UCLA Real Estate Wire

Poets and Quants: "The Best B-Schools For A Real Estate MBA"

"Among the premier places to learn the skills to thrive in the constantly fluctuating world of real estate — and to make the connections that are the fuel for a successful career — is UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. Since its founding 18 years ago, UCLA’s Ziman Center for Real Estate has leveraged its location in the heart of the Western U.S.’s largest city to become one of the top real estate centers in the country for the study of low-income housing, commercial real estate, market-driven approaches to affordable housing, and more...

" 'Ziman does a lot of things that fall into the category of social impact,' Kawahara says, including its program on affordable housing that is geared toward the community. 'We’re giving MBA-level training to nonprofit housing developers, public agency developers, to try to help build capacity,” he says. “So where we have this relationship not only with the private sector, private developers, and private capital, but also lots of the policymakers and even some of the nonprofit social impact-type folks that are doing some of this work on the ground.' "

[P&Q: 6/9/2019]

Bloomberg: "An AIDS Charity Fights Builders in L.A."

"While it’s fronted other ballot measures, those were more closely related to the agency’s core mission of providing health care to and advocating for AIDS patients, says Eric Sussman, a senior lecturer on the faculty of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, who’s given money to the foundation over the years. “To get into real estate—that’s a complete 180,” he says..."

[B: 3/2/17]

LA Times Op-Ed: "Easing LA's Housing Crunch"

"Los Angeles is stuck in a housing crisis with little hope for an easy escape. The standard definition of “affordable” is shelter that costs no more than 30% of a household's gross income; anything higher cuts severely into other types of consumption. Using that metric, to afford the median-priced home, the median household would require a staggering 52% raise, to $96,000 a year from $63,000. A more modest 14% raise would enable that family to rent the median-priced apartment. With housing costs rising faster than incomes, we are likely to retain our title as the least affordable city in the United States for years to come..."

[LA Times Opinion/Op-Ed 8/10/15]

2015 John S. Long Outstanding Student in Real Estate Award

The Ziman Center is pleased to announce that the 2015 recipient of the John S. Long Outstanding Student in Real Estate Award is Royce Hadden. Royce, UCLA Anderson MBA '15, has proven himself to be a devoted leader, peer mentor, and champion of the Anderson Real Estate Association (AREA), the Ziman Center and the real estate program at Anderson and UCLA. As President of AREA, Royce has lead with vision and inspiration. His reputation is one of a humble and reliable leader, determined to enhance the experience of his classmates at Anderson. Whether keeping his student board members on point with program goals, or taking the time to introduce a potential Anderson student to the real estate program, Royce is always pushing people toward success. In addition to this dedication to Anderson, he has also given of his time and knowledge to the undergraduate students in real estate, making himself available to offer career guidance and general advice in the industry.

When Royce took over as President of AREA, he inherited a program that he was unsatisfied with. It was first his ability to imagine a better program, and then his determination to bring those improvements to life that has fundamentally changed the real estate program at Anderson. Royce worked passionately with student affairs, the Parker Career Center, and the Ziman Center to establish greater communication, branding and resources across Anderson. Under his supervision AREA programming increased, real estate career outreach was refocused, and collaboration between business school students, alumni and undergraduates was re-established. He accomplished these goals with selflessness and sincerity, thinking only to enrich the experiences of current and future real estate students. Royce Hadden’s reputation clearly embodies the kind of leader the John S. Long Outstanding Student in Real Estate initiative seeks to award.

About the John Long Outstanding Student in Real Estate Award
This award recognizes the UCLA Anderson MBA candidate in each class who has demonstrated and exercised the qualities required to become an influential leader in the industry. The award is not based purely on Academic performance or industry involvement, but on the student's commitment and contribution to the strength and the reputation of the UCLA Real Estate Program at Anderson and throughout the University. The recipient is recognized by the committee, as well as his or her peers, as someone whose Anderson career has been distinguished by action, commitment, and the pursuit of excellence, both in individual endeavors and on behalf of the Anderson Real Estate Program.

This prestigious award is named for John S. Long, the Founding Chairman of the Ziman Center's Board. The criteria by which the winner is selected are designed to reflect John's own leadership style.  John Long is President and CEO of Highridge Partners, Inc., which he founded in 1978. The company has been so successful that John's views are seen as a bellwether of the real estate industry to this day. Notwithstanding his tremendous success, John is known as someone who flies largely under the radar, relying upon fundamental principles, rigorous analysis, and investing discipline, and avoiding the public notoriety that seems to follow other large players in the industry.

UCLA Anderson/Ziman Center's Eric Sussman Earns UCLA’s 2015 Non-Senate Faculty Distinguished Teaching Award

Robert Watson, chair of UCLA’s Committee on Teaching, announced the recipients of the 2015 Non-Senate Faculty Distinguished Teaching Award — and Anderson and Ziman Center’s own Eric Sussman is among them. Each year, only three UCLA non-Senate faculty are selected for this award, which Watson says is considered “a significant part of the total evidence for academic and professional attainment.”

Sussman’s outstanding contribution to students’ education and classroom experience is widely appreciated by Anderson real estate MBAs. “Professor Sussman’s level of engagement and attention to detail are second to none,” said his student Jack Agresta ('15). “With a deep understanding of the subject matter and a profound work ethic, he's the type of leader you never want to disappoint, which encourages you to always do your best. His expectations are a thing of legend, but also a rite of passage, and I leave Anderson a better person for having studied under him.”

Sussman graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1987 with a B.A. business economics from UCLA and he earned his MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 1993. A licensed CPA, he joined the Anderson School faculty as lecturer in 1995 and was advanced to senior lecturer in 2011. In addition to his teaching, Sussman is also a successful entrepreneur, with extensive experience in real estate and investment management. He is chairman of the board of trustees at Causeway Capital, an employee-owned investment management firm, and a member of the board of directors at Bentley-Forbes, LLC, a private, real-estate investment firm.

In a joint announcement, Dean Judy Olian and Faculty Chairman and Deputy Dean of Academic Affairs Randy Bucklin said:

In his 20 years in the Anderson School classroom, he has proven to be a versatile and enormously popular instructor; he has taught undergraduates, MBA students, and executives in a wide range of Anderson programs, all to consistently rave reviews. He is a seven-time winner of the MBA Teaching Excellence Award as well as a six-time winner of the FEMBA Teaching Excellence Award. In addition, the Anderson School faculty has recognized Eric with both teaching awards for which he is eligible. In 1997, after only two years of teaching at Anderson, he received the Citibank Teaching Award. In 2008, the faculty awarded him the Niedorf “Decade” Teaching Award. Acclaim for Eric’s teaching has also been recognized nationally. In 2010, he was ranked ninth Most Popular Business School Professor in the U.S. by Bloomberg Business Week. More recently, he was ranked 20th among the Most Influential Business Professors Alive Today by top-business-degrees.net.

“What can you say about a guy like Professor Sussman?” asked Patrick Devitt (’15). He paid tribute to his professor with this answer: “His influence permeates the school — its faculty, students and staff. He is a renowned host for school related-events. He is the king of the cold-call and has an unmatched sense of humor. He is a sounding board for students' business plans and career aspirations. He has deep understanding of a number of subjects, including real estate, finance and law, and he is able to effortlessly impart his knowledge to students. Most important, he shows utmost care for his students and their mastery of the subject matter. Thank you, Professor Sussman, for being our coach, mentor, professor and friend.”

Among other major responsibilities, UCLA’s Committee on Teaching is charged with the annual selection of six members of the Senate, three non-Senate faculty, and five teaching assistants to receive awards for distinguished teaching. Joining Sussman in this select group of UCLA’s finest teachers are Pavel Wonsowicz, lecturer at the UCLA School of Law and director of the Academic Support Program, and Paige Greene, lecturer in mathematics.

A Global Market: Opportunities and Challenges in Investing in Asian Real Estate Markets

By Min Kang (’16)

The UCLA Anderson Real Estate Association hosted a panel on Real Estate Trends in Asia on January 13 for nearly 50 students and professionals, with support from the Ziman Center for Real Estate and in affiliation with the Center for Global Management.

With members of the UCLA student body and real estate industry professionals present to network and participate in the panel discussion, I could feel the excitement build in the room during the pre-event reception. We were not disappointed.

The evening opened with an introduction of the panel by Tim Kawahara, founding executive director of the Ziman Center, followed by a welcome from Mark Karlan, lecturer at UCLA and former executive managing director at CBRE Global Investors. Karlan then joined Gary Anderson, an Anderson graduate and CEO of Europe and Asia Prologis, and Bill Zhou, managing partner for the U.S.-China Real Estate Investment Center, as the three discussants on the panel.

The discussion quickly moved along while answering such questions as: What are the best performing asset classes in Asian real estate markets? What city or region in Asia is the most attractive to investors? Which market in Asia offers the best risk-reward potential? What are the challenges for Asia-bound real estate investors? Covering these topics in depth showcased the broad and industry-specific knowledge of the panelists. Asked great questions by the audience, I am sure that the distinguished guests were not disappointed with their trek to the UCLA Anderson campus.

The evening closed with the panelists’ sharing practical tips on how best to live the globetrotting lifestyle, including building a team that you can trust on the ground, developing the ability to sleep anywhere, anytime, and even the timing of consumption of sleep aids on long flights. Even while being mobbed by attendees post-presentation, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Zhou’s great energy, welcoming smiles and handshakes showed a reciprocating excitement that promised UCLA would definitely see more of them in the future.

(As a side note, if you weren’t present for the insight that these wonderful gentlemen imparted on the audience, you also missed the pistachio and goat cheese covered watermelon from Fundamental LA.)

Pircher, Nichols & Meeks Joint Venture Challenge Applications Due 12/18

Students at the UCLA School of Law and the UCLA Anderson School of Management are invited to participate in the Pircher, Nichols & Meeks Joint Venture 2014/2015 Challenge, with a $3,000 Prize sponsored by the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law & Policy at UCLA School of Law. 

Deadline to Sign Up- Thursday December 18th!

WHO: Open To All UCLA Law Students and Anderson School of Management Students
WHAT: Joint Venture Transaction Case Competition
WHY: $3,000 PRIZE, Learning, Networking 

Please Read Details Below:

Pircher, Nichols & Meeks Joint Venture Transactional Competition 
Sponsored by the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate and the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy.

Details: Students from the law and business schools will be teamed up and presented with a simulated real estate deal prepared by Phil Nichols, a founder of Pircher, Nichols & Meeks and Kevork Zoryan, Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. 

The teams of 2-6 students will then work through both legal and business issues that may arise in such transactions. After working through the fact pattern, the teams will submit their responses to various questions before participating in a presentation with Mr. Nichols and Mr. Zoryan. During the presentation, Nichols and Zoryan will share their knowledge of the field as they walk students through the more subtle points of the deal before announcing the winner of the competition, which will be the team of business and law students that best answered the questions posed.

Students with an interest in real estate transactions and/or joint venture agreements are encouraged to participate. This opportunity is aimed at giving students i) a sense of what goes on in transactional law practice, particularly in the field of real estate, ii) an opportunity to gain experience considering the important business terms that go into a joint venture agreement, iii) an opportunity to work closely and develop relationships with their peers at the law/business schools, iv) augment their resumes with transactional real estate exposure, and v) a chance at a $3,000 prize, courtesy of the Lowell Milken Institute!

If you're interested please RSVP by clicking: http://ucla.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3yBIGQbYqsCiTiZ

Important Dates to Remember:
Sign-up Deadline: December 18, 2014
Teams Assigned and Materials Distributed: December 20, 2014
Deliverables Due: January 17, 2015 at 5pm
Review of Case with Mr. Nichols and Mr. Zoryan and Winners Announced: Mid February 2015

Questions? Email:
Michael Kiper at [email protected] (or) Sarah Mercurio: [email protected]

Pircher, Nichols & Meeks Joint Venture 2013/2014 Challenge (left to right): Philip Nichols, Of Counsel, Pircher Nichols & Meeks; Kevork Zoryan, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley; Daniel Nagel, UCLA Anderson MBA 2014, Steve Serna, UCLA Law JD 2014; and Stevens A. Carey, partner, Pircher at Nichols & Meeks.

US News: "At Business Schools, Renewed Interest in Real Estate"

"If you're asking the student who's graduating, they don't look at it that way," says Paul Habibi, a professor at UCLA's Ziman Center for Real Estate. While a student who graduated in the last few years may have a long upswing ahead of her, says Habibi, it likely did not feel that way immediately after graduation.

[US News 1/28/13]