Scholarships for Real Estate Studies

Preparing to pay for college is paramount for success.  Be sure to research available financial assistance.  The Pension Real Estate Association offers scholarship opportunities at the undergraduate and graduate levels for real estate education.  For students considering retail real estate as a career path, there are a variety of awards and scholarships from the ICSC Foundation.  Students should also check out the SIOR Foundation if pursuing the commercial real estate industry.

Other helpful resources in the search for scholarships can be found in the Scholarship Handbook 2014, the Kaplan Scholarships 2014, and Confessions of a Scholarship Winner.

Housing Recovery At The Newsstand

Looking for admirable optimism on the cusp of frost-tinged mornings, spring break, and baseball's opening day?  Money is out with their "Real Estate Guide 2013" in the April issue.  The material gives an account of housing prices, buyer and seller points-of-view for today's conditions, renovation versus trade up, and homeowners insurance headscratchers.  In large part, the guide is signaling a market revival, and draws a distinction about the two types of markets behind an upsurge in residential prices.

Money also taps key online housing resources that stand out for dashboard readers:

* Foreclosure Rate Heat Map from RealtyTrac.com for foreclosure filings expressed as a ratio.

* Housing Barometer from Trulia.com charts normalcy as a basis for comparison among three housing market indicators.

* Digs^TM, new from from Zillow.com, for project estimates.  Apt for Love It or List It fans and renovation enthusiasts.

Read Money's Real Estate Guide 2013.  This spring it's in like a lion.

Conveyances: Q & A with Julia Boland, Senior Vice President - Halstead Property

Accelerating a shift in real estate communications from traditional formats and outlets to digital and mobile, The Boland Team at Halstead Property launched One(212), their interactive appazine for the iPad.  The first appazine of its kind, One(212) will have users tapping screens with enthusiasm.  Get a fresh take on New York City real estate with this hot new app.  Associate Broker Julia Boland, Senior Vice President at Halstead Property and Managing Director at Halstead Property Development Marketing, shared her thoughts with Real Estate Lit.

Q.  Was the decision by The Boland Team at Halstead Property to publish One(212) simply geared toward a technical transformation over to a digital media platform, or was there something more meaningful in the calculation to boldly branch out in an additional direction?

A.  One of my favorite quotes is, “Fortune favors the bold.”

Our move was very, very deliberate.  We spent a significant amount of time consulting with some terrific marketing and media experts.  We wanted to differentiate ourselves from the crowd.  Our body of work certainly separated us from the pack but we had not communicated that message effectively to the public.  After quite a bit of research and brainstorming we decided on a strategy to position ourselves as market experts by utilizing our combined 25+ years of experience plus cutting edge technology.

Q.  Specifically for your brokerage business, how are you utilizing One(212)?

A.  Our goal was to entertain, inform and inspire our readers.  It was never our intention to directly sell our listings through this vehicle.  Rather we had hoped to become a leading information resource which would ultimately drive serious sellers and buyers to The Boland Team.  As a free download on the iPad, it's been a great way to present content and engage readers on the cutting edge.

Q.  With two issues of One(212) in the marketplace now, what feedback are your audiences sharing with you about their experiences with the multi-media appazine on their devices?

A.  We are thrilled that so many of our esteemed colleagues and potential clients have enjoyed the appazine.  Combined with our social media and website strategy, we've registered nearly 10,000 engagements.  One(212) has been downloaded in Asia and Latin America so we know we are also reaching the foreign buyer.

Conveyances: Q & A are Real Estate Lit’s interviews with persons positively impacting communications and publishing aspects of real estate.  Interview conducted by Tom Pfister, November 2012.

Notable Mention: The Buzz Around REITs

Investing in REITs
by Ralph L. Block.  4th Edition.  2012.  Wiley, Hoboken, N.J.  432 pp.

Generating ample footcandle in the publishing sphere of finance in 2012, real estate investment trusts (REITs) brighten coffee table discussions for new and venerable investors.  This spring in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Nellie S. Huang described REITs as “generally a fine source of income in today’s low-yield world.”  This summer Jeffrey R. Kosnett reported on “Landmarks You Can Invest In” accessed through REITs.  A contemporary look at REIT capital as a legitimate source of funds for alternative energy development is presented by Tim Laycock and Tom Smallwood in the August Midwest Real Estate News from Real Estate Publishing Group.

For readers intrigued with the whole idea of REITs, a step further into awareness of the investment vehicle, its compliance requirements, and its management is warranted.  With his fourth edition of Investing in REITs, author Ralph L. Block’s encyclopedic work impresses in content and appearance, yet with a tone both folksy and sophisticated, giving it broad appeal. 

The first REITs were organized a generation ago, after the United States Congress passed, and President Eisenhower signed into law, the Real Estate Investment Trust Act of 1960.  REIT securities, like other stocks, are subject to the ebb and flow of popularity.  Ralph Block writes “…the vast majority of today’s REITs are vibrant, dynamic real estate business organizations first and ‘investment trusts’ second.”  

When interest rates eventually increase and put a downward force on real estate portfolio values, will publishing about REITs wane?  Either way, read the time-tested Investing in REITs for the dividend of knowledge.