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Wharton News CREW Philadelphia Invites Real Estate Students and Wharton ProfessorTodd Sinai, Associate Professor of Real Estate, was the speaker for CREW (Commercial Women in Real Estate) Philadelphia's program at the Union League on January 19, 2006. The event included real estate students from the University of Pennsylvania who are being mentored by local CREW members. Sinai's topic was "A Housing Bubble? Have we hit it? Nationally and locally? How to evaluate if the price is too high?"Immigration and the NeighborhoodAlbert Saiz, Assistant Professor of Real Estate, presented his paper, "Immigration and the Neighborhood" (jointly written with Susan Wachter), at the Annual Meetings of the American Economic Association in Boston on January 8, 2006.Gyourko in LondonProfessor Joe Gyourko, Martin Bucksbaum Professor of Real Estate and Finance and Director of the Zell-Lurie Real Estate Center, was a featured speaker at the Real Estate Speaker Series in London in November 2005, sponsored by Deutsche Bank and the Wharton Alumni Club of the U.K.The San Diego Daily Transcript's article on November 14, 2005, "Home prices may not be in decline," cited Gyourko's National Bureau of Economic Research paper, "Why Have Housing Prices Gone Up?," published in the American Economic Review, and co-authored with Edward Glaser and Raven Saks of Harvard. Linneman Moderates Panel of LegendsPeter Linneman, Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate, moderated a panel at the Wharton Economic Summit on February 1 with Sam Zell and Mort Zuckerman, "Real Estate: Where It's At and Where It's Headed: a discussion with three legends." He was the keynote speaker at a RealShare Conference, "Why: The Best Mix of Information and Networking," in Washington, D.C. Prof. Linneman was the featured speaker at NAI Capital's 2006 Global Market Report Seminar in California on February 7-8. The seminar covered the latest economic trends, real estate conditions, business opportunities and emerging market practices throughout Southern California and the world.Hoek-Smit on Three ContinentsDrs. Marja Hoek-Smit, director of the International Housing Finance Program, gave the keynote address on "The Role of Government in the Development of an Efficient Mortgage Industry in Nigeria" for the Mortgage Bankers Association of Nigeria Annual Meeting in Kano, Nigeria, November 2005. She was the speaker and facilitator at a "Workshop to Compare Experiences in Housing Finance System Development in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya" held in Kampala, Uganda. The workshop was organized by UN-Habitat and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD sponsored Hoek-Smit's participation. In January 2006 she went on a working visit to Brasilia, Brazil, to continue her work with the government of Brazil on reforms in its current housing subsidy systems. The visit was sponsored by the World Bank. Drs. Hoek-Smit also conducted an assessment of the housing finance sector in Indonesia for the World Bank.The International Housing Finance Program course, led by Drs. Hoek-Smit and now in its 21st year, "Improving Housing Finance Systems," will be June 5-15, 2006 at the Wharton School; a workshop on "Mortgage Securitization" follows the main course on June 16 and 17. The course attracts a maximum of 60 attendees from around the world each year. Rebuilding After KatrinaWitold Rybczynski, Myerson Professor of Urbanism, Professor of Real Estate, and editor of the Wharton Real Estate Review, was interviewed by National Public Radio's "Day to Day" on post-Katrina Gulf Coast reconstruction. His New York Times essay on Central Park was recently reprinted in New York Stories (NYU Press). He recently lectured on urban design to the Community College Humanities Association in Washington, D.C.Housing OutlookSusan M. Wachter, Richard B. Worley Professor of Financial Management and Professor of Real Estate and Finance spoke with Bloomberg's Dierdre Bolton on January 19, 2006, about U.S. housing starts for December and the outlook for the U.S. housing market.
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