Fall - Winter 2010 News

Penn State Sports Business Conference | March 2021

Joe Scardino, MKTG '21, PSSBC President

During a time of so much uncertainty, the Penn State Sports Business Conference with their presenting partner, Pepsi, persevered and executed an outstanding week-long virtual event featuring some of the brightest minds in sports media, business, tech, and culture. The Penn State Sports Business Conference grew beyond Happy Valley. Over a thousand tickets were sold to students, alumni, and professionals all across the country and world. Individuals in 41 of the 50 states, 13 countries, and 5 of the 7 continents were a part of this year's event.

Hall of Fame Broadcasters Bob Costas and Tom Verducci kicked off the week with a Monday night conversation with Penn State Professor and Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society, John Affleck. They discussed key topics surrounding the State of Baseball while also providing valuable insights to students about the importance of authenticity. Keynote speakers from the event included Commissioner of the NWSL Lisa Baird, Head of U.S. Twitter Sports, TJ Adeshola, Co-Head of Basketball at CAA, Jess Holtz, Founder of 3ICE Hockey, E.J. Johnston, and the CEO of The Athletic, Alex Mather.

Not only did attendees have the opportunity to hear from those keynote speakers, but they were also able to join panels that were held on Zoom. The panel topics included the Business of Betting with Action Network’s Darren Rovell, FanDuel’s Erin Kate Dolan, and Snapback Sports founder Jack Settleman. Olivia Harlan Dekker (Big Ten Network), Emily Kaplan (ESPN), and Kevin Ray (Dallas Cowboys/Phoenix Suns) were panelists on The Art of Sports Journalism. Justin Thoman and Melissa Duhaime of Pepsi provided an inside look into the production of the Weeknd’s Super Bowl performance, and the Head of League Operations at the WNBA, Bethany Donaphin spoke with Minorities in Sports founder Shaina Weil about the positive steps the league is making towards fighting for social justice. There were other panels as well on ESPN’s College GameDay, the ever-changing media landscape, venture capital, and Penn State Athletics marketing efforts during the pandemic.

While the conference this year was free, there was an option for a paid Mentorship Program. The Mentorship Program allowed individuals to join exclusive workshops, giveaways, and additional benefits during the conference. These workshops had no more than 20 people and allowed for intimate and more personal conversations with the speaker.

Throughout the week, attendees had the opportunity to network directly with fellow students and professionals. Companies such as Madison Square Garden, the Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Penn Interactive Gaming, Octagon, Team USA Handball, and Penn State Sports Properties were recruiting at the conference.

The team set out with a goal in August to make the Penn State Sports Business Conference more than just an event and while they are proud of their work this year they have already shifted focus to year 5 as they look to continue to inspire, educate and motivate!

The Institute for Real Estate Studies held its Fall Board meeting over the weekend of September 9th and 10th, 2011.  Events commenced with a dinner reception hosted by Dean Jim Thomas Friday evening.  It was followed the next morning by a dynamic networking breakfast where students were given the opportunity to interact with Advisory Board members.  The breakfast was immediately followed by a very lively industry round table discussion and formal board meeting on campus in the Smeal Business Building.  Weekend activities were punctuated with the IRES Annual Tailgate Saturday afternoon prior to the Penn State/ Alabama football game.  This well attended event has become a favorite gather point for all Penn Staters and their families engaged in the real estate profession.

Make no mistake about it, 2011 was a difficult year for Penn State University.  Yet, for those of us affiliated with the real estate group in the Smeal College of Business, we have much for which we can be proud.  While this issue of the Real Estate Newsletter will give you more details on some of our activities during 2011, I wanted to provide a brief overview of a few of the accomplishments that Penn Staters can point to with pride.

First, on July 1, 2011, we launched the new undergraduate Risk Management major with a formal Option in Real Estate.  Students enrolled in this Option will graduate with a degree in Real Estate Risk Management.  Based on extensive input from our Real Estate Advisory Board, this new major provides students with the flexibility to tailor the curriculum to their specific interests as well as the ability to combine their academic coursework with practical industry experience.  In addition, by combining real estate studies with risk management, students will have the intellectual framework to understand how this unique asset interacts with other business and investment sectors.  Penn State is now at the leading edge of real estate education -- offering a curriculum that is designed for leaders in the 21st Century.

Second, our students continue to represent Penn State well at international real estate case competitions.  This fall, our case team placed 3rd at the Cornell Real Estate Case competition and will compete later this spring at the Villanova Real Estate Development competition.  These events provide our students with the opportunity to interact and compete against students from other leading universities from around the world.

Third, as of July 1 Dr. Ed Coulson officially joined the real estate faculty as the King Professor of Real Estate Economics.  Dr. Coulson now holds a joint appointment with the Department of Economics and the Smeal College of Business.  Dr. Coulson is co-editor of Real Estate Economics, the leading academic journal for real estate research.  After having worked with Ed for many years, we are very pleased to have him officially join the department.

Fourth, Penn State retains its international reputation as a top-5 institution for real estate research.  This recognition continues a long tradition of excellence in real estate scholarship and scholastic achievement at Penn State.  In addition, the Smeal College of Business is now routinely ranked in the top-10 of public institutions and last spring was ranked #1 by corporate recruiters.  These rankings simply confirm that Penn State remains an institution of academic excellence.

Finally, this fall we launched the Penn State Real Estate Society with a reception in New York City.  The purpose of the Society is to facilitate networking and to provide friends and alums opportunities in the real estate industry a connecting point back to Penn State.

These items represent but a few of the highlights for the real estate program over the past year.  I hope you take pride in these accomplishments and help us spread the word about the positive initiatives at Penn State.  We look forward to 2012 with a deep sense of gratitude for your support and with excitement for the many things yet to accomplish.

We Are Penn State!

Brent W. Ambrose, Ph.D.
Smeal Professor of Real Estate and
Director, Institute for Real Estate Studies

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (November 16, 2011)—A team of six undergraduate students from the Penn State Smeal College of Business took home third place in the third annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition, held Nov. 10 in New York.

Eleven of the world's leading real estate undergraduate programs entered teams in this year's competition, including teams from Canada, China, and Europe. Each team received the case via e-mail on Nov. 5 and had about five days to research the case, prepare their analysis, and craft a presentation.

The case required the teams to conduct a hold/sell analysis to advise a pension fund on whether to keep in its portfolio a property in New York's Meatpacking District. Smeal's team came up with a disposition strategy, analyzed the market and competitive properties, and completed a financial analysis. From there, they created a PowerPoint presentation and presented to a panel of judges comprised of high-level real estate industry professionals.

Each team had 20 minutes to present their analysis followed by 20 minutes for questions from the judges. The teams were judged on their investment recommendations, approach to the problem, and presentation skills, in addition to their ability to answer and respond to the judges' questions.

Smeal's team advanced out of the first round to the finals along with Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin, who placed first and second, respectively.

The six Smeal team members were selected from Penn State's real estate case studies course (R EST 497) led by Richard Button, assistant director of the Institute for Real Estate Studies, who served as the team's faculty adviser. The team consisted of Chad Dipersio, Allison Marciniak, Dan Maurer, Tyler Moss, Josh Natker, and Jarrett Richards. They will split the third-place prize of $2,000 between them.

This is the second year that Smeal has participated in the Cornell case completion. Last year, Smeal placed second.

Also participating in this year's contest were Indiana University, New York University, Maastricht University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Guelph, the University of Michigan, Renmin University of China, and Villanova University.

For more information on the competition, visit www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/industry/centers/cref/education/competition.

On September 26, 2011, the Institute for Real Estate Studies (IRES) was fortunate to host Arthur Pasquarella as a guest lecturer for the Advance Realty Lecture Series.  In addition to volunteering on the IRES Advisory Board, Mr. Pasquarella (’79 Finance) is a principal of BPG Properties, Ltd., Philadelphia, serving as the firm’s EVP and COO.  In this capacity, he oversees all real estate investment decisions and property operations.

Mr. Pasquarella’s lecture centered in institutional real estate investment strategies and how BPG Properties participates in the industry as an investment advisor and asset manager. Their value added entrepreneurial approach is executed via a direct operating platform with a 30+ year track record of successfully developing, renovating and operating income producing real estate.

Upcoming Lectures include:

• February 17, 2012 – Lawrence Colorito,  Axial Advisory Group
• March 20, 2012 – Sally Gordon, Blackrock
• April 24, 2012 – David Welch, Normandy Real Estate Partners

The Advance Realty Lectures Series is made possible by Peter Cocoziello, President CEO, Advance Realty.  Peter also serves as the Co-Chair of the IRES Advisory Board.

Lawrence Raiman is the Founding Partner of LDR Capital Management, an asset management firm based in New York. LDR Capital manages the LDR Preferred Income Fund on behalf of accredited investors. Before founding LDR Capital Management, Mr. Raiman was a Managing Director at Credit Suisse Group for over 15 years. During his tenure at Credit Suisse, Mr. Raiman ran the firm’s Global Real Estate Securities business, with a team including 11 professionals located in New York, Zurich, and Sydney. At its peak, Mr. Raiman’s Global Real Estate Securities business managed $2.6 billion on behalf of investors. Prior to managing the Global Real Estate Securities business, Mr. Raiman was an Institutional Investor ranked research analyst for 11 years covering REITs.

Mr. Raiman earned his MBA from Columbia Business School in 1989 and his Bachelor’s of Science degree majoring in accounting from The Pennsylvania State University in 1982. Mr. Raiman is also a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Raiman has expertise in all aspects of portfolio management, securities analysis, and institutional marketing. Mr. Raiman also served as an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, teaching Introductory Real Estate Finance to students. Mr. Raiman is a member of NAREIT. Mr. Raiman is a member of Penn State’s President’s Club, The Mount Nittany Society, and Golden Lion Traditional Society, as well as lifetime member of Penn State’s Alumni Association.

Mr. Keane joined Lincoln Property Company in 1987 and is responsible for development, construction, financing, property management, and acquisitions of market rate apartment properties, and military family housing privatization activities for the US Army.  With offices in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Seattle, he has been involved in the development and construction of $500 million of new apartment communities and oversees a property management portfolio of $400 million of market rate apartment assets. Department of Army privatization includes the financing, development, construction, and renovation of a $485 million budget for 4,000 military family homes in Seattle WA., and 1,000 military family homes in San Antonio, TX. Prior to joining Lincoln Property Company, Mr. Keane was a Vice President for a mortgage banking company where he was responsible for the placement of $300 million in debt and equity financing of commercial, retail and residential investment properties throughout the Midwest.

In 2008 when I graduated high school, my parents had one rule for me – I could not stay in California.

This was more than a trick to have me experience winter and come running back home after college, but rather one of life’s lessons, experiences and maturity. Only now do I fully understand the magnitude of knowledge that my parents provided me with by sending me to Penn State. I came to Penn State like every other freshman; lost, confused, and had no idea about my career aspirations. Today, I am graduating in three and a half years with a major in Finance concentrating in Real Estate and a minor in International Business. I spent six months living as an Argentine in Buenos Aires, backpacked up through South and Central America and across Western Europe, have held four summer internships at prominent blue chip firms, am leaving school with a full time job offer in New York City, and still had time to live Penn State. In January I will begin my career working for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Manhattan. I will be part of the financial services, structured products and real estate team modeling deals and analyzing numbers for pension funds and banks that don’t specialize, but hold real estate assets on their books. Everyone asks why I would ever graduate early and leave the best place in the world. The truth is because I am excited and ready to test the skills Penn State armed me with in the real world. If anyone says there isn’t a job in this market for you, they’re bluffing. You are Penn State and there is no better experience and education in this world that you can receive to prepare and push you ahead against any competition that might arise in your path.

We Are.

Have you joined the Penn State Real Estate Group?  If not, join today to connect with Penn State Alums in the real estate industry!  Penn State Real Estate Group Link: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=143434

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (December 2, 2010) – A team of Smeal College of Business undergraduate students finished in second place in the second annual Cornell Real Estate Case Competition, held Nov. 10-11 in New York.
Smeal’s team, Prestige Worldwide, LLC, took home $3,000 as the runner up, narrowly missing out on first place to a team from New York University. Teams from Cornell University, Guelph University, Indiana University, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Texas at Austin also took part in the competition, which was held at TIAA-CREF corporate headquarters in Manhattan.

After receiving the case, which was based on four actual commercial real estate transactions, each team had about four days to complete their analysis, create an investment strategy, and craft a PowerPoint presentation. They had 20 minutes to present their analysis to a panel of judges comprised of senior real estate professionals.
Following each presentation, team members answered questions from the judges for approximately another 20 minutes. The teams were judged on their investment recommendations, approach to the problem, and presentation skills, in addition to their ability to answer and respond to the judges’ questions.
Each member of the Smeal team was selected from the college’s real estate case studies course (R EST 497) led by Richard Button, assistant director of the Institute for Real Estate Studies, who served as the team’s faculty adviser. The team consisted of Greg Hiban, Andrew MacDonald, Adam Michalski, Corinne Penksa, Dan Sonnentag, and Joe Stunja.

For more information on the competition, including a complete list of the distinguished panel of judges and sponsors, visit www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/industry/centers/cref/education/competition.

Have you joined the Penn State Real Estate Group?

If not, join today to connect with Penn State Alums in the real estate industry!

Penn State Real Estate Group Link: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=143434

Also, the IRES has compiled a resume portfolio of students interested in real estate seeking internship and full time opportunities. If you would like a copy to review please contact Richard Button at rjb366@psu.edu

David Welsh is a managing principal and founder of Normandy Real Estate Partners in Morristown, N.J. Prior to forming Normandy in 2002, David worked at Morgan Stanley where he managed U.S. debt financing activities for the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF). Prior to Morgan Stanley, David directed acquisitions for Gale & Wentworth, a nationally recognized investment and development firm that assembled a multi-billion dollar property portfolio.

David has more than fourteen years of expertise in the real estate industry, including overseeing all aspects of corporate operations and management, acquisitions, development, financing, and asset management. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Penn State and earned a master’s degree in Real Estate Finance from New York University, where he was also an adjunct professor. He devotes time to a number of professional and civic activities, including service on the board of managers for Family Service of Morris County.

Corinne Penksa is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance at the Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business with a minor in Psychology.

She has concentrated her studies and involvement in real estate related courses and activities. In 2009, Penksa became a member of the Penn State Student Chapter of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), an on campus organization that allows students from engineering and business backgrounds to learn about the residential construction industry. She is currently the chapter’s Vice President and served as Project Manager for the Residential Construction Management Competition Team, which the chapter participates in annually. The competition allows students the opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom to a real construction project by completing a management proposal. Penksa has participated in the competition for two years. In her first year, she analyzed the financial feasibility of an 88 home residential subdivision located in Corsicana, Texas.  This past fall, she conducted a market analysis in order to determine the feasibility of a design center for an “On-Your-Lot Homebuilder” in Hamptonville, North Carolina.  In addition to producing a proposal book, the team presented their plan to a group of industry professionals at the International Builders Show in Orlando, Florida in January 2011.

Other competitions Penksa has participated in include commercial based projects such as Villanova’s Real Estate Case Competition held in April 2010 as well as the above referenced Cornell’s Case Competition held in November 2010.

Penksa is presently working for the Institute for Real Estate Studies as an Intern and is responsible for quarterly newsletters and supporting alumni relations. During the summer of 2010, she held an internship with Deloitte Consulting, LLP and in the summer prior, worked at a golf & country club near her hometown in central New Jersey. Upon graduation in May, Penksa has accepted a position in the Real Estate Business Advisory Services Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City.

The Institute for Real Estate Studies second annual Real Estate Tailgate was held on October 30, 2010 following the IRES Advisory Board Meeting. The event allowed board members, Penn State Alumni in the real estate industry, and students to network and celebrate the Michigan game together!

The Wall Street Journal watched Time Magazine go from a June 2005 cover (“Home $weet Home”) asking “Will your house make you rich?” to the recent cover story, “Rethinking Homeownership.”
But the Journal came up with ten reasons why it’s good to buy a home now or in the near future. Let’s look at a few of the arguments:

Now is a good time to make a deal.   “This is a buyer’s market.”  No one can predict the future (at least not well enough to predict the turning points of markets) but the argument here is that in the long run, it is not necessary to buy at the very bottom of the market.  Note, however, that with so many houses available and a weak economy, prices are not likely to rise for some time. Thus, the deal should focus on housing as a consumption decision for years to come.

Mortgage money is cheap.  Yes it is, since inflation is nowhere in sight (not yet at least). Be reassured that the option to repay at fixed rates for the life of your loan is probably cheaper now than ever (this option is built into your fixed rate mortgage rate). Inevitably mortgage rates will rise in the future, although it is unclear when — but whenever it is, you will be covered.

An owner is likely to treat a house differently than a tenant (or even a landlord).  Not only does homeownership give owners a bigger bundle of rights compared with tenancies, owners are also likely to treat the asset as their own.
Amortizing a fixed-rate mortgage enables wealth to be accumulated by the household sector, even if it is a slow process.  This “forced savings” enabled generations of homeowners to build equity with loan repayments.  If one is able to service the debt with household income, over time these repayments will mean accumulated household wealth. Note, however, this is different than saying that equity build-up in the reason to buy. Since the amortization portion of the payment is the owner’s own money, this is merely a savings plan.

The Wall Street Journal believes that sooner or later, demographics, inventory adjustments  and economic growth will get the American housing market back to equilibrium in the years ahead.  This is especially likely if one lives outside the hardest hit markets. As long as one does not expect high rates of appreciation in the future, things might work out just fine for new home buyers.

There is a strong case for acquiring real property to live in now, even as the post-bubble market continues.  Note that the financial myths about homeownership are largely absent in these arguments.  We need not appeal to these tales of fame and fortune in order to restore interest in housing.  Buying a home will remain an important decision for many households in future years for several rational reasons.  No doubt the concept of the transaction will be different but markets will remain viable and active, enabling individuals, couples and families to consume elaborate packages of housing services superior to those anywhere else in the world..

Posted By Austin Jaffe, Ph.D. On November 24, 2010 in the Economics Blog at parjustlisted.com

February 3rd, 2011

The U.S. housing market bubble burst in the latter half of 2007 and three years later, the housing industry is still recovering. Lenders across the country are foreclosing on mortgaged homes and according to Brent Ambrose, Smeal Professor of Real Estate and director of the Institute for Real Estate Studies, it’s going to take a long time to get ourselves out of this mess.

“In order to stabilize the housing market, we need to work through the mortgage foreclosure process as quickly as possible to get the houses out from the banks, let them clear, and let the market set the price,” he says.

He and his coauthors Sumit Agarwal of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Souphala Chomsisengphet of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Anthony Sanders of George Mason University, are exploring the crisis on a micro-level.

They examine whether negative spillover effects from subprime mortgage originations result in higher default rates in the surrounding area.

Their study, “Thy Neighbor’s Mortgage: Does Living in a Subprime Neighborhood Affect One’s Probability of Default,” forthcoming in Real Estate Economics, takes this notion into account and analyzes the local housing market in Arizona’s Maricopa County. With Phoenix being one of the epicenters of the subprime crisis, Maricopa County was natural setting for the study.

A Cascade Effect

Ambrose and his coauthors note that there was an increase in the use of alternative, or hybrid, mortgages around the same time the housing bubble burst. These mortgages were given to people will low credit histories and because of it, became known as subprime mortgages.

They observed that subprime mortgages tend to be clustered in metropolitan areas where there was also an increase in home prices.

This clustering led them to think that there may be a cascade effect in the neighborhoods with high rates of foreclosures, assuming that a foreclosure sale acts as a public signal of a declining property market.

“One homeowner’s decision to default may start a default cascade by causing the remaining homeowners to reevaluate their property values downward,” they write.

But after controlling for individual borrower risk characteristics and foreclosures in the area, the researchers find that the concentration of subprime lending in the neighborhood does not increase the risk of borrower default. In fact, they found the opposite.

However, they find that higher concentrations of the more aggressive mortgage products, like hybrid-ARMS (adjustable-rate mortgages) and no- or low-documentation loans, did increase the probability of borrower default.

Ambrose explains that a popular hybrid-ARM is the 2/28, which is what led to many defaults. The 2/28 is a two-year fixed-rate mortgage that converts to an adjustable-rate mortgage for the next 28 years. When the payment resets after two years, it is known as payment shock.

“When the payment shock hit, the borrowers couldn’t make the new payments,” says Ambrose. “Couple that with a decline in house prices and the fact that they didn’t show documentation of any income to support the payments to begin with, you have a recipe for a problem.”

He hopes the findings are going to help policy-makers identify whether or not there needs to be more regulation in the market.

“You don’t want to make blanket rules and say no subprime loans because they have helped people get homes. Some of these people are still making their mortgage payments,” says Ambrose, who adds that the no-documentation loans or the interest-only, no-documentation loans are really damaging. “Now we can target regulations toward the really bad products.”

Ambrose admits that we have a long way to go to get things back on track.

“We’re in for an extended period of very low to negative price appreciation in housing,” he says. “We have to let the market take its course and set prices. As long as we’re intervening through policies that are trying to keep prices propped up, it’s just going to prolong the agony.”

- Brent Ambrose

L-R (Walt Rakowich, CEO ProLogis;  Simon Ziff, President Ackman-Ziff;  Peter Cocoziello, CEO Advance Realty;  Graham Spanier, President Penn State; and Tony Coscia, Chairperson Port Authority of NY & NJ)

The Institute for Real Estate Studies (IRES) held its Spring 2011 Board Meeting in New York City.  The two-day special event included a dinner at Ben & Jack's Steakhouse.  Special guests included Penn State President Graham Spanier and Smeal College of Business Dean Jim Thomas.  Our keynote speaker was Tony Coscia, former chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  The Port Authority has oversight responsibility for the redevelopment of the 911/World Trade Center site.  Coscia also serves on Amtrak Board and was appointed by the Obama Administration. The meeting was a great success and included an announcement about the return of the real estate undergraduate degree at Smeal.

Thursday, March 10, 2011
By Austin Jaffe, Ph.D.

The role of housing in the economic recovery was addressed in a presentation by Eric Rosengren, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in January. Rosengren’s speech highlighted two questions associated with the economic future of the nation.

Like others, Rosengren is more optimistic about economic growth for 2011 these days than in the recent past.  He predicts a 3.5 – 4 percent growth rate with continuing low interest rates due to low inflationary expectations and a stimulative Fed policy. However, like most other observers, he does not expect unemployment to dip below 9 percent even by year end. (In fact, he estimates that it will take as long as four years to return to a full employment economy!)

Traditionally, housing has played an important role in leading the economy to recovery.  However, this time, the state of housing markets is such that it is less important and less supportive as a sector. He states, “my sense is that residential investment, consumer durables, and services related to housing will be less robust than is usual in many recoveries, thus playing a role in what I think will be only a gradual improvement in the economy and employment.” In effect, with a weak housing recovery, this sector will limit economic growth leading to an extended period of high unemployment.

Housing is important to the macro economy but the situation is different this time. The decline of housing markets around the country has led to a slowdown in consumer durable purchases (e.g., kitchen appliances, new furniture and so on). It has also reduced the demand for housing-related services. Rosengren points out that there are no real signs of recovery in the housing sector, although the overall economy has been improving since the second half of 2009. This development is good news for many in the country but not so good for members of the real estate profession.
Much has been made of the importance of the consumer in the U.S. economy, accounting for about 70 percent of the demand. The bursting of the housing bubble has stymied consumer demand overall. There is a difference between the 2001 recession and the current period in this regard. In 2001, consumers experienced a significant decline in their household wealth due to reductions in equity values in the stock market. In the current recession, households were hit both in equity holdings as well as in lower home prices. Recent days have witnessed a return of stock prices to higher levels of two years ago; there have been no such parallel moves in house prices.

Without much inflationary pressure appearing in markets, mortgage rates remain low, although there is some indication of slight increases in recent days. The Fed appears determined to provide plenty of liquidity, despite significant criticism of QE II, so mortgage financing may remain readily available. That is, credit will be offered for those with very good-to-excellent credit rating scores.

Rosengren concludes that housing remains “fragile” despite many efforts to support this sector by various government programs. This time, housing will not lead the economic recovery. Further, there is a growing recognition that the continuing foreclosure saga is causing a drag on the overall economy. It is different this time but eventually housing will stabilize and the recovery process will begin in earnest.

Austin Jaffe, Ph.D. is PAR's Consulting Economist from the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University.

Have you joined the Penn State Real Estate Group?

If not, join today to connect with Penn State Alums in the real estate industry!

Penn State Real Estate Group Link: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=143434

Also, the IRES has compiled a resume portfolio of students interested in real estate seeking internship and full time opportunities. If you would like a copy to review please contact Richard Button at rjb366@psu.edu

Art Pasquarella is a principal of BPG Properties, Ltd., serving as the firm's executive vice president and COO. In this capacity, he oversees all of the real estate investment decisions and property operations of BPG.  Prior to joining BPG in 1987, Mr. Pasquarella was a vice president of the Investment Sales Division of Helmsley-Greenfield, Inc., for five years where he negotiated major real estate investment transactions throughout the Eastern United States on behalf of institutional investors. He began his career at Strouse, Greenberg Financial Corporation in the income property mortgage banking business.

Art is a licensed real estate broker in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He holds a master’s degree in Real Estate Appraisal and Investment Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1980). He is a member of the Counselors of Real Estate currently serving as a member of both its board of directors and its executive committee. He is also currently the chair of the education committee and a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

He has been involved in a number of community and civic organization including serving currently as both a member of the board of directors of the National Kidney Foundation of the Delaware Valley and as chair of the board of directors of Mount Saint Joseph Academy, an all-girls private high school, in Flourtown, Pennsylvania.

Joe  Stunja is a graduating senior with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance with a minor in the Legal Environment of Business.  Stunja has accepted a job offer with CB Richard Ellis in their Valuation and Advisory Services group in Manhattan.  This past summer Stunja interned under his mentor David Welsh of Normandy Real Estate Partners.  He was a member of the Smeal Real Estate case competition team that placed 2nd at Cornell’s annual case competition.  Stunja was also the Financial Analyst for the Penn State team that competed in the Residential Construction Management Competition at the International Builders Show in Orlando, Florida. During his time at Penn State Stunja was a founding member of the Real Estate Association, elected President of Acacia Fraternity, completed Wall Street Boot Camp, served as a THON 2011 Finance Captain, the Treasurer of Penn State’s Student Chapter of the National Association of Home Builders, and most notably was recently awarded the Smeal Alumni Board Sponsorship Award.

Paul Touhey is a Vice President with CB Richard Ellis who began his career in 2001 working for Insignia/ESG, Inc. In 2003 he joined CB Richard Ellis through the merger of CB Richard Ellis and Insignia. Paul specializes in industrial and life sciences related real estate on both a local and national basis. 

Since 2001, Paul has been directly involved in over 7,000,000 square feet of transactions. He was personally responsible for the successful disposition of the Spring Ford Industries portfolio which consisted of seven buildings across Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Mexico totaling over 725,000 square feet. 

Prior to Paul’s real estate career, he worked in Washington, D.C. for Jeffery J. Kimbell & Associates, a lobbying firm representing the interests of medical device and pharmaceutical industries. Paul also worked for Pennsylvania State Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf on the Senator’s 2000 U.S. Congressional campaign. He reported directly to the Financial Director and assisted assembling and scheduling campaign functions for the candidate.

During the Spring 2011 semester, five students – Dan Sonnentag, Greg Hiban, Andrew MacDonald, Andrew Giannone, and Tom Allen participated in a nationwide competition hosted by ARGUS.  This unique challenge gave students the opportunity to participate in a powerful and compelling financial analysis based competition to enhance their knowledge of ARGUS Valuation – DCF.

The team prepared an ARGUS Valuation-DCF model as well as a written report explaining the results of their analysis.  Twenty-two universities from across the nation participated in this challenge.  First place went to University of San Diego, second to Emory University, and third to University of North Carolina.  Although Penn State did not place it provided our aspiring real estate professionals with valuable exposure to a widely used software program.

The Spring meeting was held later this year to time the meeting immediately before the annual NAREIT Investor Conference in New York City.  This gave visiting board members an opportunity to leverage their New York City meeting with other relevant activities in the City.  Institute Advisory Board member, Angelo Annese, Partner, Ernst & Young hosted our meeting at  their beautiful conference facility overlooking Times Square.  The event commenced with lunch and a lively industry round-table discussion.  The formal board meeting immediately followed.  Later that evening, a dinner was held at Keen’s Steakhouse where board members and guests enjoyed an engaging presentation by the Murray McCabe, Global Managing Director for Real Estate and Hospitality at JPMorgan.

Greetings from the Institute for Real Estate Studies!  The Spring 2012 semester proved to be another initiative packed period for the Institute and real estate education at Penn State.  

The Semester kicked off with the “Big Event,” literally!  Real estate participated in Smeal’s major selection information session.  The event helped to yield 10 students declaring the real estate option in the newly formed Risk Management major.  These rising juniors have already held two real estate club organizational meetings and have landed real estate internships.  For example, Erin Smith is working with Cushman & Wakefield in East Rutherford, NJ this summer.

The Real Estate Society continues to execute on its plan to engage Alumni.  Over the course the Semester four networking events were held with 115 alumni in attendance.  The regional events were held in Pittsburgh (Feb.), Philadelphia (April), Southern California (April), and Washington DC (May).  Stay tuned for future event announcements.  Please refer to the newsletter article, Real Estate Society – Mission Driven, for additional details.

Our students participated in multiple intercollegiate real estate case competitions.  This Spring, the students participated in the Villanova, National Home Builders Association, and Argus real estate case competitions.  Competing against students from other leading worldwide universities, our students gain valuable exposure to complex investment real estate scenarios and using industry standard software programs.

The Advance Realty Group Lecture Series and Sokolov Family Seminar Series continued a very active speaker circuit.  Combined, nine speakers presented throughout the Spring Semester.  Please refer to the above hyperlinks for greater detail on the presenters.  The Fall 2012 slate of speakers already includes John Gibb, Managing Director, Jones Lang LaSalle and Wenli Li, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.  The Institute also sponsored the first annual Risk Management Symposium on “Risk and Catastrophic Events”.

Finally, as you look to the Fall please consider engagement in Penn State Real Estate in its many forms.  For example, serve as a role model by mentoring a real estate student, participate in recruiting for internship and permanent jobs at the first ever Risk Management Career Expo on September 10th, and network with fellow Penn State real estate professionals at the annual Institute tailgate during the Penn State/Ohio State football weekend on October 27th.  

Please contact me, Rich Button, at rjb366@psu.edu, to explore the many ways to connect!

Sincerely,
Rich
Rich Button ‘86
Assistant Director, Institute for Real Estate Studies

The Real Estate Society is an alumni outreach priority for the Institute that is designed to create a community among Penn State Alumni engaged in the real estate business.  Our mission is:

To enhance the value and reputation of Penn state real estate education by:  cultivating a community of active, engaged alumni; building and maintaining forums for student and alumni interaction; and providing a meaningful connection between the college and alumni.

The Penn State Real Estate Group (PSREG) on LinkedIn is proving to be an excellent “business social media” platform for us with over 900 members.  The PSREG website provides a wide array of relevant announcements and regional initiatives.

The Institute continues to develop our contact list resulting in the identification of approximately 3,000 Penn Staters in the real estate business.  As new contact management software is implemented, this resource will become a very usable tool for all of you to leverage.

With the direct support and leadership of the Smeal Development office and the Office of Annual Giving, the Institute conducted an appeal letter campaign.  This first-ever appeal letter campaign was success.  As of the end of December 2011, the Institute received 49 gifts totaling over $8,000.  

Additionally, the Real Estate Society now has 90 members and growing.  Your $100 annual membership is centrally important to shaping the next generation of Penn State real estate leaders.  Real Estate Society giving is a broad-based initiative directly benefiting the students.  The financial support will underwrite scholarship, case competition teams, the student real estate club, speakers, and related activities.

And, while all of us have a very strong connection with Penn State, the Institute believes it is also important to deliver value to you as well.  For example, Real Estate Society members receive special invitations to Institute events and Advisory Board round-table discussions.  Your participation in the Society will naturally lead to networking and business opportunities…what could be better than doing business with a fellow Penn Stater!  Additionally, industry relevant research will be shared and access to real estate students strengthened.  Please consider giving today by linking to the Institute website (http://www.smeal.psu.edu/ires) and clicking on the “Donate Now” (Nittany Lion Paw).  Thank you for your consideration!

Please join the Institute in congratulating the following students in securing real estate internships and permanent positions:

Permanent:

• Josh Natker – Price Waterhouse, Real Estate Advisory, NYC
• Jarrett Richards  – Jones Lang LaSalle, Harrisburg/SE PA
• Daniel Maurer – Massey Knakal Realty Services, NYC
• Peter Lagasse – Arbor Commercial Mortgage, Boston

Internship:

• Gregory Horowitz – CB Richard Ellis, NYC
• Erin Smith – Cushman & Wakefield, NJ
• Allison Marciniak – Ernst & Young, Pittsburgh
• Andrea Curran – Shelterfield Valuation Services, Philadelphia
• Xiaoyi Zhang – Fangyuan Real Estate and Land Appraisal, China

Peter J. Cocoziello is Chief Executive Officer of Advance Realty, and President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees.  Mr. Cocoziello founded the company in 1979.  He serves as Chairman of the Foundation for New Jersey Public Broadcasting (NJN).  He also serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors of the Somerset County Business Partnership, Board of Directors for the National Conference for Community and Justice, Trustee for Abbey Woods at Delbarton and is a member of the Board of Visitors for the Smeal College of Business of Penn State University.  Mr. Cocoziello is the past President of the New Jersey Chapter of NAIOP, past Chapter Chairman of the Young Presidents’ Organization, and served as a member of Governor Whitman’s Transition Team.
Mr. Cocoziello has additionally received the following personal and corporate awards: Lifetime Achievement Award, NAIOP Outstanding Business Person, Somerset Business Partnership; New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year, Real Estate Division, Ernst & Young; NJBIZ Finest Private Companies; Legacy Honor Award, the Young Presidents’ Organization; Impact Award, NAIOP; Humanitarian Award, the National Conference for Community and Justice; Somerset County Economic Vitality, Large Firm, Somerset County Chamber of Commerce; Top 20 Companies, Central New Jersey Business Magazine; Chapter President of the Year and Developer of the Year, NAIOP; Pennsylvania State University Alumni Fellow Award and The Top Power 50 of the Most Influential People in Real Estate.
Mr. Cocoziello holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from Penn State University, a Senior Certificate in Mortgage Financing, with an emphasis in commercial real estate, from New York University, and has completed the Harvard University Presidents’ Program.
Additionally, Mr. Cocoziello has been an instrumental thought leader for the Institute for Real Estate Studies and serves as a co-chairperson for its Advisory Board.  He also serves on Smeal’s Board of Visitors and received Penn State’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012.  The award honors the achievements of outstanding alumni whose personal lives, professional achievements, and community service exemplify the objectives of their alma mater.

Ms. Carleton is an Advisor at Sperry Van Ness – Rich Investment Real Estate Partners.  She focuses on investment sales of real estate in Los Angeles and the environs. Ms. Carleton previously worked as a Senior Associate at NAI Capital, where she leased commercial buildings and listed land and off-market opportunities throughout Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Fresno Counties.

Ms. Carleton started her brokerage career as a Sales Associate at Gribin Properties. In addition to brokerage transactions, Angelina is a Certified Real Estate Appraiser who has appraised over 1,000 properties since 2000.  In the appraisal role, she has served as an Expert Witness to the Los Angeles and Orange County Superior Courts in the matters of diminution of value, lender workout and estate planning.  Angelina has been published in The Niche Report, a publication for the mortgage finance industry.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Pennsylvania State University and received a scholarship through the American Marketing Association.

Additionally, Ms. Carleton is a founding volunteer leader for the Penn State Real Estate Society in Southern California.  Her proactive leadership has already resulted in a “chapter” website (www.pennstatere-ca.com), a networking event in April, and proactive outreach among other Alumni in the real estate business.