Jobs in Commercial Real Estate | ASSET MANAGEMENT

CRE Asset Manager Careers & Career Paths

Asset managers liaise with contractors and vendors, as well as assist property managers in the operations of properties. This includes conducting financial analysis and performing market research. Property asset manager are responsible for the overall health of a firm’s portfolio. What are some of the job titles that asset managers may hold within CRE?

1. Asset manager
2. CRE investment analyst
3. CRE analyst
4. Senior property manager
5. Real estate operations manager
6. Acquisitions analyst
7. Portfolio manager
8. Chief investment officer (CIO)

Commercial Real Estate Asset Manager Education

1. Bachelor's degree in finance, real estate, business, business administration, or a related field
2. Master's degree (MBA or MFin) preferred
3. Certifications: CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst), CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member), BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association)

Career Fields for Asset Managers

What fields do CRE asset managers work in? What types of firms and organizations typically hire an asset manager? These are examples of the types of companies that typically employ CRE asset managers:

1. Investment firms
2. Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
3. Private equity firms
4. Real estate firms
5. CRE brokerage firms
6. Hedge funds
7. Property management companies

Keywords That Employers Look For

Your resume and profile will stand out among applicants when you use the language that hiring firms look for in CRE asset managers. Focus not only on hard skills, such as cash flow management and experience with property transactions, but also soft skills such as analytical thinking, leadership ability, and excellent interpersonal communication skills.

Hard skills for CRE asset management

1. Financial modeling: Proficiency in creating and analyzing complex financial models.
2. Cash flow management: Understanding positive cash flow by analyzing outgoing cash and finding ways to mitigate expenses.
3. Portfolio analysis: Stress testing and simulating changes to see effects on the company portfolio.
4. Market & competitor analysis: Analyzing the market trends as well as competitor properties/assets.
5. Portfolio management: Managing and optimizing real estate investment portfolios.
6. Property transactions: Negotiating sale prices and creating leases or rental agreements.

Soft skills for CRE asset management professionals

1. Communication: Ability to professionally communicate with vendors, property managers, customers, and tenants.
2. Negotiation: Strong negotiation skills to close deals and secure favorable terms on assets.
3. Leadership: Capability to oversee a team of property managers.
4. Analytical thinking: Strong analytical and critical thinking skills to evaluate the strength of the portfolio based on the market.
5. Time management: Skills in prioritizing tasks, meeting deadlines, and working in fast-paced environments.
6. Hiring: Experience in hiring property managers and overseeing their work across multiple properties.
7. Problem-solving mindset: A positive, solutions-oriented mindset for quickly resolving conflicts.

Software tools and apps that CRE asset managers use

1. Financial modeling and analysis: Microsoft Excel, Argus Enterprise, Tableau
2. Property management: MRI, DoorLoop, Buildium
3. Deal management and workflow: DealCloud, Intralinks, Ansarada, Midaxo
4. Data and market research: Biscred, CoStar, Real Capital Analytics, REIS, SNL Real Estate, Capital IQ, Orbis, Crunchbase, FactSet, Bloomberg Terminal
5. Presentation and visualization: Microsoft PowerPoint, ThinkCell, Tableau, Qlik
6. Document management and collaboration: Microsoft SharePoint, iDeals, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive
7. Investment management: Yardi Investment Manager, AppFolio Investment Manager, MRI Software, Intapp
8. Risk management and compliance: Intapp Conflicts, Intapp Employee Compliance, Compliance.ai, ComplySci
9. Startup and private company data: Biscred, Crunchbase, Tracxn, Preqin
10. Project management: Asana, Trello, Monday, Wrike, Zoho Projects, Teamwork, Jira, Basecamp, Clarizen

Commercial real estate asset manager: industry outlook

1. Median salary U.S.: Ranges between $86,000 and $142,000 per year or $41 to $68 per hour
2. Projected job growth: 17% per year through 2033
3. Employment 2023: 837,100
4. Employment projected 2033: 975,400
5. Top 5 states for CRE asset manager jobs (number of jobs, annual mean wage):
6. California (97,400, $196,670)
7. Texas (63,800, $170,970)
8. New York (62,800, $241,150)
9. Illinois (48,810, $173,210)
10. Florida (42,740, $162,180)
11. Top industries (percentage of industry employment):
12. Investment pools and funds (6%)
13. Securities, commodity contracts (4.65%)
14. Credit intermediation (5.21%)
15. Monetary authorities (4.47%)
16. Non-depository credit intermediation (4.39%)

CRE asset management licensure, certification, and professional associations

1. CFA: Chartered Financial Analyst Institute
2. CCIM: Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute
3. BOMA: Building Owners and Managers Association
4. IREM: Institute of Real Estate Management
5. CBRM: Certified Business Relationship Manager
6. CCRA: Certified Credit and Risk Analysis

*Industry outlook is based on a variety of factors and could change any time. We pull our data from a variety of sources to give a general idea of employment and salary. It should also be noted that job titles and job descriptions vary, based on company, industry and geography, and much of our data is pulled from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. To understand how the BLS codifies jobs and updates its Occupational Outlook Handbook, read their FAQs.

¹ Ascendix, CRE Software: 18 Best Tools to Use in 2024, 2024-11-12, accessed 2024-12-06

² Capterra, Commercial Real Estate Software, accessed 2024-12-06

³ InMotion Real Estate Media, 43 Commercial real Estate Technology Tools [2024 Update], accessed 2024-12-06

⁴ Fyxt, 13 Commercial Property Management Software of 2024: Reviewed & Compared, 2024-01-02, accessed 2024-12-06

⁵ Glassdoor, How much does a Cre Asset Manager make? 2024-06-06, accessed 2024-12-06

⁶ ZipRecruiter, Real Estate Asset Manager Salary, accessed 2024-12-06

⁷ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook for Financial Managers,2024-08-29, accessed 2024-12-06

⁸ The BLS doesn’t track data for “commercial real estate asset manager”. We used the broader category of financial managers, which includes CRE asset managers.

⁹ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Geographic profile for Financial Managers, 2023-May, accessed 2024-12-06