Nearly 100 alumni, students, faculty, staff and residents of the local community assembled on Tuesday, March 24, in the Lares Cafeteria at Penn State Abington to hear four experts dissect the difficult issues of the real estate market in today’s troubled economy.
Robert Hoffman, lecturer in communication arts and sciences, moderated a discussion and audience questions for the panel that included DeDe Myers, vice president and community affairs officer for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia; Steve Korman '62, chairman and CEO of Korman Communities, a fourth-generation Philadelphia real estate company; Ira Lubert '73, co-founder of several real estate investment companies that together constitute Independence Capital Partners; and Stephen Klein '62, CEO, president and founder of the Klein Company, which specializes in luxury apartment projects in Philadelphia.
During the nearly two-hour discussion, the panelists acknowledged that consumer confidence will return when housing and 401(k) values stabilize and begin to rebound, generally predicting a slow recovery well into 2010. All the speakers noted the Philadelphia real estate market as one of the strongest in the nation, providing some welcome good news to those living in the region.
The program was part of an ongoing series titled “Penn State Abington Examines....” The series explores some of the most challenging issues of our time through a moderated panel of experts and audience questions and answers. Upcoming programs, dates, times, location and topics are announced through e-mail. To add your name to the invitation list, send your name and e-mail address to Judy Reale at jar42@psu.edu.