This is really a question that you should be addressing to career placement at your target schools.
In short, real estate recruiting really depends heavily upon the status of the real estate markets that these firms are active in. If the markets are depressed, then they will not be developing and probably will not have much need for new talent. Also, there are a few schools with premier real estate programs and more developers recruit at these schools -- like Wharton, Columbia, MIT, Anderson, Haas....
I cannot comment on the compensation packages offered as I do not work in this industry. I can say that I do have friends who do and there is very little job turnover in the past few years and most of these people have worked at the same firm for more than five years. Consulting is a much more fluid field and since the firms are larger and have many more practice areas, they usually recruit a lot more and more consistently.
Good luck.
Kimberly Plaga
Senior Admissions Consultant
Manhattan Review