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Wharton News Annual End of Year BarbequeThe Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center end-of-year barbeque was held again this year at the Merion home of Associate Director Asuka Nakahara, on Saturday, April 22, 2006. On-and-off rain failed to dampen the spirits of about 90 students, alumni, faculty, staff and their families during a delightful afternoon of delicious food and stimulating conversation. Zell/Lurie End-of-Year Barbeque Award For NakaharaAsuka Nakahara received the 2006 Helen Kardon Moss Anvil Award, recognized by the MBA students, past Anvil award winners, and the Wharton Graduate Division and Dean's office as the professor who most exemplifies outstanding teaching quality through extraordinary effort and performance in the classroom.Saiz on Immigration and HousingAssistant professor of real estate Albert Saiz was quoted in the Washington Post (4/15/06) in "Effect of Immigration on Jobs, Wages Is Difficult for Economists to Nail Down," by Nell Henderson: "Immigration provides overall economic gains to a country," wrote economist Albert Saiz, summarizing the literature in a 2003 article for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. "Indeed, the U.S. experience as an immigrants' country is one of phenomenal economic growth. However, there are winners and losers in the short run."The Associated Press sought Saiz's advice on April 18, in "Many Ask Where Housing Market Will End Up" by Adrian Sainz, who wrote, "Albert Saiz . . . said that prospective buyers could think twice should interest rates rise. He also noted that the influence of speculators 'flipping' homes for a quick profit may be declining, as they leave the market because of the perceived slowdown and fear over interest rates. 'I do have a sense that speculators are very, very mindful of the general economic situation, and they may actually be contributing somewhat to that sort of deceleration in the market,' Saiz said." Groundbreaking China Workshop for Wharton's International Housing ProgramThe People's Bank of China (Central Bank) and the World Bank invited Drs. Marja Hoek-Smit, director of the International Housing Finance Program, to Beijing in early May to conduct an "International Workshop on Housing Finance Systems," to assist Chinese housing finance policy makers to develop an analytical framework for housing finance policy development for China, and to introduce international practices in housing finance system development, and risk control and policies to extend housing finance to lower income groups.The opening address was delivered by Madam WU Xiaoling, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China. Apart from Professors Richard Herring and Marja Hoek-Smit from the Wharton School, international housing finance experts from the World Bank contributed to the workshop and Chinese housing experts presented cases and analyses of the Chinese housing and housing finance system. The three-day workshop was organized by the People's Bank of China for their senior staff, both from the Beijing headquarters and the regional offices, and for senior officials from other Financial Institutions and housing-related ministries and regulatory agencies. There were approximately 70 participants. The workshop was followed by high-level policy discussions on housing finance issues facing China at the People's Bank of China, presided over by Madam WU Xiaoling. Lynne Sagalyn – Key SpeakerOn May 1, Lynne Sagalyn, Professor of Real Estate Development and Planning, spoke at the MIT SPURS (Symbol and Power in Urban Transformations) program in Cambridge. Later that week she delivered the keynote address at the American Institute of Architecture's quarterly program in the 2006 series, Architecture as Public Policy, in New York, speaking on "Implementing Development Policy on the Far West Side."Rybczynski Receives Honorary DoctorateWitold Rybczynski, Martin & Margy Meyerson Professor of Urbanism; Professor of Real Estate, was invited to give the first Jane Silverstein Ries Lecture at the University of Colorado in Denver, and gave a lecture on Frederick Law Olmsted to Landmark West in New York City. In June, he will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario.Rybczynski's book "Waiting for the Weekend" (1991, Penguin) was cited in the article "Time Off for Good Behavior: The Weekend as We Know It" by William Grimes in The New York Times (4/28/06). Gyourko Weighs in on City TaxesJoseph Gyourko, Martin Bucksbaum Professor of Real Estate & Finance and Director of the Zell-Lurie Real Estate Center, was quoted in "Toll on the City: Balancing Act: Taxes vs. Phila. Services," Philadelphia Inquirer (4/23/06.) Gyourko, read the article, "sees the city's reliance on wage and business taxes as self-defeating in a world where computer software and human capital are eminently portable. It is difficult to imagine a worse choice of tax instruments for a single municipality...."Wachter on Managing a Real Estate PortfolioDr. Susan Wachter, Richard B. Worley Professor of Financial Management; Professor of Real Estate, Finance and City and Regional Planning, will participate in a training conference for Incisive Media in New York in September, focusing on managing and measuring real estate portfolio risk. She was interviewed on the subject of the slowing housing market for Bloomberg TV's Roundtable, April 11; "Will slowing market add pressure to real estate commissions?" for Inman News, March 29.
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