MIT Professional Education and Center for Real Estate announce new Certificate in Real Estate Finance and Development

Enrollment open for a five-course certificate program.

March 2, 2015 - Cambridge, MA - This summer, MIT Professional Education, in collaboration with the MIT Center for Real Estate, will offer a certificate program in real estate.

The Professional Certificate in Real Estate Finance and Development program, comprised of five courses and taught by world-renowned MIT faculty, will be offered June 8-19 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is open to professionals from around the world and provides an unparalleled opportunity to obtain insights and skills in real estate development and investment strategies, and other key factors driving real estate markets. Participants will have the opportunity to network with and learn from other leading real estate professionals and gain the MIT experience in a condensed timeframe.

“The collaboration between the MIT Center for Real Estate and MIT Professional Education opens an exciting opportunity,” says Albert Saiz, director of the MIT Center for Real Estate (CRE). “We expect our real estate professional classes to provide real value to a global audience of executives; top-notch and knowledge-thirsty upward professionals; and to provide training opportunities for large organizations seeking to educate and inspire their most-talented human assets.”

Bhaskar Pant, executive director of MIT Professional Education, adds, “MIT Professional Education created the Professional Certificate in Real Estate program in response to global developments that underscore the need to comprehend real estate markets and underwriting real estate risk in order to truly understand financial markets. Our new certificate program provides professionals from an array of industries and backgrounds with a clear understanding of the real estate development process.”

Courses

To earn a certificate, participants must complete the following courses: Real Estate Finance: Fundamentals; Evaluating Real Estate Markets; Real Estate Finance: Advanced; and Commercial Real Estate Development. Global Real Estate Markets, a new course added to the portfolio of programs this year, must also be successfully completed.

Participants enrolled in these Short Programs courses will learn to identify and evaluate economically viable commercial real estate projects, evaluate investment properties, and learn finance theory and taxation principles. Participants will take away a greater understanding of the globalization of real estate capital and its impact on pricing, international capital inflows, and how to build a global portfolio. Real estate attorneys and guest lecturers will provide real-world examples via two common contracts used in the development process.

Evaluating Real Estate Markets participant Jennifer Corcoran, a marketing associate at Corcoran Jennison Companies, says, “Being new to the real estate development industry, I found this course to be extremely useful in gaining an understanding of current market trends.”

After attending the Commercial Real Estate Development course, Jim Fitzgerald, owner of RE/MAX Commercial of Boston, says, “This course was excellent, and Tod is an incredible talent with commanding knowledge of real estate development. You are not bored for one minute in three action-packed days. The guest speakers are some of the best minds in the industry.”

Faculty

All five courses are taught by MIT faculty who are experts in their respective fields. W. Tod McGrath is a lecturer in the Center for Real Estate and is president of advisoRE, LLC. William Wheaton is professor emeritus from MIT’s Department of Economics and continues to teach at CRE. Professor Albert Saiz is director of CRE and also an associate professor of urban economics and real estate.

David Geltner is currently is professor of real estate finance in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and has a joint appointment in Engineering Systems Division. Walter Torous is a senior lecturer holding an appointment with both the CRE’s Master of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) Program and the MIT Sloan School of Management.

After completing the Real Estate Finance: Advanced course, Senior Asset Management Officer Scott Backman, of the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, says, “The teaching forum was highly collaborative. Professor Geltner and Dr. Torous were all exceptional in sharing their expertise on the subject matter.”

How to enroll

Enrollment for the certificate programs is open until May 1 through the MIT Professional Education website.

Courses may be taken individually or over a two-week timeframe in the summer. However, to qualify for the certificate, participants must complete all five required courses within a two-year period. Professionals enrolling in the entire certificate program in a single year will receive a 15 percent discount. MIT Professional Education’s fee for all five courses is $12,000; by enrolling in the entire certificate program in a single year, participants will pay $10,200 — a savings of $1,800.

For more information and to register for the new Certificate Program in Real Estate Finance and Development, please visit the program website.