À Bientôt, MIPIM

Here’s to the real estate MBA Class of 2014 knowing much more about international real estate and global capital flow than we did before! The 2013 MIPIM trip was a whirlwind of meetings with diversely talented individuals, panel sessions about the real estate environment across the globe, debrief sessions with Dean François Ortalo-Magné, and the occasional yacht party. Overall, we were able to derive a comprehensive snapshot of the global real estate market in time, and better understand how macroeconomic events steer capital markets within the real estate industry.

Key MIPIM 2013 Themes:

1.       An unprecedented and growing yield gap between core and perceived non-core assets

2.       Institutional investors are seeking managerial control through direct investments

3.       Employers desire real estate experts instead of merely financial engineers

4.       Participants are largely bullish towards Asia & America, and cautious towards Europe

Our special thanks to company representatives during the trip who lent their time for the advancement of our students: Deustche Bank, Park Hill Group, BNP Paribas, Lazard Freres, Real Capital Analytics, IPD, Atlantic Partners, DTZ-UGL, USAA Real Estate Company, Heitman, DLA Piper, Metzler, DREA(m) LLC, Amstar, Bjarke Ingels Group, and all others involved with us during our time there.

One final thank you to the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate, for without it we would not have been able to partake in this wonderful experience. I’m left with one lingering thought: how can I convince the organizers of the need for a 2^nd year MBA consultant on next year’s trip!

Real estate MBA students and faculty pictured with Dean Ortalo-Magné and Rose-Noëlle Pritchard, Conference Manager for Reed MIDEM

Gearing up for MIPIM 2012

The anticipation has reached its pinnacle, and the Class of 2013 has begun to pack our bags for Cannes, France to attend MIPIM 2012 next week. We’re looking forward to attending a variety of conference sessions and networking events with industry experts from around the globe. The event, which will consist of 4,200+ real estate investors and 19,000+ participants coming together at the Palais des Festivals, will surely be a memorable and invaluable experience for our group of aspiring real estate professionals.

Dean François Ortalo-Magné, who has been a prominent MIPIM speaker and attendee for several years, has already been contributing to the MIPIM buzz with his features on the mipim worldblog. Earlier this month, he was put in the spotlight as a “property influencer” and shared his insight on the market in China, touching on topics such as sector trends, aging population, and sustainable development. Watch his interview here.

Just recently, he was featured in “MIPIM past, present and future…Four questions for Dr. François Ortalo-Magné”. Here, eager readers are able to get his input on what has changed in the global real estate market over the course of 2011, and what is to be expected at MIPIM 2012. “The demand for emerging market investments has yet to find a place to settle. Emerging countries have legal pains in setting up the right institutional environment to welcome foreign investments. The battle is still on for the next serious contender”. Read the full blog post here.

During the conference, students will be actively sharing our experiences and reflections each day, so be sure to stayed tuned for continuing coverage on this year’s MIPIM trip. We'll also be contributing to the official MIPIM blog and reporting on Twitter at @UW_GraaskampCtr.


Andrew Toby is a first-year MBA student in the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. A CPA from California, Andrew hopes to utilize both his accounting background and the knowledge gained in the MBA program to pursue a career in private equity investments in real estate.

Reporting from MIPIM 2010

A group of first-year Wisconsin Real Estate MBA students are in Cannes, France, this week to attend MIPIM, the premier international real estate conference in the world. The 15 students are led by François Ortalo-Magné, professor and department chair, and Arif Qureshi, lecturer for the Department of Real Estate.

This is the fifth year Wisconsin MBA's have attended the conference, and this year's participation again offers an outstanding opportunity for close collaboration between the Wisconsin group and the organizers and executives of MIPIM to help them deliver an improved experience to conference attendees and, at the same time, provide valuable global real estate industry exposure for our students.

In 2010, we are partnering with MIPIM and CREOpoint, the online community for CRE leaders worldwide, to put you ringside for all the action at MIPIM and learn what is happening across the world in commercial real estate! We will post summaries of each day’s discussions, plus we offer you the opportunity to tell us your questions for MIPIM. We may ask them during the session! Check out the conference program via CREOpoint here. Feel free to add your questions or comments below.

Climate change (or not): impact on foundations of real estate in France. What about U.S.?

Some background: The extent to which the climate is changing is subject to lots of scientific and popular debate. While the scientists and the press fight it out, policy-makers must decide how to move forward. In France, the government put together a number of groups from the ministries of agriculture, health, the environment and ecology, and the prime minister’s office with the mandate to agree on a set of projections to be used by all government agencies for policymaking.

The issue: The document points to some issues already affecting French real estate. Here is one I wanted to highlight: changes in weather pattern are affecting the depth at which clay soils move during the year (contracts when drying and expands with water). The level at which contractions and expansions take place has reached deep enough to affect the foundations of some homes, in particular in the south of France. Today, the reported damage is estimated in the hundreds of millions of euros.

Is anyone aware of any such issue/damage in the U.S.?

François Ortalo-Magné is the Robert E. Wangard Chair of Real Estate at Wisconsin. With expertise in housing, agricultural land markets and policies, and international real estate, he has done extensive research on fluctuations of housing transactions and prices.

Retail Mood Lifts at MAPIC

The global footprint of the Wisconsin Real Estate Program continues to make an impact around the world. While Department Chair François Ortalo-Magné, was in Hong Kong presenting at the MIPIM ASIA Conference (see previous posts), Faculty Associate Joe Walsh traveled to Cannes, France to participate in the annual MAPIC Conference. With over 6,500 attendees, MAPIC focuses on the retail sector of the global real estate market.

During the conference closing session, Walsh presented the findings of a survey of MAPIC attendees which was conducted and compiled by him, with assistance from several students from HEC Paris, the #1 business school in Europe (FT). (The selected HEC students studied real estate finance in France under Ortalo-Magné and Tim Riddiough last spring through a unique partnership between HEC and the Wisconsin Real Estate Program.)

Survey results confirmed a renewed sense of optimism in the international retail market. For example, results showed 53% of those polled felt more optimistic at the end of MAPIC than they did at the start. Asked how they felt the market perspectives had changed over the past 12 months, over 65% of retailers expressed optimism, while 35% of developers said they felt an improvement in the retail real estate sector. International retailers polled before and during MAPIC 2009, report that they believe the market has bottomed out and that 2010 will see a significant recovery in certain retail sectors and territories.

Chris Igwe of CB Richard Ellis, who also presented during the closing session, noted, “There is a future. There is hope. What’s been interesting here in Cannes is the mood, which is clearly positive.” He advised developers that understanding retailers’ needs is increasingly important. “In our industry, a lot has been said about ‘build it and they will come.’ You can’t just build anything today, because nobody will necessarily buy it up. We need to dialogue more to understand what has worked and what hasn’t.”

Wisconsin’s involvement in MAPIC builds on a long history of collaboration with REED MIDEM, the coordinators of the annual MIPIM Conference in Cannes, France, as well as a unique partnership with HEC for the Global Real Estate Master (GREM) degree program. This innovative program brings together students from HKUST, HEC Paris and INCAE for a semester of intensive real estate training at Wisconsin. The first class will commence in Spring 2011. Visit the GREM program website at bus.wisc.edu/grem.

Update from MIPIM Asia

During the closing session of MIPIM Asia 2009 in Hong Kong on Nov 20th, UW Real Estate faculty member and department chair François Ortalo-Magné presented on the strong signs of economic growth in China and South East Asia. Now the full slide presentation is available. Comments/questions are welcome!

Strong signs of economic growth in China and South East Asia

François Ortalo-Magné, Robert E. Wangard Chair in Real Estate, and Bret Wilkerson, CEO, Property and Portfolio Research, presented results of a survey of MIPIM delegates during the MIPIM Asia Closing Conference today. The survey found that attendees "were more optimistic about the state of the property market compared to the same time last year." "Delegates noted that there are strong signs of economic growth in China and South East Asia and that capital flows are now much stronger than in 2008." Read more about the 2009 survey via PR Newswire.

Ortalo-Magné led a delegation of Wisconsin Real Estate students to the MIPIM Asia event. It is a valuable opportunity for students to hear directly from leading decision makers in global real estate and to expand their international network. Wisconsin’s history of international expertise and activity sets it apart from other real estate programs. That longevity has led to unparalleled business and academic connections and affording students exceptional networking opportunities.

Also while in Hong Kong, Ortalo-Magné met with officials from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School to discuss the new partnership for the Global Real Estate Master (GREM) degree program. This innovative program brings together students from HKUST, HEC Paris and INCAE for a semester of intensive real estate training at Wisconsin. The first class will commence in Spring 2011. Visit the GREM program website at bus.wisc.edu/grem.