Real Estate Analyst in a development firm vs Private Equity firm vs REIT etc
Forgive me guys, I am a noob, so I am kinda clueless. As per I know, a primary responsibility for real estate analysts is working on finding whether the property/investment is worth it, perform financial analysis, do a tons of calculations, project the return of investment. Am i right for the most part? Now, as I am not in the industry, I am not able to find out what do Analysts do differently in a small development firm (2-4 people), vs a large development company (100 plus people) vs a large REPE firm like Blackstone vs REIT. For the most part are the day to day duties not too different, do they all do Argus or Financial modeling and the end goal is to find whether the investments are worth it and result in a positive ROI? Whats the big differences between the analysts then? And can they also jump between them? like can one work fro a few years in a development firm, and then spend a few years in  REIT or a REPE firm because they require a lot of the same skills. And, recently I heard that even brokerages and banks hire analysts, what the hell do they do at those places? Really appreciate your help! thank you!
[{"id": "cqr4u1u", "text": "The difference between small and large RE firms is similar to the difference between small and large companies in any industry. At small companies you have to wear lots of hats and seek out projects. At larger companies you have to specialize and the projects come to you. It can be difficult to move between large and small companies.\n\nAnalysts usually fall into a few buckets and specialize accordingly. Transactions analysts work on deals, portfolio on assets, capital markets on loans and research on the economy/macro capital market. All of this analysis is needed at both PERE and REITs, as well as at brokerage houses and development companies. Yes you can jump between these types of firms. \n\n\n", "replies": [{"id": "cqr70ew", "text": "hey! thanks for explaining!, and just curious, would starting out at an entry level analyst be a horrible thing? Whats the general career path for an analyst, and which in your opinion would u target if u were staring your career today? a big REPE firm like Blackstone (I would imagine it would be pretty competetive) or a small REPE shop or a development fir/REIT. Any particular pros/cons that you would pay attention too. Also, I am planning to do my masters in real estate in another year or two, but until then I will not be having any direct real estate finance experience. However, I do not want to waste time though, and I love learning, so would u reccommend in the meantime before I start my masters, on my own learn some [real estate financial modeling] (https://www.getrefm.com/refm-certification-program-in-excel-for-real-estate-page-20#overview), If possible, I could also learn Argus and look into the certification. So, would learning this give me a leg up when it comes to hiring, when I start my masters, I dont want to be completely lost, and would u also reccommend during my masters (which would most probably be part time) I should also try to find some analyst assistant/internship type gig? Really appreciate any help!", "replies": [{"id": "cqrv1qr", "text": "As a former RE Analyst for a mid-sized PE ($4.0B under management with both debt and equity platforms (opportunistic, value-add, and core - know the differences) firm what I can tell you is that an analyst role was a great platform for understanding RE from a financial perspective. What I recommend doing is asking yourself where you want to be in 5 years? 10-years? I ended up wanted to work more in development - less structure more creativity. Use where you see yourself in that time frame to guide you in your search for your ideal company. I liked the smaller PE firm experience due to the amount of deal exposure, compensation, and workload (~aprx. 60 hrs a week). I was exposed to acquisitions work, asset management, investor reporting (necessary but not for me, would be useful if you see yourself in a CFO role), legal document review, and working with the accounting department - all were important. The part that I loathed the most about working in this company was the amount of paperwork required in order to make decisions, everyday it seemed like I was drafting a new memo on something; capital calls, status updates, divestitures, ect.  \n\nIf I were in your shoes I would target an acquisitions role (more difficult to come by than say an asset management role) with an opportunistic fund. You will need to know how to model in your sleep so get used to Excel. Differentiate yourself by knowing how to write VBA Macros, learning SQL and getting an internship. Everyone is expected to know Argus and really you have to spend time in Argus to do this - training courses were a joke. I would also considered specializing; data centers, medical uses, water rights, bonds, ect. Specialized knowledge has value and will further differentiate you from the pack. Just focus on an area you are interested in and perceive to be a growth area in the future.    ", "replies": [{"id": "cqtic2v", "text": "Being an analyst wouldn't hurt, and could help! Blackstone maybe too competitive, but you can find lists of other firms on the rankings pages at cmalert.com and realert.com\n\nSkip the random certifications. You'll learn argus and excel on the job. I agree with u/boyofparadise in saying that you should spend time learning VBA, SQL, possibly python, as those are hard to learn on the job, but pay dividends (and you can learn for free on the web). I would add that there is a dearth of maths/stats and writing skills in this industry, so spending your days learning more about both will give you a boost on the job. \n\nIf you want a leg up on your master's or your first job, build a strong foundation. Work on the basic concepts. A good textbook would be geltner/miller. You can find some interesting papers and presentations on the RERI website or the NCREIF website.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]