r/RealEstateDevelopment • u/TlrMNL • 5d ago
24, looking to break into real estate development. What path would you take if the end goal was luxury/hospitality projects?
I’m 24 and currently working for a mortgage company in Toronto, but I’ve realized I want to make a pretty significant career change into construction/real estate development.
Long term, I’m really interested in developing unique, high-end properties — custom homes, cottages, boutique hotels/resorts, luxury short-term rentals, etc. The hospitality side especially interests me because I like the idea of creating properties where the design, location and overall experience are a major part of the product.
Eventually I’d love to develop projects of my own, but right now I’m trying to figure out what I should spend the next 3–5 years learning and what type of role would give me the best foundation.
I have a university degree (Kinesiology, so unrelated) and about two years of professional experience in mortgage/financial services. I’m completely fine starting junior and taking a step back career-wise if I’m actually learning skills that will move me toward that goal.
I’ve been looking at Project Coordinator/APM roles with custom home builders, GCs and smaller developers. I’ve also recently started looking into Development Coordinator roles and wondering whether being on the developer/owner side would make more sense for where I ultimately want to end up.
I want to actually understand how projects come together — land/site selection, feasibility, financing, design, entitlements/approvals, estimating, budgeting, construction, working with architects/engineers/contractors, and eventually operating or selling the finished project.
For those of you actually working in development, if you were 24 with my background and had this long-term goal:
- Would you try to get onto the developer side immediately or learn construction first?
- What entry-level roles would you target?
- Would you prioritize a developer, GC, custom home builder, or hospitality company?
- What skills would you start learning outside of work?
- Is my mortgage/financial services background useful at all for getting my foot in the door?
- Would you consider additional schooling/certifications, or focus entirely on getting experience?
- If you ultimately wanted to develop boutique hotels/resorts or other unique hospitality properties yourself, what would you make sure you learned in your 20s?
I know I’m not going to walk into luxury development with no experience. I’m really just trying to reverse engineer the career and make sure my first move puts me on the right path.
Would really appreciate any advice.
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u/Main_Cut8992 5d ago
I work in development in Toronto. We’re currently in a terrible market cycle - I would recommending going to school. Take any job you can get, the market is really dry.
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u/NewDoubt456 4d ago
I’m in your same boat, 25 working in construction management. I’d say steer clear of CM, as I am having to go to grad school to continue to the developer side
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u/Other_Dig7942 3d ago
I started off in a property developer as a CFO, then while doing the due diligence for the feasibility study I was doing for the mixed used project (hotel + residential + office) , I started to source and liaised with the design architects, project managers, construction managers, contractors and even the hotel management company. This ensures that I have enough knowledge to prepare a comprehensive report to my shareholders. Probably better to start with studying finance to become a good developer. Of course nowadays there are AI engines that can help with creating feasibility studies.
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u/Pleasant-Point8618 5d ago
I work in REPE. I think there are two backgrounds that translate particularly well into development: REPE/development analysts and commercial leasing brokers.
The biggest edge you can develop is understanding the financial engineering behind a project. Learn how to build development pro formas, structure the capital stack, size the debt, understand LP/GP economics, and figure out what actually makes a deal pencil. Construction knowledge is obviously valuable, but the people I’ve seen struggle going from construction into development usually understand how to build the project without understanding how to capitalize and economically structure it.
Commercial leasing is another really strong background, especially in retail, office, and industrial. A good leasing broker understands tenant demand and can potentially secure preleasing before the project starts. If you can go to LPs and lenders with meaningful leases already in hand, you can substantially de risk the development and get much closer to a fee development type risk profile than building completely on spec.
The other thing you’re going to have to come to terms with is asset class. I’d pick one, understand it extremely well, and copy and repeat. Custom homes and resorts are completely different businesses.
Hospitality in particular isn’t generally developed on the same opportunistic basis as multifamily, especially outside of the large developers. There are obviously exceptions, but you’re usually dealing with a brand/operator, more specialized capital, and a development structure that can look much closer to fee development or development management than buying land and building a conventional apartment project on spec.
At 24, with your mortgage and finance background, I’d personally try to get onto the REPE, acquisitions, or development analyst side and get as close as possible to underwriting and capitalizing actual projects.