MF Students Grow Real Estate Development Prowess by Consulting for Local Group

There’s nothing that Isenberg’s graduate students like more than putting theory to practice while still in school. For the past two spring semesters, students from the real estate track in Isenberg’s Master of Finance (MF) program have been providing property development consulting services to a citizen’s group in Amherst.  

In spring 2023, Jeffrey Clark, the academic director of the MF program got a call from a group of engaged Amherst residents and leaders who were interested in expanding the town’s tax base, vibrancy, sustainability, and economic health.

“Amherst generates revenue through property taxes and is also preservation-minded in terms of property development,” explains Clark, who is a long-time finance and real estate development professional and investor as well as a lecturer in Isenberg’s MF and Online MBA programs. “The central question the group wanted the students to address was whether there are areas within the town to target for development, aligned to Amherst’s Master Plan, which preserve the character of the town and increase the town’s tax base.”

Starting in February, a dozen real estate track MF students began exploring how a new property asset type might affect demand for housing in the town. “Specifically, the students investigated vacancy rates in Amherst and the demand for different types of properties,” says Clark, who worked with the students to set out a strategy that would both build on their course work and provide the quantitative data that the Amherst group was seeking.

An Early Professional Development Opportunity 

“We train our real estate track students to think like property owners and managers, not just analysts,” he explains.” For their professional development, we want them to act as leaders and strategists. In the case of this consulting project, that meant having a fluent understanding of Amherst’s Master Plan, the local political situation, and the macro-economic conditions that are affecting real estate development.”

“I found the general implications and future effects the project would have on the well-being of future UMass students the most interesting part of the project,” said Val Abel ’24 MF. “It was exciting to be able to draw attention to local housing issues and play a role in improving the availability of housing that meets the needs of students within the Amherst community.”

The students first identified data sources, such as vacancy rates, capacity rates, rent rates, and construction costs, which they used to create a financial model to demonstrate demand for different property types and the potential impact on town revenue that might be generated for each type of property. They then added qualitative information to the model to address the need to preserve the town’s character when new properties are developed, looking at how other college towns had successfully developed properties to complement architectural standards, knowing that it might come with a premium cost. Unsurprisingly, says Clark, student housing was found to be most in demand. Further, the students found that student housing development would have the most positive impact on town revenue and least impact as an expense burden to town.

“I found it exciting to delve into the world of market research and tackle real-world problems in an academic setting,” says Jungwook Kim ’24 MF. “Being involved in this project has allowed me to develop a range of valuable skills. My analytical skills have significantly improved as I learned to evaluate complex real estate data and market trends critically. Engaging in this type of research has honed my ability to gather and synthesize information from various sources, fostering a data-driven approach to problem-solving.”

“What we do in our coursework simulates what we would do in the industry,” says Melina Gable ’24 MF. “And especially in my real estate classes, we're using a software called Argus, which is a big deal in the real estate industry, especially in development. It's cool that we get to get those certifications and a lot of hands-on experience before we even enter the workforce.”

Bringing Practice to Theory

This project embodies the academic experience that Clark and his fellow faculty members provide to students. “We don’t just teach finance theory,” he says. “We teach analytics and leadership. We put students in situations where they need to work in a group and self-organize, take charge, and hit deadlines. The group that we’re working with values the research and data our students have provided, which has informed their information gathering process and will hopefully inform whatever recommendations or next steps the group decides to take.” This is the second real estate project with which Isenberg students have consulted. In 2022 the Isenberg Real Estate Advisors Club, which comprises undergraduate finance students, completed a feasibility study for the Town of Orange.