eFinancialCareers

Money managers and other investors are holding more commercial properties as part of their portfolios. That's driving demand for investment professionals with real estate expertise.

"Holding real estate as an alternative investment diversification tool has made its way into the financial models of many money managers," concludes a research report on the office market from Grubb & Ellis Property Solutions Worldwide. That bodes well for finance professionals with real estate expertise, especially if it involves investment analysis or valuation in markets like the New York metropolitan area. Sandra Albo, president of Pro Advantage Executive Search Firm in New York City, is seeing a wide variety of finance jobs related to the real estate field. "It’s all due to the growth in the financial markets, and that keeps real estate strong," she says.

"It's really the hedge funds and the private equity firms that are driving the push for prime space in midtown, as are many of the international companies that are looking to establish or expand their footprint there," says Eric Rothman, managing principal of Hamilton, Rabinovitz, & Alschuler, a real estate development advisory firm. He believes the outlook for 2007 remains strong in the New York area, particularly in midtown Manhattan.

Fundamentals

Despite the downturn in other sectors of the country, the outlook for real estate in the New York City and New Jersey area, particularly for office and retail space, remains strong, as does the prospect for finance jobs related to the field.

Manhattan real estate sales grew from $15 billion in 2004 to $34 billion in 2006, including investment in office, residential, hotel, redevelopment, land, and other properties, according to data from the New York office of Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate brokerage and management firm. Considering market demand, the outlook for 2007 also appears to be strong, as will the related push for jobs in the field.

The desire for prime commercial and retail space in New York City and the nearby New Jersey "Gold Coast" continues to drive the growing job market. (The Gold Coast includes the region across the Hudson River in Bergen and Hudson Counties.)

Grubb & Ellis also sees an active market for commercial real estate investment in Northern and Central New Jersey as institutional investors, real estate investment trusts, and pension funds continue to scour the landscape near New York for prime holdings. That also portends job opportunities within those firms.