NYC Job Market Update
Is it just me or is the RE job market fully fucked? Thought there would be more postings come the new year but it doesn’t seem like anyone is hiring from analyst to VP. Any job that comes out gets like 500 applications for one spot.
Any of you guys at places that are thinking about bringing in new junior / mid-level support or is it another keep your head down and grind it out year? Seems like recruiting has picked up for IB but not anything in RE.
Not NYC but Dallas has been quiet.
can second this
I feel like Dallas has been pretty solid for 4 YOE roles
This is the new norm. Been this way for years at this point and don’t see it changing anytime soon
Its dogshit.
There was a recent position that became available that would be a good next move for me. I applied, and knew the specific person leaving the team (mid-level). He put in my resume for me and I got to the first round.
Ghosted from everyone shortly after. There were 250+ applications. Pretty sure someone else with worse experience but a better connection (VP of RE) got it.
Market is shit, and even when something becomes available, only applying won't do much. You need contacts on the inside, and still no guarantee.
I am not sure what the solution is at this point.
Same on the west coast. Gotten several interviews from the limited postings out there and have gotten ghosted at some stage on 90% of them. Have even made it to a few final rounds just to hear nothing back.
Every job I see posted on LinkedIn has 100+ apps within a few hours. I've seen multiple people with experience and MSRE/MRED's taking entry level analyst roles. Very discouraging.
I'm just becoming more strategic about it. Setting alerts for all relevant jobs on LinkedIn / related sites. When something interesting becomes available, you need to submit an app immediately and set up a coffee chat with mid-level and senior executives. It's literally a part-time job lol.
Also only recently have i started to actually ask my connections if they hear of any openings. Maybe that will help?
NYC has been tough for a while. Need to know someone and even then it’s not guaranteed.
Not to highjack the thread, but are Miami firms hiring? I’m curious given they’ve been so busy. I’m from there so it might be a move later down the line.
Let's keep it on NYC. Can anyone else opine on health of the market? We all know its shit but maybe someone has some valuable insights?
I have been looking for NYC roles. Have gotten to a modeling test on 3 of them to then get turned down( killed the modeling test btw) just seems there is always a better candidate in the market
Where are you finding interviews ? LinkedIn?
a great magician never reveals their secrets
I have been looking for ER roles. I email the head analyst when I see the job posting and get a 1/25 hit rate on responses and have turned 2 into interviews thus far
what was on ur modelling tests?
For entry-level Analysts roles (out of college), in this market expect them to be building a dynamic multi-tenant model from scratch with a 4-tier waterfall (wish I was joking)
Tons of jobs in NYC compared to SoCal... LA is an actual desert and has been for awhile
Which NYC are you living in? Where tf are these 'tons of jobs'?
Not saying any of the following are easy to get but the following firms all have public posts hiring for junior roles across equity / credit / asset management / capital markets / development / valuations / etc in NYC. Excluding all REIB. And excluding all the recruiter-led processes or firms looking on the DL that I've heard about, which will always represent the majority of the searches out there.
So yes, there are a ton of jobs, especially compared to 2023-2025. I'm about to kick off a search for a dedicated associate (ignore my outdated title), and friends are too - so recruiting gates are starting to open.
Extell, Thor Equities, GS, JPMAM, JPMC, Deutsche Bank, Brookfield, Harrison Street, Ares, KKR, Temasek, Ventas, CPPIB, Belay, StepStone, Quadreal, Sound Point, Marathon, Morgan Stanley, Related, Aquarian, GIC, Acadia Realty Trust, PIMCO, Lightstone, Wells Fargo, Arena, Gilbane, Time Equities, JLL, CBRE, Greystar, Marcus & Millichap, PwC, Citi, HR&A, M&T Bank, Welltower, Ocean West, and many others.
Can confirm, it's awful. Never seen it this bad the past 6 or so months.
NYC market is beyond brutal no jobs in sight. Many peers are unemployed despite having impeccable credentials
I thought 2026 was supposed to be the year. Everyone was saying “survive in 25” so wtf is it for 2026? Eat a bag of dicks in 26?
Looking like it'll be very bad until 2028/2029. In 2023 people said 2024 was going to be "the year" but kept kicking the can down the road
Feel like we been saying survive for the past couple years now
Affordable housing is seeing a lot of hiring…
Maybe I’m at a smaller shop but aren’t job postings just kind an HR/legal obligation? I’ve only gotten jobs because someone important wants me there and I’ve got a few friends who have switched jobs over the last few years due to being poached by a buddy. Nothing gets done without someone pulling for you on the inside and the decision is usually made before the job posting goes online in most places is the vibe I’m getting. But I’ve never really been involved in the recruiting process for junior guys at an institutional shop. We kind of find someone we like and then figure out a way to create a job for them. But this is family office world, not REPE MF recruiting.
The warmth of mamdani socialism will bring all the jobs back
I don’t think one political cycle can destroy the epicenter of capitalism. You got the same crazy political situation (or arguably worse) going on in California and it’s not like Silicon Valley stopped being the epicenter of all things tech.
Also, for NYC RE specifically I think rent stabilized and multifamily owners have a lot more to worry about than office/retail/industrial owners. What landlords charge commercial tenants for rent is relatively low on the socialist democrat to do list and rich people and big companies are always going to figure out a loophole to pay low taxes.
Work at a large equity fund. IF things stay the same, It’s going to be a while longer till capital formation and transaction volume ticks up and then job growth. Even my optimistic take is that this will be 2H27 at the earliest. More likely 2028. Despite what you may hear no fund is absolutely killing it. Blackstone 40% irr fund down to single digits per filings. People deploying capital making some suspect buys. Nothing is a screamer, especially on a Y1 cap rate basis. Multi soft even in some high barrier metros. Industrial demand still pretty shit and overbuilt almost everywhere. GDP risk could merk retail. Office… yeah. I do think there are some compelling steady eddy buys, which is what cre should be, but when your dpi and redemption queue are shit, investors and portfolio demand high returns to not repay frustrated investors. Capital flows are into debt right now but Very curious what a few 5% loan losses do to a debt funds returns, which will happen. Also, they are reliant on our transaction activity which is not happening.
So yeah keep your chin up and take solace in the fact that the executives above you wear no clothes and did a bunch of shit deals that got us in this mess. I would target debt and brokerage roles.
Genuinely curious: why target D/E brokerage roles?
I understand debt funds could retract significantly in 12-24 months, but if you're junior/mid level person, wouldn't 2026-2027 at a debt shop be better for a career than 2026-2027 at a D/E brokerage shop? Also, aren't there more openings at debt shops than D/E brokerage shops? TYIA!
I think I did say debt would be a good spot. Post was geared for entry level people. If you’re trying to break in I would view targeting brokerage as a higher value use of your time vs equity gp/lp who are not hiring really. Vs brokerage, those guys are always up to something and if you convince the right person, they could hire you because it’s not that expensive (low base highly variable pay). But yes originations would be a good spot to be for the next few years. Just don’t get stuck in debt 😉
Are people just not doing deals? It seems like deal flow has picked up but there hasn’t been any hiring despite that fact.
Shops are simply doing more with less staffing. They’re getting away with it bc they know job market is tight so employees won’t complain
So tired of getting gaslit by people who have been "cautiously optimistic" for the last 3-4 years about this industry
The phrase "cautiously optimistic" gets me every time. A prime example of how to say nothing.
You can't take these 'assessments' seriously from people who have a vested interest in convincing someone else to do a deal. They are marketing, plain and simple.
Lenders need borrowers. GP's need LP's. Brokers and landlords need tenants. You're putting up a 'closed for business' sign if you say anything less than 'next quarter is going to be good/better.'
If you're a tenant/borrower/LP choosing between landlord/broker/lender/GP, and one says 'market's dead' and one says 'market's turning,' which one are you choosing?
Surprised by the pessimism here - for AN/AS at least seeing a ton of seats from LMM/UMM to MFs across equity and credit. Comp is strong too, at least the cash component.
Which ones?
Just got ghosted for a role with bofa. It’s been bad for awhile. Landed my current role about 15 months ago, and ai must have applied to 1300 or so opportunities.
Bofa deez nuts!! haha couldn't resist, job market making me go insane. sorry to hear that though, right there with you
Not NY but other Tier 1 market. We've hired two associates this past year (no, we aren't hiring more) and 99% of the candidates we got just weren't great. Chalk it up to lack of deal flow the last few years, but just genuinely not impressed with their skills and grit (9/10 can't even model a waterfall and will say "I've been thinking about learning it" as if it's a year long commitment). Every candidate we've really liked has had at least one competitive offer if not 2-3.
If you have 2-4 years of total experience, it’s easy to find a job. Most of the people complaining are likely 5 or 6-10 years of experience and associate roles are no longer an option. The top firms are all able to retain talent and rarely need to hire VPs or above
I think this is more about expectations having gotten way too high (and your comment reflects this).
I’m not saying it has to be like 2020-2022 where you had people with fully irrelevant experience landing offers at top institutional players. I’m saying realistically, someone with finance experience should be interview-able and someone with real estate experience period should be hireable.
Firms aren’t even interviewing people unless they’re doing the exact same job at a competitor (in which case, why would they leave?) and won’t hire anyone who makes any mistakes on an interview question/the case (48 hours seems like the norm now vs the 1-2 hour ones).
The job market definitely sucks.
When I was applying for associate roles 7-10 years ago, I spent several weekends learning waterfall modeling before I even started applying. I think it's a fair expectation that associates today do the same, and it shows lack of grit to complain the market is so bad yet do the least possible to improve skillset for the roles that do exist, then complain that they are going to other candidates that are doing so. From interviewing and giving several offers, I can tell you that the candidates that are taking these steps are getting multiple offers.
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