Becoming a competent real estate analyst

Aside from general concepts, I've learned over the years through exposure. When there was something I didn't know or understand I looked it up. I would google the topic or subject and throw in "Wharton" in the search. They have great journal articles on a wide range of real estate finance subjects. Good luck. Welcome to the zoo.

"The Real Estate Game" is older but still a relevant overview of commercial real estate investing. I haven't found a source for the details except for on-the-job experience unfortunately. I guess that's why all CRE jobs seem to specify experience, but not education.

Research as many transactions as possible and develop a comp database. Will help you identify basic trends and familiarize yourself with the major players in the market.

I graduated with a Finance degree and did equities research in college. I came into my CRE analyst job knowing basically nothing about real estate. It took me a good 6-8 months to have an understanding of the entire deal process/ familiarize myself with the lingo. I'm 2 years in now and I still learn something new everyday, Investopedia helps a lot.

I would suggest trying to find some OM's/ Financing Packages form the big boys and try to wrap your head around it. In my opinion, the modeling can get complicated on certain deals, but all in all, the modeling is not that hard, it just takes practice.

Good luck man, God speed.

Learn how to read a lease quickly. I would just start looking for generic CRE leases and begin reading them and familiarize yourself with the legal lingo. As an analyst, most of your work is due diligence anyways (aka reading stuff like leases).

Most everything else you pickup on the job.

Learning through exposure is probably the best/fastest way. Also, learning the jargon is literally 80% of it. It sounds cliche, but try to find an associate that is willing to help you... it will pay off later.