University of Florida Wins 3rd Annual CREFC Real Estate Debt Case Competition

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Oct 24, 2023, 10:15 ET

Undergraduate and Graduate Students Compete for $45,000 in Prize Money

NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) hosted its 3rd Annual Real Estate Debt Case Competition in New York City this week, bringing together graduate and undergraduate students from 10 U.S. universities with top-rated real estate programs.

Students with a focus on commercial real estate finance participated in this invitation-only competition and were given an opportunity to compete for a total of $45,000 in prize money.

Winners of the 3rd Annual Debt Case Competition are:

1st place $20,000 - University of Florida

2nd place $15,000 - University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Business

3rd place $10,000 - UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

"We want to thank our university students for participating in this year's CREFC Real Estate Debt Case Study Competition. It is gratifying to see a passion among graduate and undergraduate students for commercial real estate finance. Our thanks also go out to senior members of CREFC who served as the competition's judges, offering their expertise and interest in guiding these up-and-coming CRE finance professionals. Their feedback and guidance were welcomed by competitor teams whose members are taking the first steps to careers in commercial real estate finance," said Lisa Pendergast, Executive Director, CREFC.

The 10 U.S. universities with top-rated real estate programs invited to participate in this competition include:

Columbia University
Cornell University
Florida State University
Georgetown University
NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
University of Florida
University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Business
UT Austin McCombs School of Business
Villanova University

Competitors presented their analysis of a CRE lending decision using a case study based on a real-world transaction. The teams were given one week to prepare their analyses and presentations. At the competition, each team presented to a panel of senior CRE executives who served as judges. Teams were scored on their overall analysis, conclusion, and presentation skills. Winners from the preliminary round advanced to compete in a final round.

The competition supports CREFC's educational objectives, with the goal to provide meaningful programming and networking opportunities to students and young professionals. CREFC's Annual Real Estate Debt Case Competition also helps raise the profile of CRE finance among top universities and their students.

For additional information on the Real Estate Debt Case Competition or the CREFC Young Professionals Network, please contact Danielle Nathan.

About CREFC

The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) is the trade association for the $5.9 trillion commercial real estate finance industry with member firms including balance sheet and securitized lenders, loan and bond investors, private equity firms, servicers, and rating agencies, among others. CREFC promotes liquidity, transparency, and efficiency in the commercial real estate finance debt markets and acts as a legislative and regulatory advocate for the industry, playing a vital role in setting market standards and best practices, and providing education for market participants.

SOURCE CRE Finance Council