Tishman Speyer interview questions

A foundational real estate development question.

What is a development spread and why does it matter?

Development interviews test whether you understand the risk premium being earned.

Why would a developer build a property rather than buy an existing one? Quantify the return they're targeting and name the risks they're taking.

Tests whether candidates understand development value is exposed to capital markets at delivery.

A development is expected to stabilise at $8m NOI and sell at a 5.0% cap rate. What happens if exit cap rates move to 6.0%?

A development analyst case sequencing entitlements, GMP procurement, financing and pre-leasing under a delayed approval.

You are the development associate for a mixed-use project. A planning delay threatens the targeted completion date and construction loan availability. Manage the critical path as new facts arrive,…

How a developer decides what a site is worth. And the calculation is unforgiving.

A site can support 200,000 sf of apartments. Stabilised NOI would be $9m, exit cap 5.5%, hard and soft costs $110m, and you require a 20% profit margin on cost. What can you pay for the land?

Common in office and retail asset-management interviews because recoveries determine whether an apparent expense overrun reaches NOI.

In a multi-tenant office building, annual controllable operating expenses are $1.20 million. A tenant occupies 10% of the building and its lease requires reimbursement of its pro-rata share of…

Capex allocation is a critical asset management decision. This tests return-on-investment thinking.

You have a $2 million capex budget for a value-add office building. How do you prioritise competing projects (lobby renovation, HVAC upgrade, parking resurfacing, amenity space)?

Asset enhancement creates value beyond basic property management. This tests strategic creativity.

What are the common strategies to enhance real estate assets, and how do you determine which are appropriate for a given property?

A senior asset-management case where a ground-rent reset could alter debt capacity and the buyer universe ahead of sale.

Your fund owns a retail asset on a ground lease with 18 years remaining. Current ground rent is $900,000 and resets in two years to the greater of current rent grown at 3% or 6% of appraised land…

A live asset-management case testing whether a candidate can protect both near-term NOI and exit value during a major office rollover.

A 20,000-square-foot office tenant is deciding whether to renew. The tenant offers a seven-year renewal at $52 per square foot with nine months of free rent, $28 per square foot of TI and $12 per…

The underwriting exercise behind every value-add acquisition.

You're buying an office building at $8m in-place NOI and underwriting $11m stabilised. Build the bridge and tell me which components you trust.

A real estate acquisitions case tests whether a candidate can turn a rent roll into a forward NOI view.

You are underwriting a $60m suburban office acquisition. Its trailing NOI is $4.2m, but the tenant representing 35% of rent expires in 14 months and pays $42 per square foot. Recent signed leases in…

A senior real estate interview case testing whether a candidate can separate cheap basis from a durable office thesis.

A 1980s downtown office building is offered at a 55% discount to its 2019 price. It is 45% occupied, requires $25m of capital expenditure and sits near newer amenitised buildings. Would you pursue it?