Greetings, colleagues and friends of UNO Real Estate…we hope your 2019 is off to a great start!
After an exciting Fall 2018 semester, the UNO Real Estate Program and Center is poised for another great year. In this installment of our newsletter, we’d like to share some of the happenings at here on campus and a few plans for the future.
One event that will be upon us in just a few weeks is the annual Rho Epsilon Real Estate Scholarship Banquet: Friday, March 1st at 5:00 PM at the UNO Scott Conference Center.
See the first article in this newsletter for additional details and information on registration and sponsorship opportunities. We truly hope you’ll be able to join us for an exciting evening as we honor our top Real Estate students.
We welcome any questions or feedback you may have about UNO Real Estate. Thanks for your ongoing support ... we couldn’t do it without you!
See you on March 1st!
David Beberwyk | Director of Outreach & Education
Dr. Steve Shultz | Director of Research
realestate@unomaha.edu | Become a fan of UNO Real Estate Center on Facebook.
Newsletter Content
- 54th Rho Epsilon Real Estate Scholarship Banquet - March 1st
- Real Estate Center Publishes 2018 Omaha Housing Appreciation Study
- Student Enrollment & Real Estate Practitioner Support
- Real Estate Program Initiatives
- Rho Epsilon Student Activities
- Student Wins National CREW Scholarship
- Omaha Commercial Real Estate Summit
- Spotlights: Faculty / Student / Young Alumnus
54th Rho Epsilon Real Estate Scholarship Banquet
Our 54th annual Rho Epsilon Scholarship Banquet will be held on Friday, March 1st at the UNO Scott Conference Center. This event will be held from 5:00 – 8:00 pm, and it promises to be an exciting evening of networking, fellowship and good food as we honor our top real estate students. Rho Epsilon Banquet Registration
We are also still in need of sponsors to help offset some of the costs of this year’s event and support student activities for the year. All donations made to Rho Epsilon are tax-deductible. Rho Epsilon Sponsorship Information
Please be sure to register by the deadline, Friday, February 22nd at 5:00 PM
On behalf of our Real Estate students, thank you for your support! We hope to see you on March 1st!
The Center’s Director of Research, Dr. Steve Shultz, recently published the annual Omaha Single - Family Housing Price Appreciation Study, which now includes 2018 data. We are grateful to the Baright Foundation and UNO Real Estate Excellence Fund for supporting this impactful project.
You can download a full copy of the report here: Omaha SFH Price Appreciation Study
SFH Price Appreciation Abstract:
This study evaluates existing (non-new construction) single-family housing price appreciation across the Omaha, NE, Metropolitan Area from 2000 through the end of 2018.
From 2000 through 2018, Omaha home prices have increased by 47% and since the ‘bottom’ of the 2007-2011 housing bust, prices have rebounded increased 41%. In the last two years (2016-18) appreciation was between 12.5% and 17%, and this last year (2017-18), appreciation was between 6.4% and 9.5%. These are the highest rates of both one and two-year housing price appreciation observed in Omaha over the last 20 years and they exceed recent housing price appreciation observed nationally and in other Midwestern Cities.
Finally, the Omaha housing market is not uniform or homogeneous: From 2016 to 2018, price appreciation ranged from 7% to 38% across 31 zip codes with the highest appreciation in the more developed eastern/urbanized parts of Omaha. Last year (2017-18), appreciation ranged from 15% to 30% across 7 Omaha sub-markets, with ‘South’ and ‘North’ Omaha, two relatively low income areas buffering downtown seeing the highest relative price increases.
Other recent publications by Dr. Shultz can be found on the Real Estate Center’s Research Page.
After three years of tremendous growth, UNO Real Estate student enrollment has stabilized over the past year at 110 students. With just two full-time faculty members, this is a good place to be.
The sustained number of real estate graduates--and growing number of internships--is enabling us to better serve the real estate community by meeting demand for competent entry-level real estate professionals. Speaking of internships, if your company has a need, please don’t hesitate to reach out, as we always have students who are looking.
The UNO Real Estate Program would not be where it is without the assistance of our talented adjunct professors. What they do is truly a “labor of love,” and we are most grateful for their contributions:
- Lisa Burnside - Union Pacific
- John Heine - Investors Realty
- Brent Rasmussen - Mortgage Specialists, LLC
- John Steier - Great Western Bank
- Mike Wear - First National Bank
We are especially grateful to the many real estate professionals who give of their time and make the learning experience memorable for students. Thanks to the following individuals who engaged in our classes, seminars, and Rho Epsilon thus far during the 2018-2019 school year:
| Nick Henderson | TitleCore National |
| Josh Kahr | Assess+RE / Columbia University |
| Kristy Lamb | NP Dodge Management |
| Jay Lerner | Lerner Company |
| Spencer Lombardo | Access Real Estate |
| Jay Lund | Greenslate Development / Modern Streetcar Advocates |
| Patrick Mason | Dicon Construction & Development |
| Eric Mueller | Farmers National |
| Kate O'Dell | Costar Group |
| Cassie Paban | Tetrad Development |
| Roger Porter | Great Western Bank |
| Zach Reinhardt | Burlington Capital |
| Wendy Richey | Berkshire Hathaway Home Services |
| Jerry Reimer | Urban Village Development |
| Lisa Ritter | RE/MAX Results |
| Jeri Schlickbernd | DVG Realty |
| Jerry Slusky | Smith Slusky Law & SB Communities |
| John Steier | Great Western Bank |
| Fred Tichauer | Berkshire Hathaway Home Services |
| Regan Zeller | Dicon Construction & Development |
We’ve been working to continually improve our curriculum and make it more accessible to a wider demographic of students. Here are a few initiatives we’re working on:
- We have created a Real Estate Minor for non-business majors at UNO. Since 15-20% of our Real Estate Principles & Practices students are from outside of the College of Business, we believe this option is warranted. We are working through approvals and expect it to make it into the 2019-2020 UNO Catalog.
- We are also seeking approval for an enhanced Real Estate Certificate for non -traditional students who may already have a degree, are seeking licensure, and/or want to "sharpen their saw." We've improved the Certificate by better aligning it with the educational requirements set forth by the Nebraska Real Estate Commission for brokers. We expect this to be published in the 2019-2020 UNO Catalog as well.
- We have partnered with a small Real Estate-IT start-up company, ASSESS+RE, to provide our students with a state-of-the-art web-based portfolio management tool in the coming years. Josh Kahr, an advisor and trainer for ASSESS+RE, provided a seminar to UNO students, faculty, and alumni last fall to demonstrate the tool's capabilities. We are excited about the possibilities ASSESS+RE offers and plan to incorporate the tool into one or more classes in the coming years. Many thanks to the ASSESS+RE team for making this happen: Min Suh (CEO), Josh Kahr (Advisor), Mike Stratta (Account Manager & an Omaha native!) For more information about this application, check out their web page: ASSESS+RE
The fall 2018 semester proved to be a busy, but exciting, time for Rho Epsilon! Throughout the semester, students had the opportunity to partake in numerous events and volunteer activities. These served as wonderful educational and inspirational experiences for our Rho Epsilon students.
Seminars - Educational Events
New HDR Building Tour - September 2018 [Kiewit]
Omaha Streetcar Discussion - September 2018 [Modern Streetcar Advocates]
Agricultural Land Brokerage & Auctions - October 2018 [Farmers National]
Commercial Real Estate 101 - November 2018 [NAI/NP Dodge]
Revitalizing Omaha - November 2018 [Omaha Municipal Land Bank]
Service - Volunteer Activities
Habitat for Humanity - October 2018
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope. This organization partners with people in your community, and across the world, to help them build or improve a place they call home.
Mammel Trick-or-Treat - October 2018
Angels Among Us Christmas Party - December 2018
Angels Among Us is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to provide financial support to families of children with cancer being treated at Nebraska hospitals, as well as Nebraska residents receiving treatment out of state. Since their founding in 2006, this organization has distributed over $1.6 billion to more than 400 families in need.
UNO senior Tiffany Hunterhas become the first UNO student to earn a national scholarship from the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network Foundation. Hunter was named as one of 20 students from across the nation to receive this $5,000 scholarship. Upon completion of her degree in May,Hunter seeks to bring more opportunities and businesses to North Omaha.
Throughout the day, students will have the opportunity to attend breakout sessions to enhance their real estate knowledge and gain a better understanding of what’s going on in the Omaha real estate market. There will also be plenty of opportunities to network Omaha;s CRE leaders.
Many thanks to Summit founder, Jerry Slusky, and the CRE Summit Planning Committee for making this spectacular event accessible to UNO Real Estate students, and for providing a generous scholarship to our top students each year!
At his “day job,” John is a skilled commercial broker with Investors Realty, and has facilitated hundreds of transactions. With a blend of highly regarded consultation and financial analysis skills, investors seek his expertise on a multitude of different projects, to include apartments, shopping centers, office buildings, industrial buildings, as well as value-add, redevelopment, and sale/leaseback transactions. His client list includes private equity funds, individual investors, and corporations of various sizes.
We are grateful for John’s many contributions to the industry, to the community, and in the classroom.
Thanks John!
Student Spotlight - Ruth Brooks
Ruth has two children, yet still finds time to actively contribute to Rho Epsilon, where she serves as an officer and the organization’s first-rate Event Coordinator. Since joining UNO Real Estate, Ruth has organized more than a dozen student events to include field trips, guest speaking events, and volunteer opportunities with Habitat for Humanity and Angels Among Us.
Well done, Ruth! We wish you the best in your future endeavors!
Young Alumnus Spotlight - Derick Lewin
Derick Lewin is a licensed associate broker who specializes in residential and commercial sales and leasing. He has been in the real estate industry since 2010, where he joined PJ Morgan Real Estate. In 2017, he had $10M in sales. He is also extremely active in UNO's Rho Epsilon Real Estate club, where he routinely speaks and mentors students.
Derick is a graduate of the Nebraska REALTORS® 2017 Association Leadership Academy, where he received full sponsorship from the Omaha Area Board of REALTORS®.
In addition, Derick served as past President of the Business Networking International Pay It Forward Chapter. Currently, he serves as a board member of the Midlands Regional Commercial Exchange Information, which is an organization created with the intent of bringing the Omaha and Lincoln markets together.
Derick continues to expand his ever-growing network by being involved in the Aksarben community where he lives with his wife, Ashley. Derick earned his bachelor’s degree in Real Estate and Finance from
UNO in 2012.
We are proud of Derek’s accomplishments since graduating from UNO and are grateful for his willingness to “give back” to the UNO Real Estate Program!
