EBs of CRE??

Can someone provide a list of CRE shops that would be categorized as an EB in real estate? Pay top of the street, doing niche deals. One that comes to mind is Sculptor. Can someone help with some more? Also, do any of these place hire FT out of college?

30 Comments
 

It would, PCCP is near the top for many of our analysts trying for exits. Additionally they are incredibly nice to work with.

 

Every major city probably has at least one. They just aren’t known outside of that city or region because they don’t do any deals outside of it. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

This is such a dumb post and shows you have a very poor understanding of the industry. Prestige matters far less in RE than IB/corporate PE; this is a sector where deal experience trumps all. 

If you want to insist on calling them "elite boutiques", my 2 cents is that the hedge funds fall into this category (Farallon, Davidson Kempner, Elliott, etc.), as does Fortress, Oaktree, etc.

 

What does "pay top of the street" mean in real estate, exactly? 

Main street? The interstate? The mandatory second fire escape route that ruins the landscaping setup? 

...but is it REPE?
 

jarstar1

There are small dev shops that build trophy product but I don't think the day-to-day employees are compensated very well. I'm thinking like JDS in New York/Miami, Samuels and Associates in Boston, Caruso in Los Angeles, etc. 

I don't think anyone at JDS makes much money these last 10 years or so.  Most of their projects are.... kinda flops, no?

But the idea of an EB in real estate doesn't really make sense. 

I'm can sort of wrap my head around the notion of extremely successful, extremely profitable firms that run relatively small teams and knock out some really high profile projects.  It's just that there aren't really any "BB" equivalents, in that case, because there are far fewer firms that do everything, do it well, and do it everywhere.

 

Thank you for not being so dense and getting what I was referring to... obviously, I know EB isn't a term in this industry. I was looking for an equivalent in this industry, in terms of team size, deal size, deal niche, and overall image. 

 
Most Helpful

I named three firms that would best fit the idea in terms of team size, deal size, niche, and image, and I'm sure there are more out there that focus on cities I'm not familiar with. But you're not going to make much money working there, it's not like IB where you get paid more for more impressive (read: large) projects, the fees don't get handed out the same way. 

The nature of prestige real estate projects pretty much necessitates that they underperform. They're usually in high demand areas so land costs will be high, high demand areas are typically in dense urban environments aka big cities which usually have a lengthy and convoluted entitlement process, they require top-line designs to justify the high rental/sale price so you're paying for top architects, finishes and amenities, they're large profile in the public's eye so you're adding open green space and bike lanes, you need to get a variety of local community interests on board so you're adding affordable housing or making large contributions to affordable housing trusts, community pressure can also add union labor requirements to the project, the sheer size requires multiple equity partners who often demand favorable terms and pref, everyone wants to put their hand in the cookie jar so you typically need to fund infrastructure upgrades in the area (maybe even down line for power or waste treatment upgrades), and so on. 

I understand what you're asking for, and I'm saying I don't think it really exists. 

 

Worked for a legacy HFF team, loved the experience but realized how insufferable it can sound from the outside when I left

 

Id consequuntur consequatur aut nostrum. Vel beatae eum quae sit labore. Sit dicta voluptatem voluptatum ut.

Nobis quas ad rerum et facere. Labore quos voluptatem rerum rerum omnis enim est. Dolorum ipsam nihil et praesentium repudiandae magnam laudantium quia. Laborum perferendis ab fugiat voluptatum sed et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”