Author: Melissa Best

This summer our graduate advisor , Eli Heller, was chosen as the UW APAC (UW Association of Professional Advisers and Counselors) Advisor of the month. Eli’s nominator had this to say about him:

“Eli has brought so much positive energy to our college. His passion for career preparedness is unmatched. I really want to recognize and commend him for going above and beyond for three of his admitted students. Their home government required their admissions offers to be sealed with an apostille and so Eli drove to Olympia to the Washington Secretary of State’s office and took care of it for all three students. Literally going the extra mile (or 65.3 miles according to google maps) for his students.”

We are thrilled that Eli’s commitment to our students was recognized. He has done a tremendous job supporting over 350 undergrads and grads since he joined us in 2023. Please see below to learn more about him, this interview was posted on APAC’s facebook page in July. Congratulations Eli! The department is lucky to have you.

How long have you been on campus?

About 5 years – I started working as a career coach at the Career & Internship Center in September 2019.

What are some exciting projects you just completed or are currently working on?

I’m currently working on building out programming, including panels and guest speakers, for the upcoming MS in Real Estate Orientation in September. I look forward to welcoming the next cohort of MSRE students this fall!

What is the best advice you have ever been given (work or personal)?

When job searching, always remember that you do not have options until you have offers. Apply broadly, don’t be too narrow-minded and never sell yourself short.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not on campus/working?

Singing! I am an upper bass in the Seattle Men’s Chorus and currently serve as President of the SMC Membership Council, which is essentially the student affairs of the chorus. We run auditions, match each new singer with a chorus buddy and plan our quarterly new member reception.

Where is your favorite place to eat around campus?

I enjoy Little Thai, right off the Ave

Most recent favorite book, show, movie, or podcast?

Favorite TV Show, hands down: True Blood.

The NAIOP + Prologis Inclusion in CRE Scholarship is awarded to 15 awardees annually across the United States for outstanding dedication and commitment to networking organizations in Commercial Real Estate as well as leadership in advancing the mission of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the sector. Awardees are matched with mentors from Prologis, as well as given the chance to attend an all-expenses paid trip to either of NAIOP’s I.CON East/West conferences, where they are recognized for their achievements. Roushan Kwatra attended the I.CON West conference in Long Beach, CA where he had the chance to network with his fellow awardees as well as industry veterans and professionals from companies like Prologis, Pannatoni Development, Altus Group etc. Roushan was the only awardee from NAIOP’s Washington State chapter in 2024 and is grateful to the chapter for their continued support of his goals in the commercial real estate space.

Read more about Roushan on NAIOP’s website here

Congratulations Roushan!

Each year at the Undergraduate Research Symposium nearly 1,000 undergraduate students from all three UW campuses and other local institutions present their research spanning over 100 disciplines.

Hanson Dai, a senior majoring in Real Estate, recently delivered an oral presentation discussing his work in collaboration with Professor Arthur Acolin at the University of Washington’s 2024 annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Along with Professor Acolin, Hanson has been researching the effects of various rent measures on tracking inflation rates in the United States. Making up forty percent of the Consumer Price Index, accurate and timely rental data is critical in ensuring well justified decisions relating to the micro and macro economy. Through literature review and statistical analysis of various datasets, Hanson presented the discoveries he made with Professor Acolin regarding trends surrounding the housing market and economy. Click here to watch a recording of his presentation.

In recent years, the Washington legislature has enacted significant legislation intended to increase capacity for residential development in urban areas and thereby make housing more affordable. It is well understood that unnecessarily restrictive regulatory constraints are among the key factors leading to the inadequate supply and high cost of housing. This legislation directly targets these kinds of constraints.

A new report from the Washington Center for Real Estate Research focuses on the impacts of two key pieces of legislation: HB 1923 and HB 2343, enacted in 2019 and 2020, respectively. These provided grants to help municipalities develop and implement housing action plans intended to identify potential actions, including code changes, to enhance residential building capacity. Based on surveys of municipalities and administrative data from the Washington Department of Commerce, the report concludes that some 64% of grant recipients have adopted various types of code changes intended to facilitate the development of affordable housing.

The report can be found here: https://wcrer.be.uw.edu/research-reports/.