Three hours. One asset.
Your model, marked out of 25.
This Real Estate Financial Modelling Test is a free assessment where you build a quarterly cash flow model for a prime London office investment — the same timed case study we use to assess analyst candidates for real estate firms. Sit it free and receive a scored report against five professional criteria.
No payment. No trick questions. Just Excel, a brief, and the clock.| Q1 2027 | Q2 2027 | Q3 2027 | … | Q40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net rental income | 312,500 | 312,500 | 318,750 | … | 402,300 |
| Void costs | — | (41,200) | — | … | — |
| Capex | — | (87,500) | — | … | — |
| Debt service | (96,400) | (96,400) | (96,400) | … | (96,400) |
| Net cash flow | 216,100 | 87,400 | 222,350 | … | 305,900 |
What the Real Estate Financial Modelling Test involves
This is the case study Cambridge Finance runs for analyst recruitment at real estate investment firms. You get the same brief, the same time limit and the same marking standard.
You receive an investment brief for a prime City of London office asset, with lease terms, market assumptions and financing parameters. From a near-blank workbook, you build a quarterly cash flow model over the holding period: rental income and rent reviews, void costs and capex, debt service, and exit.
From your model you produce the key performance indicators an investment committee would expect — unlevered and levered returns, NPV and profit — plus a sensitivity analysis showing how the investment case moves with the variables that matter.
Your submission is then marked by a CFA and MRICS-qualified assessor against the Cambridge Finance framework, and you receive a written assessment report with a score for each criterion — the same report format our recruiting clients see. If you’d like a deeper grounding before you sit the Real Estate Financial Modelling Test, our book on real estate financial modelling in Excel covers the same techniques step by step.
Five criteria. Five marks each.
Every submission is marked against the same framework we use for live analyst recruitment — so your score means something.
Financial Modelling & Formula Writing
Clean, consistent, draggable formulas. No hardcoding. Logical structure with inputs, workings and outputs kept apart.
Scenario & Sensitivity Analysis
Working data tables on the variables that genuinely drive the investment case — and outputs that actually calculate.
Analytical Thinking & Commercial Judgement
Do your assumptions reflect how leases, rent reviews, voids, capex and exits work in the real market?
Excel Formatting & Presentation
A model someone else could open, navigate and trust: clear layout, consistent formats, key metrics up front.
Creativity & Model Adaptability
Initiative beyond the brief — flexible structure, useful additional outputs, a model built to be changed.
How the Real Estate Financial Modelling Test works
Register free
Book your sitting by email. You’ll receive the candidate instructions and an integrity declaration to sign before you start.
Receive the brief
At your start time you get the case study brief and the Excel workbook. Read carefully — the details matter.
Build for 3 hours
Model the investment under exam conditions, recording your screen throughout. Submit your file when the clock stops.
Get your report
A qualified assessor marks your model against the framework and sends you a written assessment report with your score out of 25.
Fair, transparent, and taken seriously.
The test is run under the same conditions as our live recruitment assessments, so your result stands up.
AI tools are permitted
You may use AI assistants during the test — but you must fully understand and be able to defend every formula and assumption in your model. It’s your name on the file.
Screen recording required
You record your full 3-hour session and submit the recording with your workbook. This protects the integrity of your result.
Integrity declaration
Every candidate signs a short declaration confirming the work is their own and the conditions were followed.
Marked by professionals
Submissions are assessed by Cambridge Finance’s CFA and MRICS-qualified team — real estate modelling specialists, not an auto-grader.
Built for people who want proof, not promises.
Breaking into real estate
Find out exactly where you stand against the bar that investment firms actually set — before you’re in a live interview process.
Sharpening your modelling
Benchmark your Excel and underwriting skills against a professional framework, get written feedback on what to fix, and pair your result from the Real Estate Financial Modelling Test with one of our training courses to close the gaps.
Recruiting analysts
See the assessment from the candidate’s side — then talk to us about running invigilated versions for your own recruitment.
Sit the Real Estate Financial Modelling Test today
Email us to book your free sitting of the Real Estate Financial Modelling Test. We’ll send your candidate instructions and confirm your start time. Hiring teams can also explore our consulting services for running invigilated versions internally.
Register free by email info@cambridgerefinance.com · London, UK · Sittings run remotely worldwide
