UB program focuses on neighborhood aspect of real estate

The University of Baltimore launched its new Real Estate and Economic Development undergraduate degree program this month that is designed to give students an understanding of real estate and its impact on the community, said Deborah Ford, director of the program.

“Our mission is to train people who have a background in both the business side of real estate and the neighborhood side,” Ford said. “When they come out of school, they will understand mortgages and the value of real estate and appraisals, but they also will understand the importance to the community that real estate has.”

Students enrolled in the program are taking core business courses this semester and will move into real estate courses during the spring semester.

“But this is not a program to train Realtors,” Ford said.

While a real estate agent is licensed to represent either a buyer or a seller in a transaction, a Realtor also is a real estate agent or broker who is a member of the National Association of Realtors.

“Our program is more to train commercial loan officers,” Ford said.

The undergraduate program is the only one of its kind in Maryland, though Johns Hopkins University offers a master’s of science in real estate. Similar undergraduate programs are offered at the University of Georgia and the University of California, among others.

Michael Anikeeff, professor and chair of the Edward St. John Department of Real Estate at Johns Hopkins, said his school’s program is geared to real estate investment, development and management, which can be a complement program to that at the University of Baltimore.

Tom Shaner, president of the Maryland Mortgage Brokers Association, said the University of Baltimore’s program is “very much needed” in his industry.

“So far, mortgage broker education has been about getting an understanding of the mortgage process,” he said. “It’s not spending the time to evaluate the impact on a community.”

He said anything that enhances professionalism throughout the real estate industry “will make for a better real estate market.”

John Brune, a mortgage broker with National City Mortgage in Baltimore, also expressed support for the program, but said companies such as his conduct continuing education programs on a monthly basis.

“Certain companies are taking the initiative in making sure loan officers know what they are doing,” Brune said. “Everyone’s financial circumstances are different.”