Investment Banking to Real Estate Private Equity?

I have lately mulled over the prospect of working in real estate private equity, and wanted to seek out some advice. What is the work life balance and comp like relative to traditional PE? I've heard off-hand that REPE associates work give-or-take 20 hrs less a week than traditional PE associates and make relatively the same – is that really the case? I'll be starting FT soon at a top LevFin group at a BB where the majority of analysts exit to traditional PE – would a REPE MF exit be plausible from my group or do they exclusively hire real estate bankers? Would REPE look better/worse for B-school? Would I be siphoned off into RE for the rest of my career if I choose to go that direction?

Thanks in advance for any advice.