Best RE Companies to start Career out of?
If I want to gain general knowledge in real estate, what companies would you say are the best when it comes to postgrad?
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Based on the most helpful WSO content, it seems that starting your career in a well-respected Real Estate/Real Estate Finance firm can provide you with the experience needed to build your own real estate portfolio. Specific firms aren't mentioned, but it's suggested that some of the big PE firms are starting to build a Real Estate presence and are rumored to offer good compensation packages. For example, TPG was interested in buying ING REIM and Apollo recently bought Citi Property Investors.
To gain a general knowledge in real estate, it might be beneficial to start with a company that has a broad reach in the industry. This could provide exposure to different aspects of real estate, from residential to commercial, and from investment to development.
Remember, it's not just about the company, but also about the role you're in and the experience you gain. So, consider roles that give you a good understanding of the industry, such as a credit analyst role in a real estate banking department or a sales-based role in a property management company.
Lastly, don't forget to keep learning and networking. The WSO Academy offers courses on topics like Investment Banking Prep and Private Equity interviews that could be useful. And the Networking Guide can help you connect with the right people in the industry.
Remember, every monkey can climb, but it's the smart ones who reach the top!
Sources: Real Estate Megathread - The Best RE Posts on WSO, Real Estate Q&A, What was your path to a Real Estate Private Equity job? Looking for advice, best way to understand careers in real estate
Bump curious to hear what others think but I would imagine somewhere general like Eastdil if you're not exactly sure where in real estate you want to focus on
For the most part, real estate doesn't work that way.
Getting hired at Blackstone is a good exception, as would working for a name brand brokerage shop if you're in brokerage, but one of the cool things about real estate is your ability to make money regardless of your title or your business card.
You can start almost anywhere and make it
This is such a reductive answer. Yes RE is easier to start anywhere and still make it, but there is absolutely a benefit to starting at certain shops. Just look at the sheer number of firms that have been spun off from the Crow tree. That's not a coincidence. I know plenty of senior guys in the RE world that started their own shops, and all of them recommend getting a name brand shop or MBA on your resume, even the ones that did not do that themselves. In a tough capital raising environment (and especially when starting out), having that extra bit of credibility absolutely matters.
Go ahead and provide OP the definitive list of the best real estate companies to start at then. Ranked, preferably.
Childish response. As I already mentioned, RE career progression is less tied to your firm than something like IB, and there is no definitive "BB or bust" in RE. There is also the market-dependency aspect as well.
But If you don't think there is value in working at a reputable shop, then I would question your biases. Yes you can start anywhere and still make it to the top unlike IB, but the whole point is starting at a better shop will increase those odds of making it. The guy who went CBRE -> M7 MBA -> TCC and then decides to strike out on his own and do spec industrial is going to be way better off than the guy who spent 3 years at M&M and then a few more at a mediocre warehouse developer closes 1 deal per year. Not to mention the first guy will have earned meaningfully more money over his career which will help when it comes time to put up the GP capital.
Besides, the guys that are good enough to "start anywhere and still make it" likely aren't ending up at some no-name firm where they then have to grind out of anyways. The ones smart and hungry enough to make it from a no-name probably didn't end up at the no-name in the first place.
First of all, learn how to have a disagreement without being a dick. Just because we're on the internet doesn't mean you have to be a keyboard warrior talking shit behind an anonymous name. "Reductive" "Childish" - how about you chill out a little and just have a discussion, or even an argument? Cool?
Now, to address the substance, at no point did I say that there is no benefit to starting at a brand name firm. The idea that I somehow don't recognize the value of having name brand companies (or degrees? where did MBA programs even come up?) on your resume is something of your own creation, not an opinion of mine. In fact, I literally name dropped both a brand name firm AND a job path where I said it would specifically be more beneficial than most in my original post. I simply said "you can start almost anywhere any make it" and your response proved that out in anecdotal form - multiple senior guys you know who started their own shop apparently made it without that kind of name brand background.
Does a brand name company on the resume help you? You bet your ass it does, but it's not important enough to have, much less create or provide a definitive list of. Having a rich dad helps too. Me asking you for a definitive list of companies was meant to highlight the absurdity of the original question. Now perhaps you put a much larger value on brand names than I do. That's fine. Again, we can disagree, but this is all taking place in a silly thread asking for the "best RE companies to start career out of" as if you or I can give OP a top 5 and set them on the correct career path.
What is more helpful in that instance? Me telling the OP to worry less about targeting a specific company or you going on a strawman rant about how I don't appreciate the value of a top MBA?
Finally, I thoroughly disagree with the idea that guy who are good enough to start anywhere and still make it likely aren't starting out at a no name firm, because that completely ignores the wide variety of real estate roles. If we're talking brokerage shops? Sure. But if we're talking acquisitions, equity investments, or especially development, that doesn't match reality whatsoever. I started at a "name brand" firm. I've secured investments from "name brand" firms. I've co-GP'd with people from name brand firms. I've met far more clowns at name brand firms who can't see beyond their own silo's than I can count.
The TCC guy will probably have a better chance of success striking it on his own than a hobo with no high school degree too, while we're at it.
I don't think the "prestige" of a firm matters but I do think it matters where you start. Going with a shop thats doing a good number of deals will give you a lot more experience in a shorter amount of time, even if they turn out to be bad deals.
I'm going to answer the question as it is written: your goal is to "gain general knowledge in real estate". I would not have the the same answer if your question was, say, "optimize for future earnings later in your RE career" or "work in REPE" or "start my own dev shop one day". Just FYI.
My answer would be a high-volume investment sales team at JLL/CBRE/C&W.
Three reasons:
1) RE is an industry where it's very easy to learn the first 80% of what you need to know to be successful, and much more difficult to learn the remaining 20%. You need lots of reps and you need to see loads of unique deals to cover that last 20% (odd deal structures, exotic lease clauses, financing arrangements, enviro issues, etc. etc. etc.) A good team at a big IS shop gets you volume.
2) Your question is extremely general, so I'm going to assume you don't really know what you want to do or where you think you might fit in the RE world. At a big shop on a good team in a big market, you give yourself some flexibility to potentially make a move between product types/functions if you so decide. It would not be uncommon to network your way from office IS to debt placement, or industrial to net lease (random examples). You'll get to interact with people across product types daily.
3) Name recognition. Assuming you eventually decide to leave said firm, working at one of the aforementioned firms removes some of the friction. Everyone has heard of CBRE (as an example). The hiring manager does not have to try to imagine what you were doing there. There are alumns from said firms all over the place. Etc.
Let me reiterate that I am answering your specific question, not suggesting that this is the optimal career path.
What about if you were interested in starting your own development firm?
Personally, I would either:
1) Go work for a developer who will give you the steepest experience and responsibility curve you can find or
2) Go work for a construction company
How about if one wanted to gain "specific" RE knowledge, i.e. that last 20% or so once you have a good base? Where should one go for that?
Maybe my post wasn't clear, but that 80%+20% is still "general" real estate knowledge. My point is that to penetrate that 20% you need to see lots of deals, and IS is where to go to get that volume.
"Specific" RE knowledge in my context above would mean you have a specific interest and want to craft your experience accordingly, i.e. "I really want to be a self-storage investor", "I really want to structure sale-leasebacks", "I really want to get into CTL finance", "I really want to become a merchant developer of freestanding retail assets", etc. My answer to any of those desires would not be the same.
Companies that have a national presence, good analyst program that will usually have analyst classes, and good compensation.
Brokerage: Eastdil, CBRE, JLL
Investment: Crow Holdings , Blackstone, AEW, CBRE IM, Invesco, Artemis, Harrison Street, PGIM, JPMAM, PCCP, Kennedy Wilson, PIMCO, Rialto
Development: Hines, Related, Greystar
Others: Bellwether Asset Management
There are other firms that have great reputations but may not have very good analyst training programs (Brookfield, TCC, Hudson Advisors, DivcoWest, etc). This list is equity-oriented and is not a definitive list, but ones that come to mind.
This is a good list. Thank you.
Furthermore for the college kids, the investment shops (principal or buy side) are the hardest to break into so if you are non-target, it will be somewhat similar to trying to break into IB. This is due to the smaller number of seats available.
The brokerages on the other hand are also hard to break into out of college but significantly easier than IB or anything on the buyside (also pay a bit less too). I’d expand the list to include the following: Eastdil, CBRE, JLL, CW, WD, Berkadia, and Newmark.
Eastdil is a bit of an outlier in terms of pay and toughness to break in but the others are pretty similar and very group dependent.
Firms with stable capital where you can get reps. It could be big, it could be small, it just needs to be doing deals.
We are trying to hire someone with 4-5 years of experience right now. The interviews have been terrible mostly because the people that graduated in 2019 might be at "good" shops, but they haven't done many (if any) deals in their career history. There are tons and tons of shops that haven't done a single deal in 2023. That is depressing when it is Sept/Oct and you have to tell an interviewer that you have basically sat on your ass and played with your phone for the last year.
^ based
I agree get deal reps. So a shop with good deal flow would be great.
To further this, get deal flow that gives you an exposure to a diversity of asset classes and geographies.
Much of our work is about understanding relative comparison.
A shop with an investment committee would be great learning and rigor for you as an analyst. That means well articulated investment theses, an emphasis on IC memos (as an analyst this is the best way to hone your written and oral communication). While a pain in the butt and a reason you’re working pass midnight, these are great decision tree type exercises.
To further this, you want to work directly with the senior deal people and learn from them. One of the best experiences is being able to understand the mindset and decision making of 2-3 senior people at your company. This will benefit you later.
Ideally, you’d want as an analysis, minimal interference from the associates. They mainly will selfishly serve to horde information from you (and themselves learn the mindsets of seniors, while you crank) and take credit. So, an organization structure where you work directly with the deal head as quickly as possible.
No doubt brand name helps open doors early in your career. Also, nothing wrong with working for an up and coming brand that later gets added to the list (I saw someone post a list). Seeing how the sausage got made to become a top brand, is no doubt valuable too.
Niches - the term niches leads to riches, I believe that.
This kind of offsets the bulk of your post. The best shops in individual niches are not "brand name" shops. Almost definitionally, a brand name shop is large and generalist, or else it wouldn't be a brand name. And if you feel the opposite (which is reasonable), then what doesn't constitute a brand name? Speaking only for my niche industry, many of the best affordable housing developers in the NY Metro area are emphatically not brand name.
You can do both - work at a brand name first and then a niche.
The only appropriate answer to this is "the company that will hire you."
You can argue every other side of this - big companies like Related may have a little more structure when it comes to educating and training new hires, but smaller firms will throw you in the deep end and expect you to wear lots of hats and drink from a fire hose. One is not "better" than the other, just different.
This is the ozzy we love, and she’s 100% correct
IMO the best place to gain "general knowledge" in commercial real estate is as an appraiser for a big shop like CBRE, Cushman, JLL. Right out of the gate you will gain experience underwriting almost every property type. The down side is there aren't as many exit opportunities out of appraisal. Next best way is with an institutional lender/LP where you will get exposure to most property types quickly. You'll also gain that valuable transaction experience and maybe even some indirect development experience. Way better career opportunities, though it's harder to break into. There are far too many companies in this category to list, but just think mega funds and Lifecos.
That said, your question could be interpreted differently by a developer. "General knowledge" to them is how do you fit the pieces together and get your project built (e.g. zoning, entitlements, capital raising, permits, GMP etc). Some would say this is better general knowledge compared to just learning how to underwrite institutional real estate. you may only get exposure to one property type, but this experience will likely better serve you if you plan on going out on your own one day.
It all comes down to what "General Knowledge" you value most as there are no jobs in commercial real estate that will cover all the bases.
Why would you ever want to work in appraisal (typically "valuation & advisory" in an institutional setting) vs IS? It's further detached from the deal process and fraught with legal red tape.
I'm not saying you can't begin a fruitful career as an appraiser, but if you have any interest even tangential to the dealmaking process it's like a neutered version of IS.
You get way more reps in valuation. Lets see, what else...
You need to read and abstract varied lease structures
You need to get comfortable analyzing the dynamics of different markets
You need to hear opinions, concerns, and feedback from clients
You need to understand the financing environment for different deals at a given point in time.
Etc, etc etc.
If you want general real estate knowledge, you need broad reps. Can't think of a better place to do that than appraising!
The ones that give you the most exposure and the best learning experience, brand should only be secondary. Being at Bx, Apollo, Oaktree, Ares etc will give you a great brand name but potentially a less good experience as you’re basically just a low level excel monkey so base your decision on the experience.
The ones that give you the most exposure and the best learning experience, brand should only be secondary. Being at Bx, Apollo, Oaktree, Ares etc will give you a great brand name but potentially a less good experience as you’re basically just a low level excel monkey so base your decision on the experience.
The ones that give you the most exposure and the best learning experience, brand should only be secondary. Being at Bx, Apollo, Oaktree, Ares etc will give you a great brand name but potentially a less good experience as you’re basically just a low level excel monkey so base your decision on the experience.
Wso pls fix the multiple posts issue
Wso pls fix the multiple posts issue
Wso pls fix the multiple posts issue
The ones that give you the most exposure and the best learning experience, brand should only be secondary. Being at Bx, Apollo, Oaktree, Ares etc will give you a great brand name but potentially a less good experience as you’re basically just a low level excel monkey so base your decision on the experience.
The ones that give you the most exposure and the best learning experience, brand should only be secondary. Being at Bx, Apollo, Oaktree, Ares etc will give you a great brand name but potentially a less good experience as you’re basically just a low level excel monkey so base your decision on the experience.
The ones that give you the most exposure and the best learning experience, brand should only be secondary. Being at Bx, Apollo, Oaktree, Ares etc will give you a great brand name but potentially a less good experience as you’re basically just a low level excel monkey so base your decision on the experience.
The ones that give you the most exposure and the best learning experience, brand should only be secondary. Being at Bx, Apollo, Oaktree, Ares etc will give you a great brand name but potentially a less good experience as you’re basically just a low level excel monkey so base your decision on the experience.
The ones that give you the most exposure and the best learning experience, brand should only be secondary. Being at Bx, Apollo, Oaktree, Ares etc will give you a great brand name but potentially a less good experience as you’re basically just a low level excel monkey so base your decision on the experience.
Plenty of good answers here but will add 2 cents from previous experience.
I started at a family office owner/operator and gained undoubtedly the best experience. You are exposed to all aspects of the deal and cycle, see plenty of different scenarios, and most importantly get to spearhead many projects (while risking another man’s dollars). Think: raising capital - DD to acquisition - development - marketing/lease up - AM/PM - financing - disposition - etc.. This exposure was great for me as I want to have my own firm.
I will say this is the best experience if your end goal is to become an entrepreneur. Of course if your goal is to be head of Acquisitions at a large firm, your route will be better served as starting as an acquisition analyst and climbing the ranks at a larger firm. Depends on your outlook and goals for yourself.
There are shops that breed stallions, and for good reasons - they are active, see volume, exposed to various scenarios, and spearhead enough projects where they are comfortable to get their own. My advice is to gain this experience where you are not limited to one aspect of the cycle, but are exposed to all. You do meaningful work and are not only an excel monkey like the bigger firms (you’ll be happier in your role as well if not an excel monkey).
Know what you want and think of the steps to get there. RE is not like banking where prestige is a must, however it does help when starting to raise capital for your own fund. A deal is a deal and investors are always looking for a win - whether it’s a HNW investor or institutional capital.
Best of luck.
What do people think about starting at a GP vs starting at an LP?
In my experience, starting at a LP and then moving closer to the ground (30,000 foot view to the ground) was beneficial in seeing the big picture first, then working on the nitty gritty later. Also, working for a LP gives you the eye (and vision) for what is or could be “institutional quality” which is a top goal for GPs to produce / create. Because that leads to $$$.
Bellwether Asset Management, the best shop in LA. Insane exit ops
Top talent!
Need details!
Based on my experience.. I would recommend starting at a blue chip REIT. I think it gives you a better perspective on owning/operating and what drives decision making vs investment sales brokerage. Big REITS are bureaucratic but will help give you structure/organization skills that will be transferable to wherever you go. I started at a REIT and went to a more boutique development firm and I feel like I was prepared better than some of my same aged colleagues who always worked at a smaller shop.
Now if you don’t want to do development/asset management and your thinking investment sales, then I agree with a lot of people here with the larger shops (CBRE, JLL, Eastdil, etc.). Each market will viewed separately so do your research. Very difficult to go salaried position at 27-30 to full commission. Need to get in as early as possible.
For what its worth some teams have guaranteed splits so you're not eat what you kill at the institutional level, you could straddle the analyst producer line for a while as a director.
Eastdil
Cardone capital, Rise48, and Tides are all solid shops.
Blackstone!
Tides Equities and/or Rise48. Perhaps Ashcroft, could also throw Cardone Capital in there.
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