Real Estate



Professor Cohen Earns Prestigious Appointment at Federal Reserve

Professor Jeffrey Cohen posing at a
Real Estate Banquet, Spring 2022. (Contributed Photo)

Professor Jeffrey Cohen has been named a Research Fellow for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, where he will work on issues involving real estate and economic inequality.

Cohen, who is the Kinnard Scholar in Real Estate at UConn, earned the prestigious appointment after serving as a visiting scholar for the Fed for 20 years. The honor is bestowed on only a handful of academics each year.

“I’m very interested in questions of how real estate wealth accumulated differently over time for Black and Latino homeowners and residents, compared with others, and what can be done to try and remedy any potential inequalities that are found,” Cohen said.

His most recent research studied how proximity to highways affects home values in Connecticut, including how the interstate system, built between 1940 and 1960, destroyed some communities and created value for others. Cohen found a direct correlation between the proximity to Interstate 84 and increased home values, which disproportionately benefitted Caucasian families.

Appointment Is a Researcher’s Dream

In his new role, Cohen will serve with the Institute for Economic Equity, a relatively new arm of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He will conduct research, give presentations, attend seminars, and contribute to the Fed’s ‘brain trust’ on issues of inequality. Cohen said he is familiar with many of his colleagues at the Institute and is excited to collaborate with them.

“They are extremely bright and well-published individuals who share a vision of enhancing equality for underserved populations,” he said. The connection is a researcher’s dream both in terms of colleagues and access to insightful data, he said.

Cohen, who joined the UConn School of Business in 2014, teaches in both the undergraduate and MBA programs and he will continue with those and all his other responsibilities. He was the principal investigator on Phase One of a State of Connecticut Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Transportation grant investigating how a new rail commuter line connecting New Haven, Hartford and Springfield, Mass., would impact real estate value near the stations. He was also the principal investigator evaluating the property value impact of the CTfastrak bus-line project on Phases 1 and 2 of these projects. His work with the State of Connecticut on these transit-oriented development projects date back to 2016.

In addition, he is currently the principal investigator on a multi-year, $500,000 project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Systems for Action, studying how the CTfastrak bus line has impacted the costs and outcomes of treating substance use patients, and how these systems can be aligned.

The St. Louis Fed is one of 12 regional Reserve banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., comprise the Federal Reserve System. As the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve System formulates U.S. monetary policy, regulates state-chartered member banks and bank holding companies, provides payment services to financial institutions and the U.S. government, and promotes financial literacy, economic education, and community development.


Real Estate Alum David Wharmby Returns to UConn As Program Director

UConn Today – As a new business student, David ‘Dave’ Wharmby ’89 (BUS), ’02 MBA took an introductory real estate course that changed his life.

“Professor Byrl Boyce was a very personable guy, with a dry sense of humor, who really wanted to make sure we understood the material,’’ Wharmby says. “He took some complex financial math and went over it again and again, until students really felt like they were masters of difficult material.’’


Nine ‘Enthusiastic, Well Qualified’ Faculty Join School for Fall 2022

(Photo courtesy of University Communications)

The School of Business is welcoming nine new faculty members this semester, continuing a trend of successful recruiting. Many of the new hires already have strong research accomplishments and awards for teaching excellence.Continue Reading



UConn’s Real Estate Program Ranked #3 in the World

Hartford, Connecticut, USA downtown cityscape
(istockphoto.com)

The Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies is ranked among the Top 3 programs worldwide in research excellence, and boasts two of the most productive contributors to prestigious real-estate academic journals.

The Journal of Real Estate Literature ranked real estate programs based on the number of research articles accepted by the top three academic journals in the industry between 2016 and 2020. UConn had previously ranked Number 7.Continue Reading


Professor Cohen: Despite Pandemic, Cumulative ‘Household Financial Distress’ Isn’t Particularly Bad

Asian senior couple stressed and serious counting with calculator and having money problem
(istockphoto.com)

If you watch the evening news, with long lines at food banks and homes destroyed by weather-related disasters, you might think the vast majority of Americans are in a financial spiral.Continue Reading


Professor Katherine Pancak Becomes Academic Director of Stamford Business Program

Professor Katherine Pancak, new academic director of Stamford business programs. (Nathan Oldham / UConn School of Business)

Professor Katherine Pancak, a well-respected finance and real estate professor and champion of the Stamford campus, has been named as the Academic Director of Business at the Fairfield-County campus.Continue Reading



Professor John Clapp Researches Plans for Vacant Retail

Professor John Clapp, pictured above, plans to continue his research into solutions for vacant Retail spaces (Nathan Oldham / UConn School of Business)
Professor John Clapp, pictured above, plans to continue his research into solutions for vacant Retail spaces (Nathan Oldham / UConn School of Business)

For years, Real Estate Professor John Clapp has been warning of the over-construction of malls and shopping centers, recognizing that the economy wasn’t going to be able to support so many retail locations.Continue Reading