IRES Director elected as first Asian Vice President of American real estate association

31 January 2012

Prof Deng Yongheng, Provost's Chair Professor and Director of NUS Institute of Real Estate Studies (IRES), has been elected 2nd Vice President of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association (AREUEA). AREUEA is the world's leading academic association in the field of real estate finance and urban economics.

Typically, the 2nd VP of the AREUEA will continue to serve as 1st VP the next year, before becoming the President of the association the following year.

With the latest appointment, Prof Deng becomes the first Asian to hold the position in the 48 years of AREUEA history. This election reflects the growing awareness and emerging trend of Asia as a new global economic centre, as well as recognition of NUS leading role in real estate education, finance and urban economics research.

Said Prof Deng: "This is a challenging period for the global economy and real estate markets, and I look forward to raising greater international interest on vital issues relating to real estate and urban development in Asia and around the world." He believes that NUS' strong multi-disciplinary approach would offer distinctive insights into the complexities of worldwide matters such as models of growth, development and sustainability.

Prof Deng currently chairs the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council for Real Estate. He served as a member of the Singapore Economic Strategy Sub-Committee on Land during 2009-2010.

His research has addressed a broad range of issues in real estate finance and urban economic policy, such as asset pricing of mortgage-backed securities and derivatives, credit risks analysis, green buildings, eco-environment and governance of real estate markets. He has been widely quoted in international newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal for his work on China's real estate market.

Prof Deng is a board member of many academic organisations including the American Real Estate and Urban Economic Association, the Asian Real Estate Society and the Global Chinese Real Estate Congress. He is a Fellow of the Homer Hoyt Institute for Advanced Real Estate Studies; and Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS). He is also an associate editor for leading real estate journals such as Real Estate Economics and Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics.

By Institute of Real Estate Studies