Real Estate Recruiting
Hi all, I'm a current sophomore at a non-target (FSU/UGA/PennState) and for my entire freshman year I thought I wanted to go into "High finance" I ended up falling into the cre world through an internship I did this past summer. I worked at a small industrial re shop in miami where I worked across brokerage, development, and asset management. The internship really changed my opinion on the real estate world and exposed me to some of the larger players since they were development clients of the company. I currently am looking for opportunities for this summer and beyond and I wanted to get an idea of how recruiting for REPE, REIB, and large developers works. Am I too late for the more institutional shops or do I still have a shot at Blackstone lmao. Any and all advice is welcome and thank you in advance.
You most likely still have a shot at larger institutional shops if you're recruiting for your junior summer (2027). Most large institutional shops have likely finished hiring for Summer 2026, though you might still be able to recruit for smaller companies
As far as shops like Blackstone, Ares, Starwood, etc. I believe Blackstone already has applications for 2027 out, and Ares/Starwood should have apps out fairly soon.
Would note there’s a difference between “institutional shops” and “MF”. You are definitely not out of contention for seats at the former.
Would you say I'm out of contention at megafunds? I have a 3.85 gpa and real experience as a sophomore. If I wanted a seat at a megafund would my best options be REIB or transferring from another acquisitions seat?
You’re definitely in contention, I’d say that a lot of those mega fund seats are more about who you know as opposed to pure technical knowledge/attributes.
Mega funds are also not the end all be all, you can have a fantastic career working for smaller shops. Likely better WLB as well.
I wouldn’t write off Blackstone because you never know, but odds are slim even from a H/Y/P/S so don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen.
lowkey real question, why do so many southerners in finance find their niche in real estate
Every city has businesses and people that need places to live and operate their business from and it is difficult to operate RE from afar at scale.
While not every city has such a diverse economy that requires advisors and capital allocators from all different industries to be onsite within that city.
A) not to be that guy, but Miami is definitely not 'the south'
B) but you are right, southerners do disproportionately end up in real estate. I think it's highly correlated with the 'white guy' and 'good old boy' demographic, and while those might lead into general finance in northern MSA's, southern MSA's (say Atlanta) have disproportionately less non-RE and disproportionately more RE. Supercharging this dynamic is the fact that 'rich upper class' demographic in southern MSA's is disproportionately white, whereas same demographic in northern MSA's are proportionately less white and more east asia / south asia. And, to say the uncomfortable part out loud, people do gravitate to places/industries where they see more people who look like them.
Said another way, upper class guy relying on good old boy network in his home MSA in the south is disproportionately MORE likely to end up in RE than exact same guy in his home MSA in the north. (because of the proportion/number of such firms in said MSA and also demographic dynamic described above)
thank you for your attention to this matter!
Commercial real estate is one of the few “core” finance roles that allow you to choose where you want to live. IB & HF are largely in NYC. PE is somewhat more spread out, but still NYC centric. VC has an obvious Silicon Valley lean.
In contrast, CRE exists in every city in America, small, medium, or large. If you want to live in Ohio, you can. Colorado, you can. Dallas, you can. Orange County, California, you can. If you want to live outside of Atlanta, work in the city, and head down to your family’s farm in South Georgia to shoot guns and watch the Bulldogs on Saturday, you can.
And that applies to anyone who doesn’t want to live in NYC. As for why Southerners specifically, the Sunbelt in general has also been on an absolute tear the last 10-15 years, particularly in multifamily and industrial. These good old boys don’t need to head to Manhattan to make money. They did it in their own back yards.
Non laboriosam quae quo. Sint ex reprehenderit non necessitatibus totam molestiae blanditiis similique.
Quos magni ipsam quia dicta iusto. Esse voluptatem magnam amet eos. Est non animi quae id omnis. Est enim voluptatem ea est. Aspernatur qui reprehenderit ut in porro voluptate sit id.
Molestiae et facilis tempore voluptas exercitationem. Est ducimus ut illum iste voluptatum deserunt. Beatae voluptas et eos omnis non.
Eum quo nemo ea nihil ex ut rerum. Quaerat cupiditate dolores qui aut iusto in ut. Voluptatem necessitatibus error dicta quis maiores. Consectetur ipsa accusantium temporibus quaerat odit laboriosam suscipit.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...