Welcome to the 2024 Future of Real Estate Competition site! Read on to learn more about this amazing opportunity to create innovative solutions to problems facing the real estate industry. New to the industry? No problem! The competition is designed to support your creativity with seasoned industry advisors and support from the Weiser Center for Real Estate.
The Future of Real Estate 2024: REIT Challenge – “You’re the CEO”, is a competition designed to support student exploration of innovative solutions to the challenges facing the real estate industry and the built environment more broadly. In teams, students will be challenged to research the REIT real estate industry, discern the challenges facing a particular aspect of the industry, and create innovative solutions, supported by a comprehensive business plan.
The Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry is one of the largest ownership groups of real estate. More specifically, the REIT industry owns, operates and finances over 4 trillion dollars worth of real estate, with public REITs (those traded on a stock exchange) owning about 2.5 trillion in assets. The balance of the REIT ownership is in private REITs.
The REIT industry provides the opportunity for everyday Americans to invest in real estate through direct securities investments, 401K plans, pension plans and other investment and retirement funds.
For those studying real estate, the REIT industry provides numerous job opportunities for rewarding careers, both professionally and financially which we will discuss in our introduction to the case competition.
Leaders in the REIT industry have created tremendous shareholder value for their investors. Now it’s your turn to compete for a grand prize of $10,000 (with prizes totaling $30,000) and solve some REIT issues like a CEO!
The sections across the top of this site will help you understand the case, deliverables, judging criteria, rules, and how to access our community of industry advisors.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the focus, rules, prizes, and resources available to participants.
Important Dates (all times EST):
- Wednesday, October 9th: Competition Launch
- Wednesday, October 23rd: Deadline to request support for finding teammates
- Tuesday, October 29th, 4pm-5pm: Student Workshop/Q&A for case study (zoom link will be provided)
- Wednesday, November 6th at 11:59 PM: Submission Deadline
- Friday, November 22nd: Finalists will be notified
- Wednesday December 4th: Final Future of Real Estate Presentations and Awards Event
Questions? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions HERE, or contact Colleen Triezenberg at cotrieze@umich.edu
Our Partners
Mark and Allison Parrell Real Estate Fund
The Brian and Julie Finerty Innovation in Real Estate Fund
The Scharf Family Real Estate Competitions Fund
The S. Scott Stewart Real Estate Programs Fund
Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning