REAL ESTATE BOOM

Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business has established a Department of Real Estate—the first in New York City to offer a BBA in real estate. “This move is a response to the pervasive impact of real estate on our economic life and on our society as a whole,” according to John Elliott, dean of the Zicklin School of Business. “During the past decade, real estate has become an increasingly important sector of the nation’s economy,” he notes. “Our goal at the Zicklin School is to train leaders of tomorrow in real estate and related fields.”

The real estate curriculum for the 24-credit major includes courses in valuation and asset management, real estate finance, and the law of real estate transactions. Faculty for the new programs will be drawn from the Departments of Law and of Economics and Finance and from the School of Public Affairs, as well as from the real estate industry. The Zicklin School also offers a BBA minor in real estate and an MBA with a concentration in real estate. A PhD program is being planned in conjunction with the Department of Economics and Finance.

Baruch is also home to the Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute, which offers real estate certificate programs covering every facet of the profession: general real estate; brokerage and marketing; property management; finance and investment; development; sustainability and high-performance buildings; urban planning; community development; and appraisals.

To function effectively in today’s booming real estate market, brokers, financiers, and developers need more knowledge and sophistication than ever before, according to Barry Hersh, associate director of the Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute. “Last year there were 30,000 brokers chasing 10,000 real estate transactions,” Hersh notes. “To compete, you’d better know what you’re doing.” Enrollment is particularly strong, he says, in specializations such as appraisal and community development, since real estate professionals and those aspiring to break into the field are currently “seeking knowledge that goes well beyond the basics necessary to obtain a sales license.” The Certificate Program in Appraisal is given in conjunction with the New York Chapter of the Appraisal Institute, and courses are credited toward the MAI designation.

—Zane Berzins