News Archive

Cal Team Wins the 33rd Annual NAIOP Real Estate Challenge (opens in a new tab) Golden Shovel!

Berkeley-Haas team wins the UNC Development Challenge!

Ken Rosen predicts that inflation could hit 9% before easing, at the Real Estate & Economics Symposium, Charting 2022: Temporary Disruption or Permanent Transformation? 

Amir Kermani’s research on how foreclosures are fueling America’s racial wealth gap, in Mother Jones (opens in a new tab) and the Haas Newsroom.

“To say we’re in recovery would be a mistake. We’re still in a deep, deep hole.” Ken Rosen on the Bay Area, at the SF Business Times (opens in a new tab)Mayors’ Economic Forecast.

“Donald Trump has burned a lot of bridges in commercial lending.” Nancy Wallace on the PBS News Hour (opens in a new tab) on Trump’s financial woes.

The Berkeley-Haas team has won the 2021 UT Austin National Real Estate Challenge (opens in a new tab). This is Berkeley’s third win in four years!

“We had the boom, but the boom is over.” Ken Rosen in the SF Chronicle (opens in a new tab) on Bay Area real estate in 2021.

Amir Kermani on liquidation of assets in bankruptcy (opens in a new tab). “Companies going through Chapter 11 restructuring are worth about twice as much when they are going concerns rather than liquidated.”

The Berkeley-Haas team has won the 2021 UT Austin National Real Estate Challenge (opens in a new tab). This is Berkeley’s third win in four years!

“The markets aren’t priced for climate change, and the situation is dire.” Nancy Wallace on climate risk and fire. 

Congratulations to Nancy Wallace for winning the Williamson Award, Berkeley-Haas’s highest faculty honor. 

Unfair property tax assessments cost lower-income Americans billions, in the New York Times (opens in a new tab). Haas PhD Troup Howard’s work using the Fisher Center’s REFM Lab data is highlighted, on the racial disparities in assessments.

Ken Rosen: Oakland’s housing boom is too much too fast (opens in a new tab). What’s bad news for investors is good news for renters.

Odds of a recession are 60% by 2021, according to Ken Rosen (opens in a new tab).

“The Bay Area still feels pretty boom-y.” Ken Rosen on the potential for an economic slowdown, in the SF Chronicle (opens in a new tab).

Berkeley wins Kellogg real estate case competition for their plan to fill vacant ground-floor retail spaces in cities with package pick-up centers and e-commerce pop-up shops.

Congratulations to Cal for holding onto the Golden Shovel for another year, beating Stanford at the annual NAIOP event.

“The sky is falling?” Ken Rosen on the upcoming tech-led recession, in the San Francisco Business Times (opens in a new tab).

Congratulations to Professor Nancy Wallace, on being awarded the Berkeley Faculty Service Award.

Victor Couture’s research on urban amenities and gentrification featured in CityLab (opens in a new tab).

“It means women employees cost more,” says Nancy Wallace in Fortune on new research showing women exercise stock options more slowly.

More coverage of the FCREUE paper on algorithmic discrimination in lending: CNBC (opens in a new tab) and the Washington Post (opens in a new tab).

Ken Rosen in the Mercury News (opens in a new tab) on Prop 10’s impact on the supply of housing in California.

Ken Rosen warns of the upcoming slowdown and recession at ULI (opens in a new tab).

Nancy Wallace interviewed by Scotsman Guide Media (opens in a new tab).

Ken Rosen in the Mercury News (opens in a new tab) on Prop 10’s impact on the supply of housing in California.

FCREUE research cited in Bloomberg (opens in a new tab) profile of risky nonbank lenders taking advantage of government backing of loans.

Nancy Wallace in Bloomberg (opens in a new tab) on the risks of Fannie and Freddie offering lines of credit to undercapitalized nonbank lenders.

Cal team takes the Golden Shovel back from Stanford, at the 29th Annual NAIOP Golden Shovel Challenge. Congratulations!

“The biggest risk for the Bay Area is the hyperinflation in housing costs. We are in a bubble.” Ken Rosen in the SF Business Times (opens in a new tab) on the 2nd-longest economic recovery in US history.

Professor Nancy Wallace and Richard Stanton’s work on the systemic risk posed by non-bank mortgage lending in the Financial Times (opens in a new tab).

Professor Amir Kermani’s work on broker networks featured in an article in The Economist (opens in a new tab) on insider trading.

Ken Rosen in the New York Times (opens in a new tab) on dramatic consequences of the GOP tax bill: “It makes the decision of staying in California much more difficult.”

Ken Rosen at the ULI Fall Meeting (opens in a new tab): Deep tax cuts “will give us inflation and higher interest rates, and will lead to a recession two or three years down the road.”

FCREUE professor Enrico Moretti in the New York Times on the economic costs of local housing regulations (opens in a new tab).

A new report by Rosen Consulting and the Fisher Center on the barriers to homeownership in America: Hurdles to Homeownership: Understanding the Barriers (opens in a new tab). Forbes has covered the report here (opens in a new tab).

Coverage of the 22nd Annual Fisher Center Real Estate Conference on ABC7 News (opens in a new tab).

“Almost a boom.” Ken Rosen on the red-hot housing market on CBS News (opens in a new tab).

Ken Rosen in the Wall Street Journal (opens in a new tab): Homeownership remains below normal levels, and that has cost the U.S. $300 billion.

Ken Rosen interviewed on CNBC discussing the impact of the collapse in homeownership on the larger economy.

A new report by Rosen Consulting Group and the Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics examines the collapse of homeownership to 50-year lows: Homeownership in Crisis: Where are We Now? (opens in a new tab)

“The day of reckoning is coming.” Ken Rosen in the SF Business Times (opens in a new tab) on slowing job growth and the massive wave of new office space coming to SF in 2017.

Professor Palmer on KQED’s Forum (opens in a new tab) on the potential weakening of the Bay Area Housing Market.

“It’s not necessarily helping those that need it most.” Prof. Palmer on rent control in Silicon Valley in the Wall Street Journal (opens in a new tab).

Fisher Center professors Kermani and Palmer demystify quantitative easing (opens in a new tab) and explain the important relationship between QE and mortgage refinancing.

“SF and NY are leading the way in the downturn.” Ken Rosen in the Wall Street Journal (opens in a new tab) on falling rents in big cities.

Rent control “puts the burden of housing affordability on the backs of a few people”, says Professor Palmer in the San Francisco Chronicle (opens in a new tab).

“Our mortgage finance system is still not working well for lower- and middle-income households,” says Ken Rosen in the Wall Street Journal (opens in a new tab).

Only a correction in the tech sector will improve housing affordability in SF, says Ken Rosen in the Guardian (opens in a new tab).

What would a Republican president mean for US housing markets? Profs Edelstein and Palmer in Realtor.com (opens in a new tab).

Chistopher Palmer in Elle Decor (opens in a new tab) on how Brexit will impact real estate in the US.

“It’s an overreaction.” Ken Rosen on Brexit in The Registry SF (opens in a new tab).

Ken Rosen on office leasing in SF Business Times (opens in a new tab). The current tech pullback “is just the beginning.”

Ken Rosen in Bloomberg (opens in a new tab): Tech consolidation could lead to job cuts that will hurt home prices and rents in SF.

The Terner Center (opens in a new tab) has launched a new tool for assessing the impact of local housing regulations, the Housing Development Dashboard (opens in a new tab).

Congratulations to the UC Berkeley team that won the Bank of America Low-Income Housing Challenge (opens in a new tab) with their Heartwood Commons (opens in a new tab) design for West Oakland.

Suburbs try to act like cities to attract young workers: Victor Couture’s research on the new urban revival in the Wall Street Journal (opens in a new tab).

Professor Couture in the Atlantic’s CityLab (opens in a new tab) on the causes of the urban revival in America.

Thanks to everyone who attended the 20th Annual Fisher Center Real Estate Conference. A report on the conference can be read here (opens in a new tab).

Rising rents outpace wages in wide swaths of the U.S., says Ken Rosen in the Wall Street Journal (opens in a new tab).

Congratulations to the Cal team for winning the 26th Annual NAIOP Golden Shovel Real Estate Challenge! (opens in a new tab)

Professor Christopher Palmer was a guest on KQED’s Forum (opens in a new tab), commenting on Richmond’s new rent control ordinance.

Professor Robert Edelstein was on KALW’s Your Call radio show (opens in a new tab), discussing the impact of global investment on the Bay Area real estate market.

Professor Christopher Palmer interviewed by Fox News 2 on the 15 percent increase in Bay Area rent prices.

“The bubble we have here in real estate prices is really enormous.” Ken Rosen discusses the San Francisco housing bubble on MSNBC (opens in a new tab).

UC Berkeley’s Carol Galante interviewed by the San Jose Mercury News (opens in a new tab) on affordable housing.

“The reality is that big finance is contracting, and law is contracting, while tech continues to expand,” says chair Ken Rosen in a SF Gate article (opens in a new tab) on how the technology boom is changing the face of another district in San Francisco.

Republican gains could force the Fed to inch interest rates up more quickly than planned, according to Ken Rosen (opens in a new tab).

Vox.eu highlights a study coauthored by Amir Kermani (opens in a new tab) on whether low interest rates actually boosted household consumption.

Ken Rosen “very worried” that capitalization rates in the commercial real estate industry are now at their lowest levels in history (opens in a new tab).

UC Berkeley offers new Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Real Estate (opens in a new tab).

Nancy Wallace on NPR’s Here and Now (opens in a new tab), discussing the reasons the median home price in SF has hit $1 million.

Housing bouncing back from a slow first quarter due to lower interest rates and easier credit, says Chair Ken Rosen on CNBC’s Street Signs. -6/23/14

“Booms always end badly,” says chair Ken Rosen in a re/code interview (opens in a new tab) on a potential tech bubble. “We are at an inflection point.” – 5/30/14

“Booms have unintended consequences.” Chair Ken Rosen on the housing affordability problem in SF (opens in a new tab) – 5/27/14

UC Berkeley Gets Serious About its Real Estate, as The Registry reports (opens in a new tab). – 5/2/14

Chair Ken Rosen sees Bay Area real estate continuing to hum as he opens the 19th Annual Fisher Center Real Estate Conference in San Francisco, featured in The Registry (opens in a new tab) – 4/29/14.

Are San Francisco office tenants leasing up too much space (opens in a new tab)? – 4/28/14.

Chair Ken Rosen concerned that the new housing finance system being built will only serve to sustain today’s tight credit conditions, as Mortgage News Daily reports (opens in a new tab) – 3/31/14.

Little evidence that Airbnb is driving up rents in SF, says Chair Ken Rosen in Washington Post article (opens in a new tab) – 3/25/14.

Mortgage rates will be up 50-100 basis points a year from now, says Chair Ken Rosen in an interview on NBR (opens in a new tab) – 3/20/14.

Now is a good time to finance a house, says Chair Ken Rosen in CNBC interview – 3/20/14.

Ken Rosen on LA’s “Silicon Beach” (opens in a new tab): Talk of a bubble is premature – 2/14/14.

Chair Ken Rosen on the impact of lower mortgage rates and weak stock market data on CNBC Street Signs (opens in a new tab) – 2/3/14.

Airbnb not to blame for spike in rents in SF, says FCREUE chair Ken Rosen. Click here (opens in a new tab) to read the article, 1/22/14.

Chair Ken Rosen on the tech real estate boom (opens in a new tab) in SF: “We’ve probably got two or three more years of this.”, 12/4/13.

Chair Ken Rosen on CNBC’s Street Signs (opens in a new tab) discussing momentum in the housing market and the end of extreme exuberance – 11/26/13.

Chair Ken Rosen says the real estate sector is in the “sweet spot” of the economic cycle at the REIT World Conference – 11/13/13.

Chair Ken Rosen coauthored a paper on how to fix mortgage lending standards. Click here (opens in a new tab) to read the article, 10/31/13.

Did well-connected banks get special treatment during the financial crisis? Haas professor Amir Kermani’s coauthored article on the value of political connections featured in Slate (opens in a new tab).

Chair Ken Rosen on panel discussing the possibility of a real estate bubble (opens in a new tab) in San Francisco – 10/15/13.

Chair Ken Rosen interviewed on the impact of the Twitter IPO on the San Francisco real estate market (opens in a new tab) – 10/15/13.

How will rising interest rates affect the housing market? Chair Ken Rosen discusses the Federal Reserve’s impact and latest housing stats on CNBC (opens in a new tab) – 8/21/13.

Chair Ken Rosen addresses the housing market and factors contributing to the Bay Area’s strong recovery on the latest CNBC Street Signs – 7/30/13.

Professor Dwight Jaffee testifies as an expert witness in the high profile SEC lawsuit against former Goldman Sachs employee Fabrice Tourre. See the NY Times article (opens in a new tab), 7/15/13.

New book edited by Professor Dwight Jaffee, Dr. Cynthia Kroll and Dr. Ashok Bardhan measures impact of offshoring on worldwide employment. For more information, see the latest Haas Newswire, 7/13/13.

Chair Ken Rosen discusses rate increases and the imminent risks of adjustable-rate mortgages on CNBC’s Street Signs (opens in a new tab), 6/26/13.

Professor Dwight Jaffee testified in Congress on 6/12/13, calling for private markets to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For more information, see Haas Newsroom.

Chair Ken Rosen lends his perspective on rising mortgage rates and the housing recovery on CNBC’s Street Signs, 5/31/13.

The Asia Society has announced an upcoming conference on “Courting the Chinese Buyer: The New California Real Estate Boom”. Registration is available here (opens in a new tab).

Chair Ken Rosen discusses the latest on the apartment market on CNBC’s Street Signs, 5/17/13.

Congratulations to Linda Algazzali, Senior Financial and Project Analyst, recipient of this year’s Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Award! See Haas Newswire, 4/29/13.

Chair Ken Rosen addressed gradual improvements on the economic front at the 18th Annual Fisher Center Real Estate Conference. See The Registry’s article (opens in a new tab), 4/29/13.

Chair Ken Rosen & leading industry execs to tackle “recovery or bubble” in real estate markets at the 18th Annual Fisher Center Real Estate Conference, April 22, 2013 – For further information, see Haas Newswire.

Congratulations to Real Estate PhD candidate Paulo Issler, recipient of the 2012-2013 Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award!

Bay Area housing prices are up! Chair Ken Rosen lends his perspective in the SF Gate article “Home prices in Bay Area up 17.5% in January,” (opens in a new tab) 3/26/13.

Chair Ken Rosen addresses San Francisco’s hot housing market on CNBC’s “San Fran’s Flash Sales” episode, 3/26/13.

Chair Ken Rosen discusses real estate investment prospects at Pension Real Estate Association’s 2013 Spring Conference in Washington, D.C. See Commercial Property Executive’s article (opens in a new tab), 3/16/13.

Professor Nancy Wallace lends her expertise in ongoing efforts to develop a sound financial model for Cal’s Memorial Stadium renovation debt of $321 million. For the latest information, see KQED’s article (opens in a new tab) from 2/25/13.

Chair Ken Rosen relays the latest on the housing market on CNBC’s Street Signs (opens in a new tab) – 2/25/13.

Which housing reports are most important to your investments? Chair Ken Rosen offers insight on CNBC’s “Housing Data Haze” episode (opens in a new tab) – 2/13/13.

Chairman Ken Rosen presented at the Summit Meeting on the Future of Housing in California, sponsored by the Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics, on Tuesday, February 12, 2013. Other speakers included Governor Jerry Brown and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. See the SF Chronicle article (opens in a new tab), 2/12/13.

Chairman Ken Rosen shares his perspective on California home foreclosures in the Los Angeles Times article “Number of homes entering foreclosure drops 22.1% to six-year low” (opens in a new tab) – 1/23/13.

The Oxford Handbook of Offshoring and Global Employment, edited by Ashok Bardhan, Dwight Jaffee and Cynthia Kroll, will be published March 2013. For further detail and ordering information, see the Oxford University Press website. (opens in a new tab)

UC Berkeley’s real estate program featured in ULI’s Urban Land Magazine – December 2012.

Read about Chairman Ken Rosen’s recent real estate and economic outlook presented at the 35th Annual Real Estate & Economics Symposium in the following Inman News article (opens in a new tab) – 11/20/12.

Professor Nancy Wallace has been selected to serve on the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Research Advisory Committee of the Office of Financial Research (OFR). See the U.S. Department of Treasury press release (opens in a new tab) for further information, 11/14/12.

Business school website “Poets & Quants” profiles Professor Dwight Jaffee as one of the world’s top business professors, 11/5/12. See Haas Newsroom for more information.

Chairman Ken Rosen lends his perspective on yields and vacancy rates in the Bloomberg article Not New York Towers Rise With Embrace of Yield: Mortgages” – 10/7/12. (opens in a new tab)

Global Housing Markets: Crises, Policies, and Institutions (opens in a new tab), edited by Ashok Bardhan, Robert Edelstein and Cynthia Kroll, offers a global look at reasons behind the recent economic collapse and responses to it. For more information, see Haas Research News. The Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics co-hosted a full-day forum addressing financing and energy efficiency improvements for commercial and multifamily residential buildings on 10/5/12. See Haas Newsroom for more information.

Professor Dwight Jaffee to speak on the topic of “Recovery: the Role of Housing Finance in the Economy” at the European Mortgage Federation Annual Conference 2012 (opens in a new tab), November 14–15, Brussels.

Chairman Ken Rosen weighs in on the disconnect between impressive Lennar earnings and the S&P home builders index and disappointing existing home sales on CNBC’s “The Housing Disconnect” (opens in a new tab) episode – 9/24/12.

Professor Robert Edelstein weighs in on the need for government support and prudent housing policies in CNN Money article “Can the middle class thrive without home ownership?” – 9/11/12.

Are large scale energy retrofits a financially viable option for building owners? Professor Nancy Wallace weighs in on the topic in the following GlobeSt.com (opens in a new tab) article, 7/24/12.

Chairman Ken Rosen lends his perspective on Bay Area housing value increases in the Contra Costa Times article “Bay Area Housing Values Jump In Second Quarter” (opens in a new tab) – July 24, 2012

Chairman Ken Rosen weighs in on Wall Street’s single-family home investment trends in the following CNN Money article – July 24, 2012.

Professors Dwight Jaffee and Nancy Wallace will serve as keynote speakers at the upcoming SIFR Conference on Real Estate and Mortgage Finance (opens in a new tab), August 20-21, 2012 in Stockholm. For additional information, visit The Institute for Financial Research (SIFR) (opens in a new tab).

UC Berkeley ties for 1st place in the Bank of America Low Income Housing Challenge, May 2012 – Go Bears!! For more information, see Haas Archives.

Chairman Ken Rosen addresses refinancing and record low mortgage rates on CNBC’s “Refi Roulette” episode (opens in a new tab) – June 1, 2012.

Professor Dwight Jaffee lends his perspective on mortgage-backed securities in the following Market News International article “Investors, Analysts Don’t All See Benefits In Single Agency MBS” (opens in a new tab) – May 23, 2012.

Read The Registry’s article (opens in a new tab) highlighting Chairman Ken Rosen’s economic forecast, featured at the 17th Annual Real Estate Conference on April 30, 2012.

Read “A Comparative Context for U.S. Housing Policy: Housing Markets and the Financial Crisis in Europe, Asia, and Beyond” by Ashok Bardhan, Robert Edelstein and Cynthia Kroll, released April 17, 2012 by the Bipartisan Policy Center Housing Commission.

Chairman Ken Rosen shares his views on San Francisco’s tech boom in the San Francisco Chronicle article “S.F. tech boom triggers concern about another bust” (opens in a new tab) – April 15, 2012.

Read Professor Robert Edelstein’s latest entry on The Berkeley Blog – April 6, 2012.

Executive Director for Staff Research and Senior Regional Economist, Cynthia Kroll, and Senior Research Associate, Ashok Bardhan, to speak at Bipartisan Policy Center Forum addressing U.S. housing policy, April 17, 2012.

Watch Professors Dwight Jaffee, Richard Stanton, and Nancy Wallace discuss energy efficiency and commercial-mortgage valuation on Haas Insights (opens in a new tab), March 7, 2012.

Read Atif Mian’s article in Bloomberg News (opens in a new tab) on debt-ridden housing and the U.S. economy, March 1, 2012.

Read the National Real Estate Investor article revealing how the private sector’s involvement could help turn the housing market around, featuring Chairman Ken Rosen, February 28, 2012.

Read “Social Networks and Interactions in Cities”, the study by Fisher Center Co-Chair Robert Helsley and co-author Yves Zenou, Professor of Economics at Stockholm University.

“Entrepreneurs and Cities: Complexity, Thickness and Balance”, the real estate research study by Fisher Center Co-Chair Robert Helsley and co-author William C. Strange, Professor at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

Rents continue to rise, even as housing prices fall. Read more in this New York Times (opens in a new tab) article featuring Chairman Ken Rosen, February 24, 2012.

Read the Wall Street Journal (opens in a new tab) article highlighting Chairman Ken Rosen’s co-authored research paper on the foreclosure to rental model, February 23, 2012.

Chair Ken Rosen talks about investing in real estate investment trusts and the outlook for the U.S. housing market on Bloomberg News (opens in a new tab), February 2, 2012.

Read Atif Mian’s co-authored article in Bloomberg Businessweek (opens in a new tab), highlighting the relationship between household debt, unemployment, and economic recovery.

Read Fisher Center Senior Research Associate Ashok Bardhan’s blog post on the symposium/workshop in New Dehli, March 23-25, 2011: Berkeley goes to India

Housing affordability is at its best level in 30 years, according to Chair Ken Rosen, who says maybe now is the time to buy. Watch his conversation with MarketWatch from July 21, 2011 (opens in a new tab).

Hear Chair Ken Rosen’s thoughts on why the housing market is in a period of sustained but choppy growth in California on Marketplace Morning Report, Wednesday, July 20, 2011.

Read Fisher Center Co-Chair Robert Edelstein’s Policy Fixes for the U.S. Housing Finance System.

Read Fisher Center Co-Chair Dwight Jaffee’s recommendations for Fixing the U.S. Mortgage Market.