To all the commercial real estate brokers out there...how much money do you make?

RE

6y

This is from 2012-2013 back when I was in the used car business.

Product Type Office
Investment Sales or Leasing Leasing
Geography (City, State or Region) Mid-Atlantic
Commission after company and team splits $15,000
Company split % 50%/50%
Team split % 60%/30%/10% (I was the 10%)
Number of years in the business 1 and it was awful. Much prefer being on the ownership side.

Commercial Real Estate Developer

RE

6y

Best Response

Definitely took a haircut on total compensation and lifestyle. There were a few reasons why:

Did not find brokerage intellectually stimulating, personally. Every deal has the same ten steps with minor variations and I was already bored after a year and a half. Not a good sign for career longevity at 23.
Income potential is lower and effectively capped. Top leasing guys make $1-2M a year at the best stages of their career. That is obviously big money, but there is bigger upside potential on the principal side with promote structures.
Geographic limitation. This was a big one. IMO the vast majority of your relevance and worth in brokerage is based on your local market knowledge and relationships. Brokering deals is not that complicated. If you leave that market you can be rendered useless, unless you have crazy relationships with large national firms.
Also just an opinion, but did not think brokerage was particularly fulfilling. I did not want to just make money in exchange for helping clients have better occupancy. Working for a developer and building a 50-60 year asset from dirt is a fulfilling experience.

Authored by: Certified Real Estate Professional - Investment ManagerCertified Real Estate Pro

RE

6y

Not really--the underlying process is actually exactly the same. Underwrite a deal and come up with some "creative" additive solutions, produce a book and pitch, field/narrow/negotiate offers, close, rinse and repeat. Those disciplines are certainly more intellectual than leasing, but just as formulaic,

That being said, I think brokerage is a very, very good place to start a career if you are on a team with good deal flow and training. I learned a lot about presentation, selling, putting a deal together, reading people, learning about different market players, etc. that I feel gives me a leg up on a pure analyst number cruncher. I also know how brokers think and position deals which makes it easier to screen options.

Authored by: Certified Real Estate Professional - Investment ManagerCertified Real Estate Pro

RE

6y

I don't blame you. Who knows, you may be able to build a development business in the future based on those fostered relationships and the off-market opportunities you will generate from them. Anyone can underwrite a real estate deal, having access to capital and the off-market deal prospects in which to place it are arguably more valuable...

Authored by: Certified Real Estate Professional - Investment ManagerCertified Real Estate Pro

RE

4y

a big 3 shop; CB/JLL/Cushman