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For the 2016-17 academic year, the MSRE program currently has 18 incoming students: 8 international, 9 domestic, and 1 visiting graduate student from the University of Regensburg.  The College of Built Environments MS in Real Estate and the International Real Estate Business School, University of Regensburg, Germany have formed a dual Master’s degree agreement. A select number of students from the University of Regensburg will be accepted as UW/MSRE students after completing their first year of studies at the University of Regensburg.  The first student to commence this dual program will be arriving this coming fall 2016.   We observe a rolling application process and expect a class of greater than 20. 39 students graduated from the UW Commercial Real Estate Certificate program in 2016. We expect a 2016/2017 class of 40 students.

On the evening of June 9th, we celebrated the Class of 2016 on top of the magnificent Russell Investment Center. 18 students were honored on this special evening.  It was a bittersweet affair, as we were not only saying goodbye to our graduates but also to George Rolfe, who is retiring this year, and Chris Bitter, who is leaving the Runstad Center to pursue other interests. This summer Chris will be presenting a paper titled “The Ratings Game: Scoring Washington Reds,” at the American Association of Wine Economist’s Annual Meeting in Bordeaux France, June 21-25. The paper explores the level of consensus in wine ratings across prominent critics and the extent to which differences in scoring can be explained by subjective preferences, and addresses the implications of “buying based on points” to both wine consumers and producers. We will greatly miss George and Chris and all they have done for the MSRE program over the years.

Here are some pictures from the festivities…

 

On Thursday, May 26^th, 2016, Runstad Center staff, faculty, board, alumni and current students gathered together to celebrate George Rolfe’s retirement and his venerable career. The soiree was held at the beautiful Melrose Market Studio in Capitol Hill.

The evening was filled with laughter and sentimental moments. Peter Orser, the event’s MC, began the evening by sharing that Mayor Ed Murray had proclaimed it George Rolfe Day:

WHEREAS, George was appointed in 1973 as the first Director of the Pike Place Market Public Development Authority (PDA) and, in this capacity, played a significant and crucial role in the economic revitalization of the iconic Pike Place Market by managing the entire rehabilitation process without ever closing the Market; and

WHEREAS, George was instrumental in making Pike Place Market the vibrant, urban space it is today, leading efforts to redirect automobile traffic in the Market and pave the streets with pedestrian-friendly brick, and working with the City of Seattle to create the first pedestrian zone; and

WHEREAS, under George’s direction, the PDA initiated a plan to rebuild hundreds of low income housing units, many of which today support the Market’s over 450 residents; and

WHEREAS, George was a pioneer in real estate education, teaching real estate before it was formally recognized as an academic discipline and eventually shaping the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies, a leading Masters program at the University of Washington; and

WHEREAS, since 1985, George has been highly regarded as a Professor of Urban Design and Planning, Architecture at the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington, well known among his students for bringing practical, real life application of coursework into his classes; and

WHEREAS, in 1988, George Rolfe played a pivotal role in structuring the Commercial Real Estate Certificate Program at the University of Washington, enhancing educational programs currently available to working professionals; and

WHEREAS, he has, as an educator, mentor, friend and industry leader, challenged, inspired and positively influenced thousands of students who continue to actively impact the local, statewide and global environments across many disciplines, including construction management, urban and city planning, architecture and landscape architecture.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, EDWARD B. MURRAY, MAYOR OF SEATTLE, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM MAY 26, 2016 TO BE GEORGE ROLFE DAY

George was then also gifted a framed letter from President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost and Executive Vice President Gerald Baldasty, who also recognized his career and legacy in a letter of thanks:

“Dear George,

As you embark on your well-deserved retirement, I want to express our deep appreciation for your 32 years of distinguished service to the University of Washington. As a member of our faculty, you have had a positive impact on many students whose lives were changed through engagement with you. You were a pioneer in developing real estate education at a time when real estate was not yet fully recognized as an academic discipline. You earned a reputation for being a demanding professor, but one whose students say has had the greatest impact on shaping their careers. Our graduates have gone on to become leaders in the community, and all have George Rolfe stories to tell based on their memorable experiences in your classes.

You have been an effective collaborator with local real estate industry leaders in the creation of the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies and its highly regarded master’s degree program. We are proud to have had you as a colleague and wish you the best as you transition on to the next phase of your life. The University and its alumni will be forever grateful for your long distinguished service on our faculty.

Sincerely,

Ana Mari Cauce
Gerald Baldasty

Current and former students then shared their best memories and “George-isms” in a video clip of complied selfies. The individual clips ranged from informative to cheesy, from serious to outrageous, but all celebrated the impact that George has had on the growing real estate community. While students may bemoan the difficulty of George’s class, or the sheer amount of work, they are more excited and spurred on by what they learn from George. This is reflected in George’s enthusiasm for teaching. “It’s like watching your child be born, or watching your child grow up.  Interacting with students who are anxious and hungry to learn, that work hard at it, that get insights into what you’re talking about and push back and challenge me to think. That kind of intellectual and emotional connection is what teaching is all about, in my mind.  It’s why I get up in the morning.”

We want to send a heartfelt thanks to all of our wonderful sponsors who helped make George’s party a night to remember:

Metzler Real Estate
Lake Union Partners
Vulcan
The Wolff Company
Revolve Development
Heartland
Martin Selig Real Estate
Trammell Crow
Al Levine
Liz Dunn
Andrew Brand
Alan Byers
Val Thomas
Doug Larson
Campbell Mathewson

Here are some photos from the evening:

Last Tuesday, Seattle City Council announced they will be introducing legislation to regulate the operation of short term residential sites such as Airbnb and VRBO.  Peter Orser weighs in with the Seattle Weekly on the debate. Read the story here

A UW Runstad Center sponsored student team competed in the BAML Affordable Housing Challenge Finals in San Francisco for third year in a row on May 12th.
The team included four Runstad MSRE students, two MArch students and one Evans School student and competed against UCLA, Cal Berkeley, Cal Poly, and Arizona in the 25th anniversary of the BAML Challenge. (Vickey Clarke, MPA Candidate, Emily Darling, M Arch Candidate, Emma Ramoy, M Arch Candidate, Fan Fan, MSRE Candidate, Hang Yin, MSRE Candidate, Youyang Wang, MSRE Candidate, and Megan Adams, MSRE/MUP Candidate).

While the UW did not defend its championship, the team produced a project that the development sponsor Imagine Housing was very impressed with and intends to pursue in the future. The site in the Eastgate neighborhood consists of an existing 18-unit affordable development that the students proposed to redevelop with a new 88-unit mixed income development funded with 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits among other sources. The proposal also included an innovative partnership with Bellevue College.
The students were complimented by the judges on the quality of their design, and soundness of their financing plan and operating budgets as well as the quality of their overall written and graphic presentations.

Ultimately the judges had questions regarding the mixed income character of the UW team’s proposal and the complex land transaction involved, and they named Cal Poly and Berkeley as co champions this year. Al Levine, Sarah Lewontin and Rick Moehler served as faculty advisors to the team.

Fan Fan, MSRE Candidate, was one of the participants. She is interested in affordable housing, which inspired her to join Al and Sarah’s class last quarter. Fan viewed the competition as a perfect way to combine real world problems and lessons learned in the classroom. With respect to the competition, Fan said, “… it’s amazing to work with a team that has different backgrounds. We inspired each other during the competition. For example, architects need to think about money problems, and sometimes our finance people need to compromise because of City regulations. Overall, it was a fun and educational experience.”

It’s no secret that the condo shortage in Seattle drives prices up.  Peter Orser was recently quoted in two articles in the Seattle Times and Puget Sound Business Journal related to the condo market and the Runstad Center’s upcoming condo study which will analyze Washinton’s regulations. Read the articles here and here

How do we make city housing more affordable?  Peter Orser was recently quoted in the Wall Street Journal discussing just that.  Every city has an affordable housing issue, but how do we begin to fix it?  Read the article here

The New York Times recently mentioned the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies in an article about Friday Harbor and how with the help of San Juan Community HomeTrust, they are finding solutions to affordable housing in the most expensive county in Washington State.  Read the article here

UCREW: A Networking Real Estate Career Panel Event
Wednesday April 27th
10:00 – 11:45 am
Gould 102

10:00 AM – 10:15 AM | NETWORKING 
10:15 AM –  11:15 AM | PANEL DISCUSSION
11:15 AM – 11:45 AM | NETWORKING & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

Are you interested in the real estate industry? If yes, this event is for you. If not, this event is also for you. Because whether you’re a student in planning, finance, construction management, design, HR, engineering, philosophy or… any discipline, the industry has something for you. How about customer service, project management, research, green building and sustainability… there are endless possibilities for you to explore and apply your interests in real estate!

Once again, CREW Seattle & Sound has partnered  with The Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies to host a fantastic event UCREW: Interested in Commercial Real Estate?, to be held on Wednesday, April 27th from 10:00-11:45 am in Gould 102. This event features an interactive panel session with high-profile speakers representing a wide range of fields, along with professional networking as well as opportunities for job shadowing and mentoring!

While CREW seeks to promote the advancement of women in the industry, this event is by no means only for ladies. Anyone who is a supporter of the mission is welcomed!

To register for the event please RSVP: bestm2@uw.edu

Recently Wallethub posted a story on the best and worst cities to be a real estate agent.  Our own Glenn Crellin, retired Associate Director of Research at the Runstad Center, provided his expert opinions on the topic.  Read the full story here