Frankfurt School goes Real Estate – and Real Estate goes public

The Frankfurt School Real Estate Institute (FS REI) was founded in November 2023 - the official launch event has now taken place. Among the guests were decision-makers from the finance and real estate industry as well as FS REI sponsors, Frankfurt School alumni and sparring partners from academia, business, politics and associations.

Keynote speakers: Karin Müller, State Secretary to the Hessian Minister for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs and Bureaucracy Reduction, and Dr Gertrud R. Traud, Chief Economist at Helaba.

Professor Dr Alexander Goepfert, first Chairman of the Practice Advisory Board of the Frankfurt School Real Estate Institute (FS REI), and Dr Thomas Herr, President of the Institut der Deutschen Immobilienwirtschaft e.V. (iddiW), opened the evening together with Professor Dr Kerstin Hennig, Director of the FS REI.

Capital markets, finance and the real estate industry are closely linked. Goepfert and Herr emphasised this. This connection is the basis of teaching, research and consulting at the FS REI. It considers itself as a hub for research and an intensive exchange between the university and practical experience and challenges.
This is also reflected in the Real Estate Executive Education programme and targeted in-service training. They also referred to the excellent cooperation with Professor Dr Kerstin Hennig's team: In research, topics relevant to the industry are addressed and sought-after skills are taught. The FS REI has also established itself as a networking platform, as this reception shows. About 200 guests, including many sponsors and partners of the FS REI, were welcomed; they came from banks, investment managers, project developers, architectural firms, management consultancies, tax consulting and auditing companies and other universities, among others.

In her speech, State Secretary Karin Müller outlined the significance of the upcoming European elections and emphasised that Europe must adapt in order to master the major transformational challenges. Bureaucratisation in particular is far too often an obstacle to innovation and investment. Therefore, bureaucratic hurdles must be removed - also in the property sector - to make Germany and the EU fit for the future and to remain capable of acting and competitive.

Helaba's Chief Economist Dr Gertrud R. Traud gave an impressive presentation of key data and its effects on the German economy and the real estate industry in particular. The labour force in Germany is continuing to decline and the shortage of skilled workers will become more acute: While there was a shortage of 270,000 skilled workers last year, there will already be 620,000 by 2032. The conclusion: there are simply not enough workers to handle the urgent tasks in the real estate industry. In Germany, people would also work less than in other countries. In 2020, an average of 1,200 hours were worked in Germany, 1,800 in the USA and 2,200 in China. Dr Gertrud R. Traud explained that this is due to unreliable childcare and the lack of all-day schools in Germany, which is why many parents can only work part-time. She appealed to politicians to strengthen kindergartens and schools and to make the corresponding jobs more attractive.

A key challenge for the German real estate industry is the old building stock (26.1 percent of housing was built before 1948, 42 percent between 1949 and 1978). It is obvious that it is cost-intensive to upgrade these housing untis against the consequences of climate change. She also questioned whether they would do justice to the ageing German society, as they are rarely barrier-free.
The decline in new builds would exacerbate the problem: While around 420,000 new homes were completed 30 years ago, this year the figure is likely to be just 220,000. Dr Gertrud R. Traud was certain: ‘Something is coming our way!’ She appealed to decision-makers in business and politics to tackle the challenges - and was confident that Frankfurt School was the place where solutions could be developed. ‘You are the lucky ones!’ she called out to the guests - recalling her speech to Master's students at Frankfurt School in 2011. Even then, shortly after the financial crisis, she was certain that Frankfurt School was the best place to develop sustainable solutions and lay the foundations for successful careers. Today, she is still convinced that the Frankfurt School Real Estate Institute team will set up and implement educational programmes and research projects for the benefit of all stakeholders and thus the industry.

Frankfurt School President Professor Dr Nils Stieglitz explained the history, development and profile of Frankfurt School and emphasised its focus on finance and management. Finance was one, if not the central management function. Real estate plays a prominent role in this, as it is the largest asset class; the management of real estate in terms of planning, financing, investment, construction and operation is complex, exciting and interesting. Current challenges facing the real estate sector, such as an ageing society or climate change, need to be tackled holistically - something for which Frankfurt School is ideally positioned with its research and consulting expertise in sustainable finance, for example. The founding and establishment of the Frankfurt School Real Estate Institute was therefore a logical step. President Stieglitz warmly welcomed the guests and sponsors of the FS REI.

In A Nutshell: Professor Dr Kerstin Hennig presents the obectives and projects of the FS REI

Professor Dr Kerstin Hennig presented the vision and goals of the Frankfurt School Real Estate Institute. She focused on the challenges of a fundamental transformation of the real estate industry. She spoke about the megatrends of digitalisation, urbanisation, sustainability and demographics as well as the many disruptions such as inflation, wars, pandemics, supply chain disruptions and financial crises that are accelerating the transformation. The FS REI has set itself the goal of becoming the leading platform for excellent real estate education and research in Europe. To achieve this, the FS REI is currently developing ambitious programmes with global relevance in order to educate excellent talent. First and foremost is the development of an ambitious programme for a Master of Science in Real Estate, which is to be launched for the first time in the winter semester 2025/26. 

The FS REI wants to make research-based contributions. A second professorship at the FS REI, which is to be held by a scientist with a strong research background, has been advertised and will further strengthen the institute's performance. In addition, various executive education programmes are also being planned, which will offer a targeted part-time qualification. A real estate restructuring seminar and a certificate programme, the FS Real Estate Economist, are to be offered as early as autumn.

The FS REI will also offer networking opportunities and impact events. The Frankfurt School Real Estate Day is planned as a central annual networking event, which will be held for the first time this year on 5 September on the Frankfurt School Campus on the topic of ‘Investment meets Finance’. Current issues in the sector will be presented and discussed, and FS REI partners will be able to contribute their topics.

The newly founded Frankfurt School Real Estate Club is intended to bring together alumni, students and participants in the educational programmes, lecturers and, in particular, the sponsors of FS REI. Sascha Klaus, FS alumnus 1998 and Chairman of the Board of Management of Berlin Hyp, will chair the club.