Real Estate Career

Just curious but is anyone who pursues the CFA interested in working in real estate, or is anyone currently doing just that. Obviously I am reffering to valuation jobs etc.

I work in Real Estate with a principal focus… I know there are a few others on the forum who also work in RE

Hi NorthernCFA, I am doing just that. You can PM me to take this offline.

“Schwing!” – Wayne and Garth “Boiiinnnnng!” – Beavis and Butthead

I work in real estate. Was working in valuation with specialty in affordable housing (I was an MAI candidate and I worked on close to 100 appraisals and market studies). I was laid off and picked up 2 weeks later by one of the more elite companies in America in my field (by God’s grace, not by my own doings). I’m now a multifamily underwriter specializing in affordable housing (there is actually big money in this–don’t be fooled). If you have any questions, you can email me directly (vt2007@hotmail.com) or post here. I know a pretty good deal about real estate valuation and about the industry. I passed L1 of the CFA exam in June 2007 but didn’t sit for L2 this year. CFA is well regarded in real estate, but not particularly needed. MAI is the premiere real estate valuation designation. Here are my honest thoughts–you can make good money in valuation, but unless you become a partner at a big firm (15 year track at least) or somehow start your own shop and things just take off, there is really a fairly low bar in the kind of money that can be made. Think about this–a BIG job will take as many as 100 man hours and will bring in revenue of only about $10,000–again, that’s a large job, NOT net of expenses, and almost always shared among numerous contributors. Problem is, there is finite time and valuations take SO long to do. Limited appraisals can be done quickly but are typically not acceptable for underwriting and have very low revenue generating potential. Basically, my boss at my last firm was a superstar at the firm, an 8-year veteran and a star player in the valuation industry who worked 55 to 60 hour weeks and was on the road on average 1.5 days per week. He made a whopping $120,000/year. When I asked him when he thought he’d make partner, he said hopefully by 40. He was a 30-year-old superstar. Partners are making about $300,000 and work about 50 hours. Also, it’s a VERY stressful career path. Not only are you responsible for analytical expertise, you’re responsible for managing teams, continuing education, and sales. And the deadlines are CONSTANT. In sum, I don’t recommend it as a career but wouldn’t trade my time there. If you’re young, the kinds of things you can learn in an analyst role in real estate valuation can be invaluable.

kkent Agree with what you are saying here…but valuation and appraisals aren’t the only roles in real estate. Real Estate Private Equity can offer compensation and upside that is comparable to private equity/IB type roles.

Syd_RE Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I work in Real Estate with a principal focus… > > I know there are a few others on the forum who > also work in RE Would appreciate it, if you don’t mind me asking what is your current role now?

yeah, being a real estate appraiser isn’t really the best way to go. Working for the acquisitions team for some of the major REIT’s or private real estate investment firms will offer considerably more compensation. In that capacity, the CFA would be more highly regarded than an MAI. MAI is great for bank appraisals, compliance, or litigation

Can anyone reccommend any good companies or give an idea of entry level positions and pay?

Most of the large pension/insurance companies (AIG, Prudential, ING, AXA etc etc) have a real estate private equity arm. Entry is similar to IB so you start as analyst (slave) or you could start in research which is quite humane in RE. Pay is probably at or slightly below what an IB analyst earns. Then you also have all the REITs. Appraisal is actually a very good way to start your career and learn all the stuff you need to be a killer in. CFA is more and more appreciated also in RE.

Treynor Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Most of the large pension/insurance companies > (AIG, Prudential, ING, AXA etc etc) have a real > estate private equity arm. Entry is similar to IB > so you start as analyst (slave) or you could start > in research which is quite humane in RE. Pay is > probably at or slightly below what an IB analyst > earns. Then you also have all the REITs. Appraisal > is actually a very good way to start your career > and learn all the stuff you need to be a killer > in. CFA is more and more appreciated also in RE. Thanks for the insight. Any idea what an appraisers pay is tho?

Treynor Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Most of the large pension/insurance companies > (AIG, Prudential, ING, AXA etc etc) have a real > estate private equity arm. Entry is similar to IB > so you start as analyst (slave) or you could start > in research which is quite humane in RE. Pay is > probably at or slightly below what an IB analyst > earns. Then you also have all the REITs. Appraisal > is actually a very good way to start your career > and learn all the stuff you need to be a killer > in. CFA is more and more appreciated also in RE. Thanks for the insight. Any idea what an appraisers pay is tho?

Yes. Typically an MAI makes close to $100,000 if averaged over all geographic areas in the U.S. Some make $300,000 and others make $70,000. But probably a strong central tendency toward the 100k mark. But “entry-level” commercial appraisers (and this is a very difficult job to get) make probably $30 to $50k.