Real estate club speaker says industry still strong

Guest speaker Dan Bellow spoke about how the Houston real estate industry has largely been unaffected by the recession at the first general body meeting for the Bauer Graduate Real Estate Club on Wednesday evening at the Honors College commons.

“We are coming out of the recession faster than any other states,” Bellow said.

Bellow said that the job recovery rate up to July 2011 stands at 87.9 percent, compared to Boston which scored just underneath at 74 percent.

Houston fared better in the market compared to most other cities because of proper office space planning, a strategy learned from previous recessions. Other factors that improved the market included the city’s international focus and its ability to avoid mass layoffs and housing bubbles.

The Houston private sector has created 67,900 jobs within one year. And thanks to having one of the biggest ports in the world, our industrial market is always bringing in growth.

Bellow closed the presentation emphasizing Houston’s strong economy, and how he expects long-term growth and prosperity.

After the presentation, he held a Q-and-A where he offered advice to business students. Bellow stressed how communication is a huge fundamental in real estate.

It was later revealed that he will be taking over as chairman for the executive board for the graduate program.

Bellow, a UH alumni, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and later went on to study oceanography at Texas A&M. When he discovered the field wasn’t for him, Bellow got involved in the world of real estate.

In his 38 years of experience, he has worked with corporate acquisition, disposition and strategic planning processes successfully negotiating in excess of $6 billion worth of projects for his clients. He currently serves as the president of Jones Lang LaSalle, one of the top real estate firms in the world.

Bauer Graduate School MBA student Abdul-Mohsen AlGaundi said that he attended the meeting because he wanted to learn more about how similar the Houston business community is to Saudi Arabia.

“I found that the industry in Houston was similar to Saudi due to the business with oil and came to the meeting to learn more on situation of Houston’s industry,” AlGaundi said.

MBA student Taucha Hogue said that she found the speaker interesting.

“It’s hard to get a real perspective from someone who is actually in the market, and it’s cool that a high professional is coming here to work for business students to be successful,” Hogue said.