CRE Salary Progression

How did your salary progress/change throughout the course of your career? I think it will be interesting/helpful to see to show younger guys what's realistic.

EX:

Acquisitions (Dallas)

Year 1: 60k + 10% bonus + $5k signing bonus Year 2: 67k + 20% bonus

etc.

76 Comments
 

Hey amv, I'm the WSO Monkey Bot and I'm here since nobody responded to your thread! Bummer...could just be time of day or unlucky (or the question/topci is too vague or too specific). Maybe one of these topics will help:

If we're lucky, maybe I can guilt some users to help you out: Josemherrera @FutureCREInsider" FrkWhite

Fingers crossed that one of those helps you.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

First year analyst doing AM at a value add REPE shop.

Year 1: 65K + 20-25% bonus Year 2 (projected): 70K + 20-25% bonus

Our shop also pays out random additional bonuses (~$10K) if we sell a trophy asset. Happens about once a year.

 
Most Helpful

1st Job: Senior Analyst, Acq & Dev in D.C. (after a year of IB) Year 1: 80K & 20% bonus Year 2: 85K and left before I got my bonus

2nd Job: Associate, Portfolio Management Year 3: 100K & 30% Bonus Year 4: 110K & 50% Bonus (Target bonus was only 30% but I stepped up big time during a capital raising process even though I wasn't on the Capital Markets team)

3rd Job: Associate VP, Fund Management (Includes acquisitions, some development and general fund management duties) Year 5: 150K Base, 90K bonus, 5% promote which should be worth 150ish depending on how things go Current Year: 150K Base (probably hit a ceiling here), target bonus between 50-100% and 5% promote for acquisitions I source or large scale turnaround/repositioning projects I lead. Acquisitions pipeline slowed down a good bit and I'm not sure if I'll earn promote for any deals this year.

 

DFW: Year 1: AM analyst 60k base, 8k bonus Year 2: AM analyst 62k base, 9k bonus

Really trying to find an acquisitions job now though. While i get paid decent for AM, it is ungodly boring

 
"JSmithRE2010" 4 years out of UG and you’re already at 125k base? Must be hines but I don’t know if even Hines gives raises that quickly

That progression honestly doesn't surprise me.

Edit: For reference, I'm in Y2 and I'm at $80k + 45% bonus + 0.5% profits

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

All Los Angeles

First Job (Real Estate Consulting Firm)

Year 1: $60k + 10% bonus

Year 2: $75k + 25% Bonus

Year 3: $90k + 25% bonus

2nd Job (Multifamily REPE)

Year 4: $100K + 30% Bonus

Year 5:  $115K + 30% bonus

Year 6: $135K + 50% Bonus

Year 7: $160K + 50% Bonus + carry (I estimate worth $~60k)

Current Year: $180K + 50% bonus + carry (I estimate worth ~$200k)

 

Family Office in LA (acquisitions/dispositions, leasing, some dev now too) 

First investment banking then quick pivot to cre 

Year 1 - $125k

Year 2 - $135k; + $215k commercial agenting + investments on the side 

 

Probably an outlier on the low-end since I had some personal/career stumbles about 5 years in, but progression was:

1st Job: Appraisal Analyst (mid-market NYC). 

Year 1 - $35k to start, bumped to $50k after 6 months. Trivial bonus ($1.5k)

Year 2 - started getting fee split, all-in comp ~$85k

2nd Job: Asset Management at Private Developer/Family Office (NYC)

Year 3 - $88k + $10k bonus

Year 4 - $92k + $10k bonus

Year 5 - $98k + $5k bonus (started having some personal/substance abuse issues and performance declined dramatically, eventually left)

3rd Job: Portfolio Management at REPE Fund/Developer (Secondary Market, Western US)

Year 6 - $85k + 20% bonus.  As an aside for any young guns out there thinking it's NYC or bust, ended up taking home substantially more than my prior role in NYC due to COL & taxes.  Also much happier with this city's weather, culture, and access to outdoor activities. Be cognizant of how location can impact your physical/mental health. 

Year 7 - $96k + 20% bonus

4th Job: Acquisitions at Same Firm

Year 8 - $96k for the first 8 months. Had a record year for the firm at ~$1.5bn of acquisitions/dispositions. Bumped to $135k base + 2% carry on the deals I worked on.  Carry is both in the fund (American/deal-by-deal waterfall) and property-level GP.  Still waiting on final 2021 bonus numbers, but told it'll be in the 50-100% range due to all the acq/dispo fees this year as well as a couple sales we crushed it on.  Future bonuses will be more dependent on personal production at the VP level

Edit - ended up with 60% bonus for 2021.  Bumped to Senior Associate with base of $150k & minimum 25% bonus, plus 3% carry on any deals this year.  Told I'm slated for VP promotion by mid-2023. 

 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

Los Angeles

Year 1: Analyst at Tier 2 Investment Sales: $60k base + $10k bonus

Year 2: Same as above: $72k base + $10k bonus

Year 3: Acquisitions Analyst at Family Office that does development/PE: $80,000 base (no bonus year 1 because of late year switch)

Year 3.5: Promoted to Acquisition Associate: $100k base + $20k bonus

Year 4: Acquisition Associate 2/ pay bump: $120k base + ~25% bonus

 

Architecto facilis qui necessitatibus sit culpa occaecati modi fugiat. Qui quasi praesentium necessitatibus sapiente. Hic qui laudantium qui dolor perspiciatis totam. Qui aut sit quisquam autem minima minus.

Omnis aut omnis itaque sint iusto. Omnis quis nulla sequi voluptatem facilis nam ab. Cum quam consectetur odio. Optio eveniet quos qui. Autem aliquam est aut commodi voluptas non dolores.

Numquam sunt nihil iste maxime error facere aut. Voluptas velit facere vitae tenetur et qui. Omnis dolor dicta itaque error.

Voluptas ut consectetur temporibus. Praesentium qui nostrum voluptas qui. Consectetur quae est eaque amet ex. Aut magnam est et asperiores aut voluptas sint sed. Voluptatem sint qui qui autem perspiciatis quia qui. Excepturi sed ipsum ullam. Laboriosam dicta dolore inventore est dignissimos laboriosam.

Real Estate Professional Network Discord Server: https://discord.gg/xxWQ2nC
 

Rerum enim praesentium doloribus minus voluptas vero rerum. Aut cum ut quod nobis. Assumenda omnis vero temporibus. Eveniet dolor quibusdam consequuntur eum sit.

Tempore exercitationem sed incidunt fugit tenetur accusamus quod. In reiciendis nobis autem exercitationem omnis recusandae veritatis. Iusto officiis dolores soluta officia. Nobis unde iusto expedita sed ratione doloribus facere. Temporibus aut eos voluptas nihil ut a perspiciatis. Nihil consectetur cupiditate doloribus blanditiis sint facilis. Sed et maxime est necessitatibus eveniet mollitia ad.

Quia architecto magni est est laudantium et eaque. Eos dolorem autem fugiat. Aut possimus in non voluptas occaecati. Reprehenderit rem tempora magnam quo id quibusdam. Ea officiis et alias voluptatem et fugiat nostrum.

Real Estate Professional Network Discord Server: https://discord.gg/xxWQ2nC

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”