Three UHD business faculty have received a prestigious award for their recent research in local real estate.

Justo Manrique, interim associate dean and department chair, Rahul Verma, associate professor, and Charles Smith, professor, all with the Department of Finance, Accounting and Computer Information Systems, were recognized by The Counselors of Real Estate, a member organization that serves as an information resource and advisor for real estate professionals oand their clients, for their research project entitled, "Using historical employment data to forecast absorption rates and rents in the apartment market."

The William S. Ballard Award recognizes the author(s) whose work best exemplifies the high standards of content maintained in Real Estate Issues, the organization's professional journal. The award is named for the late William S. Ballard, CRE, and funding for the award is provided by the William S. Ballard Scholarship Fund in his memory.

Selection of the award is made by a three-member panel comprised of the journal's editor, a member of the editorial board, and the chairman of the CRE Education Committee. Both members and non-members are eligible to receive the award, which consists of a $500 honorarium and certificate.

According to Verma, the team's research centered on the Houston apartment market and local employment data.

"We looked at monthly data from 1980 to 2012. It was a herculean task - but we were able to find a direct link between employment and rental apartment absorption in Houston," he said. "We determined that about nine new jobs are needed to fill one new apartment in Houston, which averages about 37,000 new jobs per year to fill all of the vacant apartments."

Verma also noted that this was the first practitioner-oriented journal the faculty members have been published in, as opposed to more traditional academic journals.

Congratulations to these faculty!