Event News
Wachovia Executive Lecture Series: Peter Linneman
Final Lecturer in Wachovia Executive Series for 2007
Dr. Peter Linneman spoke to an overflow audience of students, faculty, staff, and business leaders December 7 in Lumpkin Auditorium, 8th floor of the business school. He is the final speaker in this year’s Wachovia Executive Lecture Series, sponsored by Wachovia and the Moore School.
Speaking about the financial market, Linneman said this is the "most volatile market of the last 10 years…The last time it was this messy was the early 90s and the S&L situation.” But, he added, the markets are cyclical, depending on whether "greed or fear" is winning.
And, he predicted, greed will triumph again within two years.
The subprime lending crisis may not be as dire as it appears, Linneman suggested. The U.S. population grows by about 3 million a year, and the housing demands will begin to catch up with current surplus within 1 to 2 years, he said, and added, "asset prices will go up again within seven years." Linneman was critical of a government bailout of the mortgage industry because of the inequity to borrowers who honored their commitments, but said the political ramifications are too great to "do nothing."
"Interestingly, the economy is doing very well," Linneman said. He told the audience that market observers make a mistake when they suggest that consumers will not spend just because they are not spending on houses or automobiles, and offered a quote from economist Milton Friedman: "Do not confuse losses to some in society with losses to society."
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(L to R) Darla Moore, Dr. Peter Linneman and Dean Hildy Teegen |
For more than 25 years, Dr. Linneman has provided strategic and financial advice to leading corporations, including American Asset Corp, Sunbelt Management, Lubert-Adler Realty Funds, Paramount Group, General Electric, and IBM.
Dr. Linneman is widely recognized as one of the leading strategic thinkers in the real estate industry, and was recently named one of the 25 most influential people in real estate by Realtor Magazine. He has served as keynote speaker at numerous major industry conferences. He is also a co-coordinator/sponsor/moderator (with Sam Zell) of the prestigious industry roundtable, The Marshall Bennett Classic.
Dr. Linneman is the founder and principal of the American Growth Land Fund, a $100 million investment vehicle that invests in long-term land developments in high-growth areas of the United States. In addition, he is a partner in Gerber-Taylor Realty Fund III, a real estate fund-of-funds. His quarterly research publication, Linneman Letter, claims more than 120 leading real estate firms as subscribers.
His book,
Real Estate Finance and Investments: Risks and Opportunities, has been adopted at leading
universities including Yale, Johns Hopkins, USC, Brown, Columbia, and Wharton. It has quickly
become the leading reference source for those interested in real estate finance and investment, and
was recently translated into Japanese.
Dr. Linneman has also been actively involved in corporate governance, strategy, and operation. During a one-year leave from Wharton, he served as senior managing director of Equity International Properties, a global real estate investment firm. He also served as vice chairman of Amerimar Realty, and was chairman of the board of Rockefeller Center Properties. In the latter role, he led the process of foreclosing on the company’s Japanese owners and the successful sale of Rockefeller Center. He serves on the boards of directors of numerous NYSE and private companies.
Dr. Linneman’s teaching and research focus on real estate and investment strategies, mergers and acquisitions, and international markets. He has published more than 60 articles during his career. He holds both master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from the University of Chicago.
Gail Crouch
December 2007