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Undergrad prep for Real Estate
 

dukekid12's picture
(Chimp, 5
 
Points)
 on 6/25/12 at 9:45am

I was wondering if undergrad preparation for working in RE PE or IB would be any different than undergrad prep for more traditional IBD? Also, what's a typical path for someone to land a good RE job (Blackstone, GS, JPM, etc.) in terms of sophomore/junior internships, etc.?

re-ib-ny's picture

There are three top-tier RE

PE
(Gorilla, 690
 
Points)
 on 6/25/12 at 12:41pm

There are three top-tier RE PE fund firms that I know of who hire undergraduates: Morgan Stanley (MSREF), Starwood, and Walton Street. Walton and Starwood seem to do most of their hiring from Cornell and Wharton; MSREF hires separately from MS IBD, but seems to take folks with similar IBD-esque undergrad resumes who demonstrate an interest in real estate. In general, I think you ideally come from a target school, major in finance (or similar), and take as much real estate-related coursework as possible. A couple regional real estate internships that demonstrate interest would also be helpful.

The vast majority of the top-tier RE PE opportunities, however, do not come until you have a couple years of work experience. Traditionally, the best experience for exit opportunities is working in the real estate group at a bulge bracket investment bank (or, even better, working for one of the aforementioned firms). Working at a lower-tier real estate shop or a brokerage firm is, in my observation, generally much less desirable than an analyst role in RE IBD.

Perhaps unfortunately, to get a role in RE IBD as an analyst, you generally have to recruit as a generalist first, meaning you need to understand corporate finance concepts for a regular IBD interview. Once you've gotten the job offer, you'll go through placement and lobby hard to be in the real estate group. Fortunately at most firms (except ones like MS who hire their RE analysts directly) it's not that hard to get into the real estate group since most of your analyst class will want to be in M&A, Sponsors, or a vanilla industry group like Industrials, Consumer, or Tech.

Penn7690's picture

re-ib-ny: Have you heard of

 
Points)
 on 6/25/12 at 12:59pm

re-ib-ny: Have you heard of any Penn College kids with real estate experience breaking into Walton, Starwood, etc.?

I know a connection with Poli Sci/Intl. Relations degree who landed a position at Eastdil but these are PE firms so I’m sure it’s even more difficult.

brendanjoyce's picture

dukekid12: I was wondering if

 
Points)
 on 6/25/12 at 1:03pm
dukekid12:

I was wondering if undergrad preparation for working in RE PE or IB would be any different than undergrad prep for more traditional IBD? Also, what's a typical path for someone to land a good RE job (Blackstone, GS, JPM, etc.) in terms of sophomore/junior internships, etc.?

I would try to be active in clubs on your campus and demonstrate an actual interest in real estate. I learned how to flip houses in my spare time with an investor- this was well received by my interviewers. However, an IB internship goes a long way paired with something that shows your interest in RE. My path was F500 RE Internship>IBD SA at a boutique>RE PE Analyst. IB SA experience is very valuable IMO.
Overall, I think the prep is pretty similar, just make sure you stand out by doing something in RE.

re-ib-ny's picture

Penn, haven't seen it, but I

PE
(Gorilla, 690
 
Points)
 on 6/25/12 at 2:55pm

Penn, haven't seen it, but I believe shops like those recruit on your campus. You should check that out. Otherwise, try to target RE IBD.

Sense, Blackstone hires out of college for its IB advisory practices. I have not seen them hire on the PE side, but I could easily be mistaken.

re-ib-ny's picture

All of my answers are based

PE
(Gorilla, 690
 
Points)
 on 6/25/12 at 3:31pm

All of my answers are based on anecdotal observations, so this is by no means a statistically proven answer, but most of the Cornell people I have met that went straight into real estate seem to have had some real estate background at Cornell. The ones who came through banking were mostly engineers or perhaps some general business-type majors. I'm not all that familiar with the specific programs at that school, though.

prospie's picture

While I do think it helps to

(King Kong, 1,719
 
Points)
 on 6/26/12 at 11:35am

While I do think it helps to be in the hotel school, I don't think it matters that much at Cornell. There are the hotel school students and then there's everyone else. If you are a physics major and you really want to work in real estate banking, nobody can stop you simply because you're not in the hotel school.

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Penn7690's picture

Just saw a Starwood Capital

 
Points)
 on 6/27/12 at 2:43am

Just saw a Starwood Capital posting for a FT position on PennLink, our job listings database, only to discover applications are restricted to only wharton kids..

second class citizen..fml

Would anyone recommend attempting to reach out to the HR/contact listed to submit a resume or would this just be a hopeless idea?

TheSquale's picture

What would be a good

AM
 
Points)
 on 6/27/12 at 6:38am

What would be a good internship to have in order to show a good CV for a FT offer ?
Is an internship in CBRE or low tier REPE a good option or I'd rather go with a IBD internship ?
I'm located in Europe (I'm from France and looking for a FT job in London).

In reply to TheSquale
prospie's picture

TheSquale: What would be a

(King Kong, 1,719
 
Points)
 on 6/27/12 at 9:45am
TheSquale:

What would be a good internship to have in order to show a good CV for a FT offer ?
Is an internship in CBRE or low tier REPE a good option or I'd rather go with a IBD internship ?
I'm located in Europe (I'm from France and looking for a FT job in London).

Well, what do you want to do? All of those could be good ... just depends. IBD would be the safest option though, even if you want to work on real estate deals later.

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TheSquale's picture

I would like to work in REPE

AM
 
Points)
 on 6/27/12 at 12:53pm

I would like to work in REPE acquisition ultimately.
I know that it's very hard to brek into REPE as a fresh graduate and that I would probably have to go the REIB route first.
I was asking the question because I thought that rather than having an usual IB internship, having done something RE related will give me more credibility when applying for a RE related position.

re-ib-ny's picture

IBD is the route to go if you

PE
(Gorilla, 690
 
Points)
 on 6/27/12 at 1:02pm

IBD is the route to go if you want to work in acquisitions for one of the top-tier RE PE fund. Alternative real estate internships are great before junior year, but you'll want to be working in IB by at least the time you hit your rising senior summer. Your odds dwindle materially beyond that point.

re-ib-ny's picture

Seems like a fine job for

PE
(Gorilla, 690
 
Points)
 on 6/27/12 at 2:07pm

Seems like a fine job for someone interested in real estate and for that level. Certainly better than no internship. I find it difficult to answer the "how is this job" question without anything to compare against, though.

In reply to Penn7690
Relinquis's picture

Penn7690: Just saw a Starwood

RE
(Neanderthal, 2,186
 
Points)
 on 6/27/12 at 3:37pm
Penn7690:

Just saw a Starwood Capital posting for a FT position on PennLink, our job listings database, only to discover applications are restricted to only wharton kids..

second class citizen..fml

Would anyone recommend attempting to reach out to the HR/contact listed to submit a resume or would this just be a hopeless idea?

Go for it. what do you have to lose?

relinquis... Killing the GMAT this December; Over/Under set at: 725 GMATs.

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