Forums on Issues and Innovations in Real Estate (FIRE)
FIRE events bring topics of special interest to real estate professionals worldwide. In venues around the globe, the MIT Center for Real Estate's FIRE series has explored issues that include capital markets, investment vehicles, and global trends. With this series, the Center hopes not only to communicate information and encourage discussion, but also to connect with real estate professionals who are, or may become, MIT/CRE students or partners. Sponsoring organizations gain a forum for issues that concern them, and also bring the benefits of their relationship with MIT to their clients, investors, colleagues, and to the public.
History of the FIRE Series
The first FIRE event was held in Manhattan in November of 2004 as part of the Urban Land Institute’s annual meeting. Drawing an audience of some 150 people, the event featured a lively panel discussion between experts involved in long range planning for New York’s Lower West Side. Later that same month, the Center co-sponsored, with Carr Capital and Trammell Crow, its second FIRE event in Washington D.C. Featuring a discussion of the "disconnect" between space and capital markets, the panel included developers, lenders, institutional managers, and MIT/CRE economist Bill Wheaton.
In January 2005, we hosted our first European FIRE event, co-sponsored by AHBR Bank and Taurus Investment Management, LLC, in Frankfurt, Germany. This event provided an international perspective on real estate investment, and involved both academic and industry participants, including Dr. Herbert Grebenc, head of Real Estate for BMW.
The FIRE series expanded from Europe into Asia in May 2005 with an event in Beijing, co-sponsored by MIT/CRE’s industry partner Merrill Lynch, which focused on a comparison of US and Chinese real estate capital markets. A week later we hosted a similar event in Shanghai, co-sponsored by our new industry partner ZK Development Group. The turnout was outstanding, with over 250 people in attendance.
The FIRE series has continued with events in Munich, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Interested in sponsoring a FIRE event? Please contact the Industry Liaison at 617-253-4373.
Past FIRE Events
| Event Date | Location | Topic |
|---|---|---|
April 10, 2007 |
San Francisco, CA |
Transaction Price Indexes and Derivatives: A Revolution in the Real Estate Investment Industry? |
October 27, 2006 |
Berlin, Germany |
|
November 30 , 2005 |
San Francisco, CA |
|
November 3, 2005 |
Los Angeles, CA |
The Current and Future State of Graduate Real Estate Education |
October 14, 2005 |
Munich, Germany |
German REITs: A Transatlantic Real Estate Investment Concept? |
May 17, 18, & 19, 2005 |
Beijing and Shanghai, China |
|
January 31, 2005 |
Frankfurt, Germany |
Commercial Real Estate Trends: |
November 8, 2004 |
Washington, DC |
|
November 3, 2004 |
New York, NY |
Envisioning the Far West Side: Planning for New York’s Future |
