USC graduates continue to be in high demand in the regional and domestic marketplace with many students placed before graduation and several receiving multiple job offers. Undergraduate student placements were predominantly in real estate finance, consulting, and brokerage, drawing average salaries of $40,000. Opportunities in development and finance drew graduates from USC masters degrees – MBA real estate concentration and Master of Real Estate Development – where students commanded an average salary plus bonus of $107,000.
Homebuilding continues to be the strongest sector. Toll Brothers, Centex Homes, Shea Homes, Wood Partners, Comstock Homes, and Lewis Operating Corp. have actively recruited May graduates. The commercial sector is also represented with Regency Centers and Trammell Crow holding on-campus interviews this Spring. Both debt and equity placement hold a strong interest for students interested in real estate finance careers. Legg Mason Real Estate Investors, George Smith Partners, Wells Fargo Bank, Secured Capital Corp., and Eastdil Realty Company will all add USC graduates to their firms this year. In February, the Lusk Center hosted its Annual Real Estate Industry Night. Eighty firms interviewed 160 students making this one of the largest recruitment events of its kind in the US. Data on recent graduates is now available through the publication Real Estate Employment Report.
Firms are invited to recruit USC real estate students through numerous options described on the Employers pages of the Lusk Center website.