entitlements, schedule forecasting, local gov. processes, budget pricing, modeling, etc. in one year. unless the "development manager" you are referencing after one year is developing modular single family homes in north dakota.

 
Best Response
Ricky Rosay:

i find that really hard to believe. i don't think there is even a slight chance that a newly minted undergrad could pick up all the intricacies of local zoning, entitlements, schedule forecasting, local gov. processes, budget pricing, modeling, etc. in one year. unless the "development manager" you are referencing after one year is developing modular single family homes in north dakota.

I disagree. Although I am not a "newly minted undergrad" I worked in Investment Management for 2 years (which had no beneficial value add to what I'm currently doing) and a year in Asset Management at a REIT, and now I am a Development Coordinator - pretty much a associate project manger at my firm (and we don't develop modular single family homes in north dakota, but commercial real estate with an average construction cost for $25M per project on the East Coast and the Midwest).

I do not have an MBA, and do not believe an MBA which is not concentrated on Real Estate will help in Real Estate Development. If you are truly interested in RE why not get a Masters in Real Estate vs something as general as an MBA?

 

It seems like there have been a number of people who started as development coordinator in the 1st year after undergrad, then development manager in the 2nd year, while others are analysts and stay as analysts for 2-3 years. I wonder why that is (you may say performance-related but are there other reasons such as preferences for the type of work)?

If I want to do my own developments in the next 3-4 years, do you think that amount of time spent at a large firm (ie. Hines, Toll Brothers, Trammel Crow/CBRE) would give you sufficient experience for maybe 50k-75k sf commercial buildings, or would you suggest going for boutique development firms working directly with the principal who has had decades of experience in a 3-4 person firm?

 
Realestatenoob1234:

It seems like there have been a number of people who started as development coordinator in the 1st year after undergrad, then development manager in the 2nd year, while others are analysts and stay as analysts for 2-3 years. I wonder why that is (you may say performance-related but are there other reasons such as preferences for the type of work)?

If I want to do my own developments in the next 3-4 years, do you think that amount of time spent at a large firm (ie. Hines, Toll Brothers, Trammel Crow/CBRE) would give you sufficient experience for maybe 50k-75k sf commercial buildings, or would you suggest going for boutique development firms working directly with the principal who has had decades of experience in a 3-4 person firm?

I worked at my families boutique development shop when I was younger and now I work at a large institutional firm and if I would've had a choice, I would've done this in reverse. I would recommend starting at a well capitalized institutional platform where you can work with very smart/experienced developers and then moving to a smaller shop where you can have more influence b/c you got more reps in at a larger shop.

Working in real estate development is very humbling b/c you honestly will learn something new everyday and getting full development cycle experience is difficult b/c if you work on medium-larger scaled deals it takes a good deal of time from initial underwriting to delivery (2+ years). If you work in a big shop you will obviously work on certain segments of the deal, but its not the same as being on the development from day 1 and knowing the ins and outs of the transaction. If you want to be on your own in 4 years, you need to possess the "start-up" mentality and be willing to accept that you don't knot everything and there is ALOT of learning as you go. Alot of people don't posses this mentality b/c they become overwhelmed by the risk and level of complexities.

You can easily move from development to REPE. Then again REPE is a cliche firm and ranges from guys syndicating duplex deals to Blackstone buying all of the Fannie Mae single family NPL's - there is a lot of different sizes/strategies in between these. Real estate rule of thumb, its a smaller sector and if you work at a badass firm you can lateral to another badass firm if you plan it out strategically

 

Thanks for your suggestions. Would you say doing a lot of reps in development feasibility and planning is more important than when the actual construction starts? Or the other way around? I understand there are a lot of intricacies with the actual construction phase, but wonder if doing a lot of planning would give a majority of the "developer"'s work (rather than construction manager).

 

I spend the majority of my time on the front end of the deal so my opinion is biased. Networking/utilizing brokers/ trying to source the opportunity, designing an optimal structure, attaining financing, working through entitlements and preliminary design (schematic), hiring all of the consultants. This has always seemed more fun than getting bad news from your GC everyday, processing change orders, and dealing with design issues.

 
Realestatenoob1234:

Do you think it is possible to be in senior development roles with absolutely no construction experience?

Yes but you need to have a heavy background in Project Management specific to Real Estate.

Usually development companies have people dedicated to the construction phase (i.e. Director of Construction), but during their involvement the development manager continues to be present to manage any non day to day construction related issues.

 

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