Real Estate News

Adjunct Professor Alicia Glen, who started the Social Impact Real Estate Investing and Development class, was tapped by incoming Mayor Bill de Blasio to be deputy mayor for housing and economic development.

The sixth annual Real Estate Symposium took place on December 9, 2013, at the Columbia University Club of New York, with 200 alumni representing classes from 1959 to 2013 in attendance. Sam Zell, chairman, Equity Group Investments, delivered the keynote address.

The panel "What Are Real Estate Investors Looking For?" framed investor needs against discussions of market and economic trends.

At the panel “Uncharted Waters— Navigating Today’s Debt Markets,” experts from several major firms discussed debt investment products and opportunities.

The panel “Is the Sky the Limit? NYC Real Estate Pricing Keeps Climbing” discussed recent trends in the local real estate market and whether continued appreciation is likely.

At the panel "CEO’s Corner: Long-Term Perspectives," industry leaders discussed the branding implications of the term "REIT," their challenges in the industry, and the emergence of e-commerce as a competitor.

Professor Lynne B. Sagalyn and Michael Berman '86 opened the sixth annual Columbia Business School Real Estate Symposium. Berman introduced Sam Zell as a pioneer in the REIT industry. The opening remarks were followed by a lively fireside chat between Zell and Sagalyn.

MBA students Sophie Ulrike Dorrer ’14, Jacob Feingold ’14, and Matthew Nunn ’14 won first place, the Alexander Bodini Foundation Prize, at the Real Estate Project Class Final Presentations Competition and Awards Dinner at Columbia Business School on December 10. 

Michael Giliberto oversaw U.S. portfolio management and global investment strategy and research within the Global Real Assets Group at JPMorgan Asset Management and now consults, produces the Giliberto-Levy Commercial Mortgage Performance Index, and is a director of Empire State Realty Trust and of the Hunt Companies. He also teaches Real Estate Portfolio Management. In a recent interview with Jovaun Boyd ’14, he discussed the evolution of institutional investing in real estate, lessons on investing, and his teaching.

Organized in conjunction with the MIT Center for Real Estate, the event gave more than 60 graduate students from Columbia, MIT, and Harvard a chance to learn about joint ventures.