Winter Newsletter
The Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center extends its deepest gratitude to our Research Sponsors and Members. Your exceptional generosity and support have been the driving force behind the Center’s impactful programming. As we head into 2026 and prepare for a year of continued success, we take this opportunity to reflect on our key accomplishments from the past year.
Department News + Research · The Joe Gyourko Pre-Doctoral Fund · Changes in Center Leadership · Promotion of Two Faculty Members · Members’ Meetings 2025 · Updates to the European Advisory Board· Global Programming · Research Sponsor Events · Young Professional Initiative · Student Activities · Other Events in 2025 · Upcoming Events · Current Members
Department News & Research
Maisy Wong
James T. Riady Professor of Real Estate, Nancy A. Nasher and David Haemisegger Director of the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center
- Professor Wong co-organized the NBER Summer Institute for Real Estate (July 2025) in Cambridge, MA, the top annual real estate market academic conference. The conference featured research papers by several Wharton faculty members, including Professor Keys, Professor Handbury, Professor Ferreira, and Professor Gyourko. The event also showcased significant work by Heidi Artigue, a current Wharton PhD student, and Sean E. McCulloch, a former Pre-Doctoral Research Assistant at Wharton.
- Professor Wong gave a seminar at the London School of Economics in May 2025.
- Professor Wong was invited to Chile to present work on housing and land markets in developing countries, for a conference jointly organized by the University of Chicago and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
- Professor Wong’s paper “Colonial Legacy and Land Market Formality” with Mariaflavia Harari is forthcoming in the Journal of Urban Economics.
Joe Gyourko
Martin Bucksbaum Professor, Professor of Real Estate, Professor of Finance, Professor of Business Economics & Public Policy
- Professor Gyourko published “The State of China’s Urban Housing Markets” (with Wu Jing and Yongheng Deng). Chapter 1 in The Chinese Economy and Financial System, Sage, April 2025.
- Professor Gyourko published “America’s Housing Supply Problem: The Closing of the Suburban Frontier?” (with Edward Glaeser), forthcoming in Brookings Papers on Economic Activity.
- Professor Gyourko presented “Restoring Balance in the U.S. Housing Market: What Will It Take?” at the NBER Corporate Associates Research Symposium, in New York, NY, on April 29, 2025.
- Professor Gyourko gave the Keynote Speech, titled “America’s Chronic Housing Supply Problem: Why Can’t We Solve It?” at the Chinese Urban Economics Association 2025 Summer Meeting, Peking University HSBC Business School, in Shenzhen, China, on June 22, 2025.
- Professor Gyourko became a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Susan Wachter
Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate
- Professor Wachter was named co-editor of the Second Edition of the International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, published by Elsevier.
- Professor Wachter served as Chair of the 2025 Visiting Committee for the Department of Real Estate of the National University of Singapore Business School.
- Professor Wachter joined the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER) as a Senior Fellow.
- Professor Wachter published “Resolving the Contested Future of the GSEs: The Stakes Are High,” co-authored with Edward Golding, Housing Policy Debate, forthcoming.
- Professor Wachter published “Do Foreign Buyer Taxes Affect House Prices?,” co-authored with Jonathan Hartley, Li Ma, and Albert Zevelev, Journal of Real Estate Research, forthcoming.
- Professor Wachter published “HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program: Lessons for its Future,” co-authored with Arthur Acolin, Cityscape, Vol. 27, No. 1, 2025, 155-167.
- Professor Wachter presented “First-time Buyers and Housing Market Challenges” to the Board of Directors Meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in Philadelphia on July 24, 2025.
- Professor Wachter presented “Coresidence: How Parental Characteristics Matter,” a Presentation at the AREUEA International Conference, IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, on July 16, 2025.
- Professor Wachter presented “The Public Role in Housing Finance: Lessons from the US” as the Keynote Lecture for the Korea Housing Finance Corporation on June 25, 2025.
- Professor Wachter presented “Real Estate and Financial Crises,” Keynote Address, University of Tokyo-MIT Real Estate Workshop in Tokyo, Japan, on June 24, 2025.
Gilles Duranton
Dean’s Chair in Real Estate Professor
- Professor Duranton was awarded the 2025 Maurice Allais Economics Prize with Diego Puga in France on May 27, 2025.
- Professor Duranton was the Keynote Speaker at the Infra4Dev Conference of the World Bank in Guangzhou on May 15 and 16, 2025.
- Professor Duranton was the Keynote Speaker at the 5th Workshop on Regional and Urban Economics 2025, organized by the Center for Regional Economic Development and the Department of Economics at the University of Bern on February 13 and 14, 2025.
- Professor Duranton was the Keynote Speaker at the 4th Annual LAUrban Meeting in São Paulo on December 5-6, 2025.
- Professor Duranton published the chapter “Housing Supply and Housing Affordability” with Nathaniel Baum-Snow in the Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics.
- Professor Duranton published “How Masa Fujita Shaped the Present of Spatial Economics and How He Will Inspire Its Future” with Tomoyo Mori in The Japanese Economic Review.
- Professor Duranton published “Urban Roadway in America: The Amount, Extent, and Value” with Erick Guerra and Xinyu Ma in the Journal of the American Planning Association.
Jessie Handbury
Gilbert and Shelley Harrison Associate Professor
- Professor Handbury released a working paper, “Welfare Implications of Increased Retailer Participation in SNAP,” with Anne T. Byrne, Xiao Dong, Erik James, Katherine Meckel, and Andrés Rovira in SSRN and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
- Professor Handbury was appointed President of the Urban Economics Association. Professor Handbury will assume this position in January 2026.
Mariaflavia Harari
Associate Professor of Real Estate, Leonard J. Horwitz Faculty Scholar
- Professor Harari’s paper “Colonial Legacy and Land Market Formality” with Maisy Wong is forthcoming in the Journal of Urban Economics.
- Professor Harari co-edited an issue of VoxDev Literatures on Housing Informality along with a podcast, “What Have We Learned About the Informal Sector?“
- Professor Harari developed and taught the PhD course Cities in Developing Countries for the Wharton Applied Economics Program.
- Professor Harari served as Urban Economics Association Board Member at Large.
- Professor Harari presented at the following conferences: the 19th North American Meeting of the Urban Economics Association; 17th Annual Conference on Urban and Regional Economics at the London School of Economics; Fundação Getulio Vargas Rio de Janeiro; and the 4th Annual LACEA/LAUrban Meeting.
Benjamin Keys
Rowan Family Foundation Professor, Professor of Real Estate, Professor of Finance
- Professor Keys published “The Cost of Consumer Collateral: Evidence from Bunching” with Benjamin L. Collier and Cameron Ellis, Econometrica, 93(3), in May 2025.
- Professor Keys published “Housing, Climate Risk, and Insurance,” NBER Reporter, in June 2025.
- Professor Keys published “Improving Housing Affordability,” with Vincent Reina, in Advancing America’s Prosperity, edited by Melissa S. Kearney and Luke Pardue. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute, November 2025.
- Professor Keys presented at the following conferences: Wharton ESG Conference; Stanford GSB Sustainability Conference on Capital Finance; NYU Stern, Stanford Financial Education Symposium; Penn in Washington Multistakeholder Dialogue on Insurance and Climate-Related Risk; Environmental and Energy Study Institute; Norges Bank, Baruch, FRB-San Francisco; FRB-Cleveland; Yale SOM, NBER Industrial Organization of Housing Markets Conference.
- Professor Keys’ research was featured in the New York Times piece A Climate ‘Shock’ Is Eroding Some Home Values. New Data Shows How Much.
Sophie Calder-Wang
Assistant Professor of Real Estate, Assistant Professor of Business Economics & Public Policy (Secondary), Assistant Professor of Finance (Secondary)
- Professor Calder-Wang’s paper with Gi Kim was awarded the Robert Lanzillotti Prize for the best paper in antitrust economics accepted for presentation at the International Industrial Organization Conference.
- Professor Calder-Wang published the working paper “The Price and Distributional Impact of Flood Risk Disclosure: Evidence from US Housing Platforms” with Steve Billings and Weiling Liu in SSRN.
Change in Center Leadership
This year the Center recognized the end of Joe Gyourko’s exceptional 27-year tenure as Director of the Center. Professor Maisy Wong assumed the position of the Nancy A. Nasher and David Haemisegger Director of the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center on July 1, 2025. Having contributed significantly to the Center’s success in her previous role as Assistant Director, Grayken Program in International Real Estate, Professor Wong is well-equipped and committed to continuing the core missions of the Center. The entire Center extends its profound gratitude to Joe Gyourko for his lasting impact and years of dedicated, transformative leadership, and looks forward to Professor Wong’s contributions.
To read the full announcement, click here. Watch the tribute video honoring Joe created by the Center here.
The Joe Gyourko Pre-Doctoral Fund
In recognition of Joe Gyourko’s distinguished 27 years as Director, the Center established the Joe Gyourko Pre-Doctoral Fund at the Spring Members’ Meeting. This fund is a lasting tribute to Joe’s profound impact on our real estate program and the wider profession. To learn more and donate, click here.
Promotion of Two Faculty Members
The Real Estate Department faculty announced two promotions that became effective July 1. Maisy Wong has been promoted to Full Professor as the James T. Riady Professor of Real Estate. Maisy’s promotion coincides with her new leadership role as the Director of the Center. Additionally, Nina Harari was promoted to Associate Professor of Real Estate.
Fall Members’ Meeting 2025 Endowed by the Ina and Lew Heafitz Fund
The Center is deeply grateful to Ina and Lewis Heafitz, W’58, for their generous endowment of the Fall Members’ Meeting. This gift permanently secures the future of this event in perpetuity, now known as the Fall Members’ Meeting Endowed by the Ina and Lewis Heafitz Fund for the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center. Through their generosity, Ina and Lewis Heafitz have ensured that the meeting will continue to provide unparalleled networking opportunities and serve as a vital forum for students, faculty, and prominent real estate executives to engage in crucial industry discussions.
Members’ Meetings 2025
The Spring Members’ Meeting was held on April 24 and 25, 2025, at the Rittenhouse Hotel. To view the agenda for the Spring Members’ Meeting, click here. The Fall Members’ Meeting was held on October 24, 2025, at the Inn at Penn. To view the agenda for the Fall Members’ Meeting, click here.
New Alumni Representative to the Executive Committee
The Center is pleased to welcome Cissy Shi, WG’24, to the Executive Committee as our Alumni Representative. Now an Investment Associate at Welltower Inc., Cissy previously served as Co-President of the Wharton Real Estate Club and was a frequent collaborator with the Center. We are delighted to have her on the Executive Committee.
Pictured: Cissy Shi (left) with Professor Sophie Calder-Wang (right).
Awards from the Spring Meeting
Every year at the Spring Members’ Meeting, awards are given to deserving students who have exhibited strong leadership and academic prowess. Additional recognition is given at the Members’ Meeting to faculty award winners. To view the 2025 award winners, please click here.
Updates to the European Advisory Board
In 2025, the Center further strengthened its global connections by welcoming John Toukatly, Partner, EQT RE, to its European Advisory Board. The Center values bringing together influential leaders through its European Advisory Board and looks forward to the Board’s continued contributions.
Global Programming
On May 14, 2025, the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center held our annual Grayken Program in International Real Estate at the Royal Automobile Club in London. To view the agenda for the London Meeting, click here.
The program featured Keynote speakers Ron Havner and Kathleen McCarthy. Ron’s conversation was moderated by Ian Marcus and Kathleen’s conversation was moderated by James McCaffrey.
The program also included two panels. The first panel was titled “What Does the Future Hold for European REITs?” The session included panelists Andrew Jones, Vishal Lakhani, and Pere Viñolas, and was moderated by Patrick Long.
The program’s second panel was titled “The Case for Investing in Affordable Housing.” It included panelists Rolf Buch, Fiona Fletcher-Smith, and Robert-Jan Foortse, and was moderated by Maisy Wong.
On September, 2025, the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center held our annual Grayken Program in International Real Estate at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. To view the agenda for the Singapore Meeting, click here.
The program featured a talk with Kathleen McCarthy the talk was titled “What’s Next in Global Real Estate” and was moderated by Alan Miyasaki.
The program also included three panels. The first panel was titled “Geopolitics & Capital: Investing in an Uncertain World.” The session included panelists Alex Katz, Andrew Staples, and Professor Simon Tay, and was moderated by Charlene Huang.
The program’s second panel was titled “Where Should You Be Investing in the Capital Stack?” It included panelists Steve McElwain, Martin Seol and Audrey The, and was moderated by Mark Chu.
The last panel of the day was titled “What Do the Hyperscalers Think?” The session featured panelists Heather Laurie and Rob Lomas, and was moderated by Dalmar Sheikh.
Research Sponsor Events
On March 6, 2025, Featured Speaker Jeff Blau convened with Research Sponsors at New York City’s exceptional Sky Loft, located at 50 Hudson Yards.
Olivia Mitchell, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Professor of Insurance and Risk Management, Executive Director, Pension Research Council, the Wharton School, met with Research Sponsors before the Fall 2025 Members’ Meeting on the evening of October 24, 2025, at the Independence Visitors Center.
Young Professionals Initiative
The Center is committed to being a resource for the next generation of industry leaders. The Young Professionals program is designed to positively impact young real estate professionals by providing essential peer-to-peer networking and direct engagement with executive speakers. This year the Center hosted four Young Professionals Breakfast Series and hosted a Young Professionals Lunch during the Fall Members’ Meeting. The lunch featured a Conversation between Olivia John, Founder and CEO, Osso Capital, Danny Malkin, Managing Director, Blackstone, and Komal Sankla, Principal, Everview Partners, that was moderated by Ryan Finvarb, Associate, Blackstone.
The 2025 breakfast series provided exclusive access to top-tier leadership across four major markets. The 2025 series started in New York City on January 29, 2025, with a talk from featured speaker Ronald J. Kravit, Senior Managing Director, Cerberus Capital Management. The Boston event took place on June 17, 2025, with featured speaker Chris Leddy, Managing Director, Bain Capital. Following this, the Los Angeles event was held on July 9, 2025, featuring Angela M. Aman, Chief Executive Officer, Kilroy Realty Corporation. The 2025 series concluded with the Chicago event on September 24, 2025, featuring David Schwartz, CEO, Chairman and Co-Founder, Waterton.
Student Programming and Activities
Ballard Executive Program
The Zell/Lurie’s Ballard Executive Speaker program continued to be a highly valuable experience for our students. In 2025, nine executives visited campus, offering insightful discussions that were met with tremendous student attendance and active participation. The 2025 Ballard Executive Speakers were:
| January 29, 2025, and September 18, 2025 |
Matt Lustig | Lazard |
| February 4, 2025 | Saul Goldstein | ActivumSG |
| February 11, 2025 | Ian Marcus | Eastdil Secured |
| March 25, 2025, and November 5, 2025 |
Neil Shah | Hersha Hospitality Trust |
| April 9, 2025 | Tony Dona | Greystar |
| September 11, 2025 | David Adelman | Campus Apartments |
| September 25, 2025 | Mitch Clarfield | Newmark |
| October 16, 2025 | Andy Jonas | Goldman Sachs & Co., LLC |
| November 13, 2025 | David Helfand | Helix Funds |
The Eric and Beth Schlager Lecture Series
The Eric and Beth Schlager Lecture Series, founded in 2006, continued its core mission of connecting the Wharton community with leading real estate entrepreneurs. By hosting these distinguished speakers, the series offers our students a critical opportunity to gain insights and engage directly with notable industry leaders. The most recent lecture featured David Helfand, Founder and President, Helix Funds.
Recruitment Panels 2025
The Center continued its efforts to assist students with job placement through two recruitment events in the Spring of 2025. The first event began with a discussion titled, “MBA Playbook for Navigating Uncertainty: How Alumni Landed Jobs.” The talk featured Elana Fortson, Associate, KKR, and was moderated by Alan Feldman, Senior Fellow, Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center. This was followed by a panel titled “MBA Playbook for Navigating Uncertainty: Landing a Job in Today’s Competitive Market,” which featured Anjum Sharma, Senior Director, Acquisitions, Barings, LLC, Katherine Kelman, Managing Director, LMXD, Ritson Ferguson, Senior Fellow, Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center, and Asuka Nakahara, Senior Fellow, Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center.
Argus Training 2025
In our continued commitment to student success, the Center held its virtual Argus training session on November 15–16, 2025. As a vital resource for job market preparation, the program saw strong attendance from students who were eager to master the industry-standard software. We are proud to offer these training opportunities to ensure our graduates enter the workforce fully prepared for the demands of the real estate industry.
Mentor and Mentee Program 2025
The mentorship program successfully fostered valuable connections by pairing 127 student mentees with 91 mentors. The Career Mentor Program remains popular among students, with participants from all five of the Zell/Lurie supported real estate Clubs.
Helfand/Bluhm Fellowship
The Helfand Bluhm Fellowship continued its vital mission, empowering students to pursue their career aspirations without financial constraint. This crucial Fellowship enabled students to explore opportunities in major global and domestic hubs, including vibrant cities like London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Dubai, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Without this generosity, financially limited students would be severely restricted in the scope of their career searches.
Student Real Estate Clubs
Zell/Lurie is dedicated to the success of the five University of Pennsylvania Real Estate Clubs, offering essential funding and assistance. Throughout 2025, Club members actively participated in a wide array of activities, including competitive case competitions, domestic industry treks, and speaker events on campus.
Highlights from the Wharton Real Estate Club (MBA)
The Wharton MBA Club hosted multiple successful industry treks to New York City this semester. An Acquisitions Trek was held on November 7, where the Club met with leading financial institutions, including Blackstone, Sixth Street, and Blue Owl, to gain valuable insights into current market strategies. The Development Trek on November 14 connected students with the Rockefeller Group and Oxford Properties, which included an exciting site visit to The Edge, and concluded the day with a meeting at Tishman Speyer.
Highlights from the Wharton Undergraduate Real Estate Club
The Wharton Undergraduate Real Estate Club (WUREC) has been active this semester with industry treks and educational programming. For example, on September 26, WUREC traveled to New York and met with Blackstone, KKR, BDT&MSD, and Sculptor. Further enhancing Club members’ professional development, the Club hosted a series of guest speakers throughout the term, including Andy Jonas, Andres Panza, Sean Brennan, Christopher Graham, Top Grier, Sal Gambino, and Daryl Fairweather. To ensure new Club members quickly grasp industry fundamentals, the Club is offering the WUREC Institute, with educational sessions every weekend that cover real estate topics.
Highlights from the Weitzman School of Design Real Estate Club
The Weitzman Real Estate Club organized two development-focused events this semester. On October 29, the Club hosted a trek to Baltimore where they toured three major adaptive reuse projects: the Hoen Lithograph Campus, Henderson Crossing, and the Baltimore Car Barn. The day concluded with a walking tour and dinner in the historic Fell’s Point waterfront district. Additionally, on November 13, the Club hosted a successful Lunch and Learn at the Delaware Waterfront with Karen Thompson, Director of Planning for the DRWC, to discuss planning and development efforts.
Highlights from PSWiRE
On November 17, PSWiRE welcomed Dani Gastner, Managing Director at the Penn Endowment Fund, for a compelling speaker event. Ms. Gastner discussed her extensive real estate experiences and career journey with attendees. The insightful session was expertly hosted by Professor and Center Senior Fellow, Asuka Nakahara.
Other Events
24th Annual Career Fair
The Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center hosted its annual Real Estate Career Fair on January 24, 2025, at the University of Pennsylvania. This event was made possible through the Jeff T. Blau Endowment for Student Placement. The Center gratefully acknowledges Mr. Blau’s continued commitment to student career development.
Virtual Career Connections
The Center organized Virtual Career Connections (a.k.a. virtual networking week) to strengthen connections between students and our Member companies. The week-long Career Connections event proved highly effective, successfully facilitating over 200 one-on-one meetings between 35 participating companies and more than 150 real estate students. The event took place from Monday, March 17, 2025, through Friday, March 21, 2025.
Upcoming Events in 2026
- Virtual Career Connections: Virtual Career Connections will take place Monday, March 23, 2026, through Friday, March 27, 2026.
- The Eric and Beth Schlager Lecture Series: This year’s lecture will feature Alan Miyasaki, Senior Managing Director & Head of Real Estate Asia Acquisitions, Blackstone, and will take place on March 25, 2026.
- Spring Members’ Meeting: The Spring Members’ Meeting will be held on April 23 and 24, 2026, at the Rittenhouse Hotel.
- Grayken Program: The Grayken Program in International Real Estate will hold its London Meeting on May 20, 2026, at the Royal Automobile Club, and its Singapore Meeting on September 30, 2026, at the Raffles Hotel.
- Fall Members’ Meeting Endowed by the Ina and Lew Heafitz Fund: The Fall Members’ Meeting will be held on October 23, 2026, at the Inn at Penn.
Current Members
Below are the lists of Research Sponsors, Sustaining Members, and Associate Members.
The Center’s Resources Page
The Center is dedicated to enhancing students’ knowledge of the real estate industry through promoting our professional network. For a list of real estate related resources and job opportunities shared with the students, please click here.
Previous Winter Newsletters
2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020