Archive of the Undergraduate Real Estate Scholars, the student real estate organization at the University of Houston's C.T. Bauer College of Business (2014–2026). Pages are preserved as they were published; the organization is no longer active and this site is not affiliated with the University of Houston.

Entry-Level Real Estate Analyst Jobs: Where They Are and How to Get One With No Experience (2026)

Guide · by the uhures.com archive editors · updated 2026-10-10

Checked in October 2026. Postings and program pages were read on October 10, 2026, and the dates in the tables come from those pages.

An entry-level real estate analyst role is a first job in commercial real estate, and some firms hire for it with no experience. This guide shows what postings read in October 2026 ask for, when programs recruit, and how to build the skills. For what the job involves day to day, see the real estate analyst guide.

Is an analyst an entry-level position?

In commercial real estate postings, yes: Analyst is usually the first rung, and the experience asked for climbs with each title. Hines postings in 2026 list Analyst at 1+ year, Senior Analyst at 2+ years, and Associate or Senior Associate at 3+ years. JLL postings in October 2026 list Analyst at 1-3 years, Senior Analyst at 2-5, and Capital Markets Associate at 2-6. Marcus & Millichap's Associate, Capital Markets posting wants 3 to 4 years.

The ranges overlap, and the title alone does not settle it. Hines posts an "Analyst or Senior Analyst" Fund Management role in Houston that asks for 2+ years and sets the title by experience. Read the years line, not the title. The real estate analyst hub covers the analyst types, and real estate career paths covers where the title leads.

"Entry level to 3+ years in commercial real estate."JLL, Analyst, Pittsburgh job posting (2026)

What entry-level real estate analyst jobs look like in October 2026

The table lists ten of the postings read, chosen to span firms, cities and entry-level asks. Each is a posting read October 2026, so some may close; use the pattern, not the specific opening. Pay is shown only where the posting printed it.

Firm	Title as posted	City	Years asked	Posted pay	Degree	Tools named
Walker & Dunlop	Financial Analyst, Transactions	Needham, MA	"Entry level position"; real estate experience preferred	$55,000-$65,000 est. base plus bonus	Economics, business, finance or equivalent experience strongly preferred	MS Excel, database software
Cushman & Wakefield	Financial Analyst, Capital Markets	Washington, DC	0-2	$64,175-$75,500	Bachelor's preferred; degree-less combination of education and experience may be considered	Argus Enterprise preferred, Excel
Cushman & Wakefield	Financial Analyst	Morristown, NJ	0-2	$59,500-$70,000	Bachelor's preferred (Business, Finance, Accounting, Real Estate, etc.)	ARGUS, Excel discounted cash flow models, CoStar
JLL	Analyst	Pittsburgh, PA	Entry level to 3+	$60,000-$65,000	Bachelor's preferred	Excel, PowerPoint, Word
JLL	Transaction Analyst	New York, NY	0-3	$75,000	Business, Finance, Real Estate or related	Excel, PowerPoint, Word
JLL	Analyst, Production Support	Los Angeles, CA	1-3	$70,000-$80,000	Real Estate, Finance or Accounting	ARGUS Enterprise considered
Berkadia	Real Estate Analyst (hybrid)	Dallas, TX	0-3	Not printed	Bachelor's or equivalent	Advanced Microsoft Office including Excel
Hines	Analyst, Development & Acquisitions	Seattle, WA	1+	$97,000-$123,000 plus bonus	Bachelor's	Excel, PowerPoint, aptitude for Argus
Greystar	Development Analyst	Boston, MA	Encourages Dec 2026 graduates or 1-2	$95,000-$114,000	Finance, business, real estate, economics or related	Not stated
Cushman & Wakefield	Research Analyst	Las Vegas, NV	1+	$63,750-$75,000	Industry-related bachelor's preferred	Not stated

The tools column repeats across firms: Excel in nearly every row, ARGUS in several, CoStar in one. On remote work, 0 of the 20 entry and mid-level analyst postings read on October 10, 2026 were fully remote. The Walker & Dunlop role is the one hybrid example with stated days: in the office Tuesday to Thursday, remote Mondays and Fridays.

"This is an entry level position."Walker & Dunlop, Financial Analyst, Transactions job posting (2026)

Walker & Dunlop's Training Academy runs financial modeling courses from October 6 to November 19, 2026; the page states no price.

Where to look for entry-level real estate analyst jobs

Firms that post analyst roles include brokerages, lenders, developers, and investment managers.

Start with the career sites of firms that post analyst titles: CBRE, JLL, Hines, Greystar, Transwestern, Cushman & Wakefield, Berkadia, and Marcus & Millichap. The career search pages are listed in Sources. Beyond firm sites:

The A.CRE job board lists commercial real estate jobs "for all levels, from analyst to senior executive," and on October 10, 2026 showed an asset management analyst role and two Heitman 2027 summer internships. Whether it is free for job seekers is not stated on the page.
SelectLeaders is a commercial real estate job site; its job page says creating a candidate account is free.
LinkedIn and Indeed work best when you search the exact titles in the table: acquisitions analyst, underwriting analyst, asset management analyst, development analyst, research analyst.
Your university career center. The University of Houston Bauer Rockwell Career Center offers one-on-one coaching, career fairs, on-campus interviewing, and the Bauer Career Gateway portal, though its October 2026 event list showed no real estate employer session.
Industry groups. The Houston real estate networking events guide covers ULI, CREDA, and CCIM chapters.

Firms posting analyst roles in Houston in October 2026 included Hines (Fund Management, 1+ and 2+ years), CBRE (Agency Asset Analyst, 2 years; Loan Servicing Analyst; Investor Asset Management Sr Analyst, 2-5 years), JLL (Analyst, Freddie Mac Closing), and Transwestern (Analyst, Debt & Equity Placement). Camden Property Trust showed no analyst-titled posting. The archive's Industry Placements page lists firms where URES members reported internships and jobs, and several of these names appear on it.

When to apply: the recruiting calendar

Most 2027 programs opened in late summer or fall 2026. Colgate's career office says entry-level real estate jobs start to appear late in the first semester and that students should be ready to search by late fall. Notre Dame's career center says large national real estate firms typically interview in summer and fall, while developers and smaller regional firms interview in both fall and spring.

Program	Who qualifies	Opens	Closes	What the page says about assessments
Berkadia 2027 Rotational Analyst Program, Houston	12-month program; no visa sponsorship	Posted Sept 10, 2026	Sept 27, 2026	Three phases: recruiter screen, verbal case study, local team assessment
Hines ElevatE Rotation Program, Houston	Graduating Dec 2026 to May 2027; bachelor's or master's in real estate, finance, construction management, economics or related	Posted Sept 1, 2026	Not stated	Not stated; lists Excel financial modeling experience
Eastdil Secured Savills 2027 U.S. Analyst Program	Not stated	Open as of Oct 2026	Not stated	Not stated
Eastdil Secured Savills Virtual Real Estate Finance Training	Current students at accredited colleges	Not stated	May 31, 2027	Not stated; complete registrations are accepted automatically
JLL Capital Markets Summer 2027 Internship	Current junior graduating Summer 2028; permanent US work authorization	Posted Sept 21 and 30, 2026	Not stated	Not stated
CBRE 2027 Finance Summer Analyst Internship	Prioritizes current juniors; a corporate finance role	Posted mid-Sept 2026 (about 28 days before Oct 10)	Not stated	Not stated
Cushman & Wakefield EIC 2027 Summer Intern, New York	Rising juniors; graduation Spring 2027 to Spring 2028	Posted Sept 8, 2026	Not stated	Not stated
Greystar Summer Development Analyst, Seattle	Graduating Dec 2027 to May 2028 in real estate, finance, business or related	Posted Aug 31, 2026	Not stated	Not stated
Walker & Dunlop 2027 internship	Students	"Late fall" 2026	Not stated	Not stated

A Hines Summer 2027 analyst internship was not open on October 10, 2026.

Most internships in this table are for rising juniors. A May 2027 graduate should look first at Hines ElevatE (Houston, graduation December 2026 to May 2027, no closing date printed) and full-time analyst postings. JLL's Denver capital markets posting states that applicants graduating in May 2027 will not be considered, so check each posting's graduation window. Berkadia's 2027 program closed September 27, 2026. Greystar also fills some full-time roles in the fall: its Boston development analyst posting says it is filling the role immediately and encourages December 2026 graduates. For internship routes, see commercial real estate internships. The Eastdil virtual training program runs the week of June 14, 2027, covers Excel and real estate financial modeling, and the page states no price.

How do I get into real estate analyst roles with no experience?

Five steps follow from what the postings and program pages ask for. The how to get into commercial real estate guide covers the wider route.

Get a real estate internship. Greystar's internship page says summer interns get peer mentors, an August capstone presentation, and early consideration for full-time roles. JLL's internship postings list valuation support in Argus and Excel and lease abstracts as duties.
Learn financial modeling. Start in Microsoft Excel. According to the A.CRE Library of Excel Models (2026), it lists 156 models that are free or pay what you are able. For ARGUS Enterprise, ICSC's student certificate training costs a flat $450 as of 2026, with the general application closing November 11, 2026 (the grant application closes November 6) for the winter cohort. Applicants must be ICSC Student Members and submit a transcript, a modeling course certificate, or an internship supervisor letter as proof of prior financial modeling. Altus Group's ARGUS University program works through accredited universities and does not publish a price.
Build a portfolio project. No posting read asks for one, so treat this as the editors' suggestion: practice real estate underwriting on one property, starting from a rent roll, project net operating income, and test a capitalization rate, a discounted cash flow, an internal rate of return, a debt service coverage ratio, and a loan-to-value ratio. Finish with a one-page investment memorandum, the written recommendation analysts hand to senior staff, and note the due diligence documents you would request. Altus Group's ARGUS University Challenge asks students to present an investment analysis of a fictitious opportunity, so the format has precedent.
Network. See the quote below, then use the networking events guide.
Apply to the right titles, at the experience level the table shows, and early in the fall.

"Most real estate companies do not formally recruit or participate in job fairs, so networking and being proactive is paramount."Colgate Career Development, real estate career paths (2026)

Transferable skills count when they show quantitative ability. Cushman & Wakefield's Morristown and Boston postings and JLL's Los Angeles posting name accounting among accepted degrees. Greystar's Excelsior development analyst posting values public accounting experience, and JLL's Miami posting names accounting among acceptable degrees. Colgate's career office says showing quantitative abilities is what firms want most.

Resume and cover letter for a first analyst role

Build the resume from the words postings use: Excel, PowerPoint, ARGUS, CoStar, financial modeling, underwriting, and lease abstracts. Keep it to one page, show property valuation or real estate market research work if you did any, put modeling coursework, internships, and the portfolio project above unrelated jobs, and name tools only if you used them. The cover letter is one paragraph: name the posting's title, quote one requirement from it, and give one example where you met it, such as a model you built and what it showed. Do not claim ARGUS experience you do not have; JLL's Los Angeles posting says only that experience or certification is "considered," and Hines wants aptitude.

The analyst interview and modeling test

Only one source read describes the stages. Berkadia's 2027 Rotational Analyst Program posting lists a recruiter screen, a verbal case study, and a local team assessment. The JLL, CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Hines, and Greystar program pages read in October 2026 do not mention an assessment, case study, or Excel test, and the Hines ElevatE posting lists only Excel financial modeling experience. A firm may still test candidates; none has published it. Prepare for a walk through a model you built and for questions on the metrics named above.

What entry-level analysts earn

Posted ranges in the table run from $55,000 at Walker & Dunlop to $123,000 at Hines, with the two highest ranges (Hines, Greystar) in development and acquisitions roles. Ten postings are too few to separate city from role. According to BLS (May 2025), financial and investment analysts across all industries had a national 10th percentile wage of $63,720, a 25th percentile of $79,290, and a median of $102,740. For Houston, the 10th percentile was $66,730 and the 25th was $79,990. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook lists a bachelor's degree as typical entry education and no related work experience required.

Is $70,000 a good salary for this work? JLL's Los Angeles and San Diego postings (October 2026) post $70,000 to $80,000 for 1-3 years, which starts below the BLS 25th percentile of $79,290 and ends just above it, but the BLS group includes every industry and experience level. The real estate analyst guide has the full salary-by-city table.

Frequently asked questions

How to get into real estate analyst?

Get a bachelor's degree in business, finance, real estate, or a related field, build Excel modeling skills with ARGUS familiarity if possible, then apply through an internship, rotational program, or analyst posting. Postings read in October 2026 asked for 0-3 years, and BLS lists no related work experience as required for financial and investment analysts.

Do I need a degree to be a real estate analyst?

Usually yes, though not always. BLS gives a bachelor's as typical entry education, but Cushman & Wakefield's Washington, DC posting says education without a degree plus relevant work experience may be considered, and Walker & Dunlop's Needham posting prefers a bachelor's "or equivalent experience."

Do I need a license to be a real estate analyst?

No license is named in any analyst posting or program page read for this guide. The qualifications they list are a degree, Excel and financial modeling skills, and sometimes ARGUS. Licensing questions belong to agents and brokers, which is a different role.

Can I become a real estate analyst from a non-finance major?

Yes, if you can show quantitative skills. Greystar's Excelsior posting accepts finance, accounting, business, real estate, economics, construction, architecture, or related degrees, and Colgate's career office says commercial real estate offers paths for liberal arts students. Expect to prove your Excel modeling.

Are entry-level real estate analyst jobs remote?

Mostly no: none of the 20 entry and mid-level analyst postings read on October 10, 2026 was fully remote. JLL and Cushman & Wakefield labeled theirs on-site and Berkadia hybrid. Walker & Dunlop's entry-level Needham role is hybrid, with remote work on Mondays and Fridays.

Prices and eligibility for ARGUS, modeling courses and designations are compared in real estate analyst certifications and courses.

Sources

All sources read on October 10, 2026.