Investments or Development?

I've received two job offers. Both firms are almost entirely identical in structure and AUM, although one offer is in investments and one is in development.

The pay on the development offer is slightly lower but not a big deal for me.

As someone who joined real estate to learn the nitty gritty and one day strike out on my own, I don't know which offer to go with.

Both teams are active and well respected as well as both have a solid culture.

Would appreciate insight from people who have been around and can speak to one or the other path. Thank you!

 

Investments role is acquisitions and dispositions across industrial and multifamily, both IPP and development land.

Development role is pretty much everything that happens after acquisitions to get the shovels in the ground - then construction management team will take over.

 

So as part of this development role you would not underwrite potential new development opportunities and assist in the acquisition of land ? If that’s the case, go investments.

 

Investments can vary from core and core-plus to opportunistic (which is what I'm classifying the acquisitions of development land as).

Both the investments and development role both centre around MF and industrial.

Average deal for investments is ~$50-100M but easily can go to $100Ms+ if purchasing portfolio of assets or some landmark assets.

Not sure what average deal size for developments would be mean, considering they both have very similar investment teams as well - I'd say it would make sense that the development role would be working on similar sized deals that the investments team brings in.

 

It's a bit difficult to tell you what you would be more interested in, both in the short term (which may not be that different day to day) or the long term (which would be dramatically different.) 

When you say you want to one day strike out on your own, what do you see yourself doing - buying assets or creating them?

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

I'd like to play a role in both but I do prefer purchasing assets to then develop. I feel like nowadays buying IPP is for those who are retired (that being said sometimes there are great IPP deals too). I'd like to play a more active role in my investments and think development allows for that to happen. Also development has a higher barrier for entry considering the higher risk involved and I enjoy that aspect too as it helps to limit competition to more sophisticated investors (overall less competition and more creativity required).

 

 Also development has a higher barrier for entry considering the higher risk involved and I enjoy that aspect too as it helps to limit competition to more sophisticated investors (overall less competition and more creativity required).

The opposite is true.  Development has a much lower barrier for entry, if you want to do it at any kind of scale.  It's why there are many, many, many more developers than investment funds in this country.  Raising $100mm with no track record is damn near impossible.  Scrounging $5mm to do a development deal is far more doable, in my opinion.-

 
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