About me:
Multifamily Investment Sales Broker at Top 4 (CBRE, JLL, NGFK, Colliers) shop with a Nationally ranked team. We transact over $1B annually.
Experience:
Been in the business for 5+ years and previously worked in sell-side Equity Research.
Commercial Real Estate is a phenomenal industry and there many avenues within the space and I love what I do. I left Equity Research because I felt the opportunity cost for a MBA or CFA was too great at the time and have always been entrepreneurially minded - wanting to be my own boss.
The most conventional way to get into brokerage (big shop) is through its research platform (typical comp: $40-$50k). You will learn the various sectors, learn the market, and show off your talents to the office. Each sector (Multifamily, Office, Retail, Industrial, Hospitality, etc) behaves different and also attracts different personality types, in addition there are numerous arms within each sector that you can work on. In bigger markets, Brokers become extreme specialists whereas smaller markets you need to be a generalist due to lack of deal flow. I see typical research analysts lasting 12months before moving towards a more permanent role but if you are talented, you could get picked off in 6months.
Larger teams have limited openings, so it is common for someone to wait for an ideal match or end up at a team from a competitors shop. When joining a team, you will still be conducting a lot of market research with little client interaction. Client interaction comes down the road and eventually you will be able to make your own clients. Comp ranges greatly with what you bring to the table and deals you source. I work off straight commission, however most analysts that are in transition are on salary and could be moved towards a draw before leaping into commission only. Our team employs 6 staff and their comp ranges from 60k to 150k with 70-80k being the average.
Brokerage is certainly a grind and not for the faint of heart. The barriers to entry is relatively low, however the learning curve is steep and not many people make it far enough to live comfortably. Sales is a big part of positioning yourself ahead of your competition and everyone cuts their teeth cold calling :)
With that.. go ahead and ask questions
