There are some great posts, blogs and a few superb pod casts here about that exact subject.

Lenders are very analytical so that probably tells a story in itself.

That's interesting data mining and sounds like an analytical approach.  

My primary interest lies in the commercial real estate sector, given my finance and data analytical background.

I haven't got an easy way to filter the data currently, but using our Google Analytics, I can tell you that California is easily our largest user base, followed by Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois -- within Cali, our visitors are mostly from the LA area, followed by SF and San Diego.In terms of Metro areas, NYC is tops, followed by LA, DC, Chicago, SF, Dallas-Ft.

As a financial analyst, you have the quantitative and analytical background to do great in the field.

I also plan to sit down with them and get as much information as I can.I am the typical analytical type person.

Those very real and very impactful opinions of areas are vital and go beyond analytics and numbers.  

It's an addicting and very fun industry to be a part of and for someone who is analytical, it will spark your creativity when needed!

I would seriously rethink your analytical approach and definitions of profitability.