Commercial Real Estate in Boston

I am currently finishing up my last semester of junior year (Finance Major) at a university in Philadelphia (think Villanova/Drexel/Temple) and I have recently received notice that my internship in Corp. Finance at a F500 company in NYC has been cancelled due to COVID-19.

With this being said I have taken this time to explore other possible career paths and I have found myself constantly exploring the RE forums on WSO. While I have fairly limited knowledge on this specific industry I have the most interest in CRE (specifically development, possibly for multifamily or office) in Boston or the greater Boston area. It appears that many users have already confirmed that it is possible to make the transition from Brokerage to a Development shop.

My main questions are:

-Being that networking is geographically challenging being 5-6 hours from Boston, what are some ways to still effectively network with professionals in that area?

-What are some of the keys to making the transition from Brokerage to Development?

-What are some other typical (as well as not so typical) career paths to becoming a developer?

-Who are the major players in the Boston/NE area for Brokerage and/or Development (outside of CBRE/JLL)

I appreciate responses to any or all questions asked. Stay healthy during these times!

 

The simplest way to network in a market that is distant to you is via the alumni network. I would just search LinkedIn for CRE/development and your university, I'm sure they will have a presence in Boston that is significant.

The other 'easy' way is via memberships in groups like NAIOP/ULI, etc., you can join in one market and usually able to search the national membership directory. Members are likely to take fellow members calls/emails more openly and that is technically a 'warm call' than pure cold call. Plus members may introduce you to other members if you ask.

 

Could you possibly go into further detail as to how one would go about becoming a member in the groups you mentioned like NAIOP/ULI?

Also curious if you could provide some more context about what these groups missions are and what exactly they consist of? Obviously I will do more research on my own but any info helps, thanks.

 

Here's a list of the 10 biggest brokerage firms in Boston based on how much total SF they leased in 2019. Development is something you will have to do your own research on as there are a lot of smaller successful shops in the greater Boston area.

As for advice on how to network, start combing LinkedIn and ripping cold emails/calls. Given that people have a lot of extra time on their hands right now, you'll probably have more luck getting a hold of them than you would in normal times. Good luck.

 
crusty bumhole:
Given that people have a lot of extra time on their hands right now, you'll probably have more luck getting a hold of them than you would in normal times. Good luck.
Great point here and thanks for the list of brokerages I appreciate it. Also, thanks for the insight on Boston being a market with numerous smaller dev shops.
 

Beacon Capital Partners is a really big player in Boston, although they do a lot outside of that market. They do acquisitions and development. If you don't mind me asking, what led to your interest in the Boston real estate market?

I’m a fun guy. Obviously I love the game of basketball. I mean there’s more questions you have to ask me in order for me to tell you about myself. I'm not just gonna give you a whole spill... I mean, I don't even know where you're sitting at
 

While I think that Philadelphia is a great city it seems that CRE moves at an even slower pace than it typically does elsewhere. Being that I am someone who wishes to move into Development at some point I have heard Philly is notorious for 'NY building prices, Baltimore rents'. It seems Philly is highly dictated by political connections and almost all construction seems to be unionized. I suppose that is my reasoning for wishing to leave Philly. (obviously this could all be untrue this is just what I have gathered from my own personal research and forum usage).

As far as my reasoning for Boston, it has been ranked top 5 consistently in growing CRE markets for the past 3-4 years. There appears to be significantly more routes to take in Boston in RE where as Philly only really has a few major players and even the smaller shops are harder to come by. Boston also is a place that I have visited on numerous occasions and have loved it more with every visit and additionally I have been a Boston sports fan for most of my life. I also enjoy winter sports and feel that this city would provide me with easy access to these. CoL is also far less than NYC/surrounding areas. In summary, the lifestyle I would be able to achieve in Boston is far more desirable than that in Philly and I feel that there are greater opportunities in the RE world there as well.

 

I can't speak to how it compares to other cities, but Boston has an extremely large number of smaller shop developers and owners. You'll see even further dichotomy between the urban vs suburban guys. The brokerage business is extremely segmented between office and retail, there isn't really a "one shop does all" scenario here outside of the CBRE's of the world.

PM me if you are interested in a certain asset class, I'd be happy to provide further insight.

 

Boston is a small town where everybody knows everybody in the industry. This, combined with significantly less transaction volume makes it a tough market to break into as a young gun. Any reputable shop will take you on as an analyst and have you grow into the brokerage role. Sure, you can go the M&M route and dial for dollars but the odds are heavily stacked against you, especially in today’s world...

True, every market is difficult to start in but you don’t see nearly as many young brokers as you do in NYC making a killing in the Brooklyn and Queens. Just not as many buyers and sellers in the market I would assume... personally, when interviewing in Boston (think CB, CW, NKF) I was told straight up that I wouldn’t be running deals until 2-3 years in.

That being said, Boston has been booming for many years now and I expect it to be better insulated than other markets given the heavy health and life science presence. Like someone else mentioned, there’s a high concentration of independent/boutique shops, wether it be in the brokerage or principal.

 

You're certainly not the first user on the RE forums to mention the challenges associated with starting a career at M&M. I feel that it is in my best interest to avoid shops with similar mentalities.

Outside of the larger firms such as NKF or CBRE, are you familiar with any MM firms or boutiques in the area that practice the 2-3 year analyst stint before transitioning to more deal oriented positions? It seems this provides the most practical learning and exposure to the industry.

 
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There are so many RE investment/development/brokerage firms in Boston. My advice to you would be to use Google/LinkedIn/SelectLeaders/Indeed/Glassdoor to track down every possible firm you can with key words like "Real Estate, Investment, Analyst, Acquisitions, Brokerage" etc until you have a list of 50+ names and then go back to Google/LinkedIn again to start tracking down alumni within those firms to reach out to.

Also, while you are correct that there are significantly more CRE finance opportunities in Boston than Philly, I would recommend you network in Philly too, especially if you like the city. 1) because maybe you do get lucky and get a good gig there and 2) maybe you don't, but the people you network with can connect you with people in Boston. Would not be surprising at all for some alumn at a CRE firm in philly to not be hiring but have a friend in Boston they can set you up with.

 

What @Ricky Sargulesh and others said... Just poke around the top 10 brokerages, see where your connections and interests lie, and start reaching out while being cognizant of the situation everybody is in.

A little info of the top of my head about the market and it's players: NKF Capital Markets led by Griffin is top dog both in Boston and nationally. C&W lags far behind CB and NKF in both leasing and sales (Griffin's team jumped ship at CW a few years back and they haven't recovered since). This is my understanding so would welcome any corrections if I'm wrong.

Boston Realty Advisors seems like an interesting boutique firm and is regionally dominant- they also do luxury SFR sales. In recent news, Lee & Associates just recently acquired a small tenant rep shop and are planning an expansion in Boston so that could be worth looking into.

 

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