Real Talk About Real Estate

Associate Professor Anthony Orlando co-authors illustrious Real Estate Economics study

Anthony Orlando, an associate professor in the Finance, Real Estate, & Law Department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, continues to make significant strides at the intersection of real estate, finance, and public policy. Trained as a microeconomist, Orlando seamlessly blends urban and financial economics to delve into issues that sit at the core of American society: economic and racial inequalities. His focus on housing supply and affordability has led to influential work in both academic and public policy spheres.

Most recently, he co-authored a publication published in the prestigious Real Estate Economics journal. The paper, co-written with USC associate professor Christian L. Redfearn and titled “Houston, you have a problem: How large cities accommodate more housing,” examines how large and growing metropolitan areas in California and Texas have managed their housing supply over the past four decades. The study was also featured on the Talking Headways podcast, in which Orlando and his co-author Redfearn drew a surprising number of parallels in their findings between the approach of two seemingly different city environments.

Can you briefly summarize the concept, research and results for your study: Houston, you have a problem: How large cities accommodate more housing? 

For as long as anyone can remember, California has been one of the most expensive places to live in the United States. But recently, it seems like everywhere is becoming unaffordable. The problem is spreading. In this paper, we explore an important reason why: Little by little, other cities are starting to look like California's cities. We compare California and Texas at a local level to find out where new housing is getting located. Initially, these cities built most housing out in the suburbs, where lots of cheap land was available. Over time, cities like Los Angeles filled up those locations and had to turn back inward – to the city center – where development is much more difficult and more expensive. That's an important reason why it's such an expensive city: cheap locations, where it's easy to build at scale, are hard to find. Until recently, cities like Houston and Dallas didn't face this problem, but as they've grown, they've started to fill up their suburbs too – and now they're starting to look like Los Angeles, building more and more housing in the city center. That's why they're becoming increasingly expensive places to live, too.

What motivated this research for you? What generally sparks your interest as a researcher, are there common themes or denominators within your areas of interest? 

I've always been interested in the intersection of business and big social challenges, like housing affordability and homelessness. Cal Poly Pomona has encouraged me to explore that intersection. Many other universities would have forced me to specialize too narrowly. Cal Poly allowed me to work across disciplines. I'm at my happiest as a researcher when I'm bringing insights from many different angles to bear on big, tough problems.

PULL QUOTE: “Housing affordability is one of the toughest problems to solve in America today, with so many stakeholders opposed to big changes that might allow us to build the housing we need. That's what motivates me to dig deeply into it and try to find new paths forward.” – Dr. Anthony Orlando, Assistant Professor, Finance, Real Estate and Law, College of Business Administration, Cal Poly Pomona.

How does the polytechnic environment at the College of Business Administration at Cal Poly Pomona allow you to create opportunities for students? 

Business classes are an ideal venue for the polytechnic approach. The stuff we teach is changing in real-time. Textbooks alone won't cut it. I assign my students breaking news articles every week. We talk about the latest data the day they're announced in the Wall Street Journal. Finance and real estate aren't theoretical concepts for our CBA/CPP students. They're tangible, relevant forces, woven into everything they do and everything they see around them.

What industry advancements or changes should potential undergrad and graduate students be on the lookout for in the FRL industry across the next 5 years? 

Everyone knows AI is going to reshape the industry, but not enough practitioners are adapting to the new reality. This isn't just a tool that you can learn how to use. It's not sufficient simply to incorporate AI into our classes. The students have to think differently about the contribution they're going to make in the world. AI eliminates the need for humans to memorize, to regurgitate, to do a lot of the things that they were educated to do. Our value in the future will depend on our ability to do what AI can't – to think critically, to think creatively, to make decisions about scenarios where there isn't enough information to compute one right answer. That's the future of education, and it's the future of finance, real estate, and law too.

Conclusion

Anthony Orlando’s work is a powerful reminder of the intricate connections between real estate, finance, and public policy. His research not only sheds light on some of the most pressing issues facing American cities today but also offers actionable insights and policy recommendations that could help address these challenges. As urban areas across the country grapple with the dual crises of housing affordability and income inequality, Orlando’s contributions will undoubtedly continue to be of immense value to policymakers, academics, and the public at large.

About:

Anthony W. Orlando is an Associate Professor in the Finance, Real Estate, & Law Department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He serves as the Scholar of Analytics for the Singelyn Center for Innovative Analytics, a Visiting Scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and a Faculty Affiliate at both the Bedrosian Center on Governance and the Public Enterprise and the Political Institutions and Political Economy Collaborative at the University of Southern California. Additionally, he is the Co-Advisor of the Cal Poly Pomona Finance Society. Recently, he received the coveted Jagdish N. Sheth Award for Excellence in Scholarship established by Nirmal and Tara Sethia, which is a financial award is given to meritorious CBA faculty with consistent and quality scholarly contributions during the previous five years.

Orlando is the author of the acclaimed book, Keeping Races in Their Places: The Dividing Lines That Shaped the American City, and his research has been featured in numerous prestigious academic journals, including Real Estate Economics, Housing Studies, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, Energy Economics, Ageing Research Reviews, the American Journal of Medicine, the American Journal of Law & Medicine, the Annals of Health Law, and the Wharton Real Estate Review.