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September 2004
Wharton News
Bertram L. Wolstein - In Memoriam
The Zell/Lurie Center regrets to note the passing away of our long-time friend Bertram L. Wolstein, Chairman, Developers Diversified Realty Corporation. We join his son, Scott, and many friends throughout the industry in mourning this sad loss.
Center Hosts PREA Institute
For the second time, the Zell/Lurie Center was pleased to host the PREA Institute at the Wharton School. Joseph Gyourko, Center Director, worked together with the PREA Institute Committee to develop a well-received curriculum entitled "Evaluating Risks and Opportunities in the Economy at an Inflection Point." Wharton Professors Jeremy Siegel, Andrew Metrick, Peter Linneman, Joseph Gyourko and Asuka Nakahara gave presentations at the three day conference, as did practitioner Paul Levy of the Center City District in downtown Philadelphia.
Club President Receives Two Prestigious Awards
Ben Dunford, Co- President of the Wharton MBA Real Estate Club, received the ICSC Educational Foundation (ICSCEF) Scholarship, given to outstanding students who have demonstrated a strong interest in retail or real estate. He was also the recipient of the ULI-Kenneth M. Good Graduate Student Fellowship. The Fellowship is presented to outstanding students who are interested in pursuing careers in real estate. This highly competitive award is staged throughout the country by the Urban Land Institute and carries a cash grant of $5000.
Latest Research from Saiz
Albert Saiz, Assistant Professor of Real Estate, was invited to present his paper "Immigration and the Neighborhood" (with Professor Susan Wachter) to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on August 10, 2004. The New York Times cited a recent co-authored study by Saiz and Glaeser in an article on the economic benefits of higher education entitled "Why Higher Learning Gets the Ax" (8/5/04, sec. C, p.2). The study found higher levels of education are critical to economic growth.
The Tax Break You Call Home
Business Week reported on a study by two Wharton Professors of the net benefit of tax subsidies to homeowners by region in an article entitled "The Tax Break You Call Home." (6/28/04, p. 36) The study was co-authored by Wharton real estate professors Todd Sinai and Joseph Gyourko. Their study found the favorable tax treatment of owner occupied housing primarily benefits wealthy individuals living in high priced homes. It was previously reported in Forbes (Informer, 4/12/04).
Full House for June 2004 International Housing Finance Program
International Housing Finance Program Director, Marja Hoek-Smit lectures to program participants.
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Close to 50 participants from 18 countries gathered at the Wharton School for the two-week long International Housing Finance Course in June. Once again this year, several countries (Thailand, Nigeria, Russia and Ukraine) took the opportunity to send a core team of housing experts to the course with the specific purpose of improving the housing finance policy dialogue in their country. There were representatives from The World Bank and OECD, Denmark, USA, New Zealand, The Philippines, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, South Africa, Tanzania and the Fiji Islands. Participants were offered a full menu of housing finance topics. This year a special two day Workshop on Securitization taught by experienced international professionals was added to the curriculum.
Why Real Estate is a Mainstream Asset and Why Manhattan is so Expensive
Professor Gyourko's article "The Newest Mainstream Asset Class: Real Estate" appeared in Wealth Management (3rd Quarter 2004). Gyourko says that by using securities, funds and other pooled investments, real estate is now accessible to all investors and offers distinct benefits. A Gyourko and Glaeser article on real estate prices in Manhattan was cited in Harvard Magazine (July-August 2004, p.10). Their research "Why Is Manhattan So Expensive?" found zoning regulations added significant expense to new residential construction projects in that borough of New York City.
Wachter at Home and in the Far East
Susan Wachter, the Richard B. Worley Professor of Financial Management and Professor of Real Estate and Finance, was the keynote speaker at the ESRI Business GeoInfo Summit on Geospatial Intelligence and Business Decisions on June 28th, 2004. Her presentation concerned the role of academia in using GIS to empower business solutions. In July, Wachter traveled to Singapore Management University where she was named the inaugural holder of the Celia Moh Professorial Chair. The Real Estate Finance/Investment Training Program jointly hosted by the Wharton GIS Lab and the Korean Company, Just R Real Estate Advisors, took place during the week of June 21st. Noble Asset magazine of South Korea interviewed Wachter for a profile piece on her professional and personal interests, as well as her thoughts on the developing Korean real estate market. Wachter advised "the building of real estate and finance institutions in Korea will benefit from learning from our mistakes and successes. In particular, the need for strong, transparent capital markets with property rights will be key to modern real estate housing finance systems."
New Wine in Old Bottles: Finance Policies for Affordable Housing in Emerging Economies
Marja Hoek-Smit and Jack Guttentag were invited speakers at the 25th World Congress of the International Union for Housing Finance in Brussels -- "Housing Finance: Best Practices from Around the World". Jack Guttentag assessed Consumer Protection in Housing Finance in the United States and Marja Hoek-Smit's talk - "New Wine in Old Bottles: Finance Policies for Affordable Housing in Emerging Economies" -- showed the difficulties many emerging economies face in moving to more efficient and equitable affordable housing policies when housing finance markets are distorted or incomplete.
Rybczynski Appointed to Commission of Fine Arts
In June President George W. Bush appointed Witold Rybczynski, the Martin & Margy Meyerson Professor of Urbanism, to a 4-year term on the Commission of Fine Arts. The Commission reviews the design of all public buildings in Washington, D.C. as well as all buildings in the Capitol and Mall districts. Rybczynski's book, The Look of Architecture, was published in Japan, and he contributed an essay to the recently published "New Global History and the City." In July, he was a featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Nantucket Preservation Trust.
Wharton Real Estate Alumni
On August 2, 2004, a group of current and recent members of Wharton's MBA Real Estate Club enjoyed cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in New York City. The gathering was an excellent opportunity for current members to meet future colleagues and explore career options.
On the West Coast, Wharton/Penn Real Estate Group of Northern California kicked off the 2004 Professor Speaker Series with a talk by William Tyson, Associate Professor of Legal Studies, Accounting, Management, and Law at Wharton. Tyson spoke on "Insider Trading, Ivy Leaguers and the Law - the Winners and the Losers". In October, Wharton Real Estate Professor, Todd Sinai, has been invited to talk on "Superstar Cities - How long will the extraordinary housing prices in the San Francisco Bay Area last?"
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