Entries by Spencer Burton

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Best Practices in Real Estate Financial Modeling (Updated Nov 2025)

Before you use one of our real estate financial models (i.e. Excel templates), or before you set out to build your own real estate analysis tool in Excel, it’s important to keep in mind a few real estate financial modeling best practices. This list combines industry conventions for modeling in Excel, with various suggestions specific […]

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Office Real Estate Development Model (Updated Nov 2025)

I’m excited to share my Office Development Model in Excel. This pro forma analysis tool comes as I’ve continued to build and share specialty real estate models, tailor-made for specific investment scenarios and property types. This model is an adaptation of my Industrial Development Model. It’s specifically built to analyze both merchant-build and build-to-core, ground-up […]

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How to Prepare for the Real Estate Technical Interview (Updated Nov 2025)

So you’ve made it past the HR screening interview. You have the education and experience the company is looking for, but now they want to be sure you possess the real estate financial modeling skills necessary to do the job. They’ve asked you to take part in a multi-hour real estate technical interview. In that interview, they’ll […]

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Deep Dive: Careers in Commercial Real Estate (Updated Nov 2025)

The real estate industry is enormous. In the United States alone, over 2.9 million jobs are tied to commercial real estate, 17% of GDP comes from the real estate industry, and the aggregate value of U.S. commercial real estate is approximately $20.7 trillion. Yet, in spite of its impact and size, there is still a […]

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Retail Real Estate Development Model (Updated Oct 2025)

I’m excited to share my Retail Development Model in Excel. This pro forma analysis tool comes as I’ve continued to build and share specialty real estate models, tailor-made for specific investment scenarios and property types. This model is an adaptation of my Office Development Model and Industrial Development Model. It’s specifically built to analyze both […]

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Industrial Real Estate Development Model (Updated Oct 2025)

Allow me to share my Industrial Development Model in Excel. Over the past few years, I’ve been working to add more specialty real estate models to our library. While our All-in-One model certainly has its place, oftentimes really digging into the underwriting of a deal takes a hyper-focused tool. This model has spawned sister Office […]

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The Definitive Guide to Microsoft Excel for Real Estate (Updated Oct 2025)

Microsoft Excel is the primary tool used by real estate financial modeling professionals. Even while numerous non-Excel alternatives have attempted to de-throne Excel, the 35+ year-old software has shown to be surprisingly resilient to competition. And thus, if you intend to work in real estate you must be proficient in Excel. So what does it […]

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AI Tools for Commercial Real Estate (Fall 2025 Edition)

If you haven’t noticed, we’ve been exploring use cases, training, and tools related to AI in commercial real estate a lot lately! The reason is that Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to revolutionize the commercial real estate industry by transforming the way acquisitions, development, management, advisory, and marketing teams in the industry operate. AI tools […]