President's Letter | Summer 2025

I hope this summer is productive and relaxing for all of you. Now that things have slowed down, it's time for me to update you on the activities of your favorite organization: AREUEA.

I would like to begin by sharing an exciting new opportunity that our board approved this summer. AREUEA is looking for a doctoral student to assist with conferences, dissemination, writing, and organizational and scientific tasks. The student will be hired through a temporary work agency and will work an average of seven to ten hours per week with flexible scheduling. The position is fully remote, but participation in our conferences is encouraged. This is a great opportunity to learn how a premier research and academic organization operates. The AREUEA student worker will have a front-row seat to the decision-making process at conferences and learn many details about how the profession works. They will also be able to establish countless contacts with current scholars active in urban economics and real estate. These contacts could give them a leg up in the academic job market. Please pass on information about this opportunity to your Ph.D. students and encourage them to apply!

Our May conference was a resounding success, with over 240 people registering. Pictures of the event and its photogenic participants are featured on the front page of our website. The conference included 12 papers presented by young researchers in our Junior Scholar Program session and an additional 80 papers presented throughout the rest of the conference. Thanks go to Siqi Zheng, our First Vice President, for flawlessly organizing the event.

Prior to the main event, we organized two pre-conference sessions in collaboration with Real Estate Economics (REE) on Wednesday morning, May 28. These sessions featured promising papers under consideration for an upcoming REE special issue on "Housing Markets and Policies." Ingrid Gould Ellen and Alvin Murphy led the selection process. The paper presentations were followed by a happy hour with junior scholars, pipeline scholars, special session participants, AREUEA’s board, and conference committee members.

On Thursday, May 29, we enjoyed the WREN Breakfast and Panel, followed by the Forum Luncheon with a captivating panel discussion entitled "The State of U.S. Housing Supply: Hearing from Policy, Industry, and Research Perspectives." Gary Painter moderated, and panelists Jenny Schuetz (Arnold Ventures), Alex Baca (Greater Washington), Caitlin Sugrue Walter (NMHC), and Troup Howard (University of Utah) offered unique insights. We rounded out the day with our Pipeline Scholars Roundtable Discussion and a fun, well-attended Membership Reception. The conference, for the first time, included exhibitor space from an industry participant: our new friends at Data Axle.

On Friday, May 30, we had the honor of presenting the Quigley Medal Luncheon to Edward Glaeser of Harvard University. He delivered an impassioned and informative keynote address entitled “Housing Supply in America: Scarcity in a Land of Plenty.”

I also have some exciting news about next year's May conference in DC. In 2026, we will be moving to a new venue: the Watergate Hotel, which was at the center of the political scandal that led to the downfall of the Nixon administration. While the rooms are no longer bugged, this beautiful, luxurious property is sure to be enjoyed by history buffs and all members alike. Special thanks to Joe Tracy and Bill Haire for negotiating excellent rates and terms.

This summer, we held an amazing international conference in Barcelona, the best city in the world, in my humble opinion as a proud native. Hosted at the IESE Business School, the conference featured 105 research papers in 35 sessions. Two outstanding plenary sessions, one on Southern Europe’s real estate renaissance and the other on AI in finance, provided forward-looking and relevant discussions. Outside the conference rooms, participants interacted with each other while wandering through the historic Gothic Quarter and gathering for a beautiful evening at Familia Torres Vineyards & Wineries. Thank you very much to Carles Vergara and the IESE team for organizing this great event. I am now looking forward to our next international conference in Medellín in the summer of 2026!

And more exciting initiatives are on the horizon. Maryia Letdin, the chair of the Communications Committee, is working with Patrick Smith and Steve Choi to launch a REE podcast. The podcast will feature five-minute AI-generated summaries of each paper issued shortly after a new issue is published. Jeff Lin, our junior program coordinator, is working to improve our outreach to new generations of economists. Our membership committee, chaired by Stephen Billings, is overhauling our industrial membership programs. All of our committee members and chairs are working hard to provide excellent scientific programming and networking opportunities. Stay tuned for our online seminars, fall policy sessions, and our AREUEA-ASSA conference in Philadelphia this January, deftly organized by our second VP, Lu Han.

As always, I would like to acknowledge that none of this would be possible without the support of all AREUEA members, especially those who volunteer their time and expertise to the organization. Thank you all!

With warm regards

Albert Saiz
AREUEA President 2025

Previous President Letters

President's Letter | Winter 2025

President's Letter | Summer 2024

President's Letter | Winter 2024

President's Letter | Summer 2023

President's Letter | Winter 2023

President's Letter | Summer 2022

President's Letter | Winter 2022