Altus Group announces winners of the 2024 ARGUS University Challenge

With over 85 students from 20 universities competing, the 2024 ARGUS University Challenge winners were:

1st place: University of San Diego

• Team: Kevin Dixon, Dillard Harvey, Hunter Loncar, Grant Neeley, Sandis Seale

• Professor: Charles Tu

2nd place: International Real Estate Business School (IREBS) - University of Regensburg

• Team: Lars Baur, Michele Cirillo, Clara-Maria Hamberger, Antonia Radmacher, Konstantin Muratov

• Professor: Wolfgang Schaefers

3rd place: Cornell University

• Team: Chloe Xiang, Rohit Vilas Kharche, Kai Yang, Abdullah Syarifuddin

• Professor: Daniel Lebret and Chris de Mestre

4th place: Baruch College

• Team: Aditya Agarwal, Sixi Chen, Shubham Jadhao

• Professor: Zoey Tang

“This year’s ARGUS University Challenge participants demonstrated an impressive proficiency in utilizing market data in their scenario analysis,” said Ernest Clark, Chief Marketing Officer at Altus Group. “This emerging generation of talent possesses remarkable potential, highlighting the CRE industry’s strides in enhancing the skill sets of future professionals amid unprecedented industry transformation. As a company committed to fostering talent and innovation, we are proud to offer the ARGUS University Challenge and look forward to seeing how these students shape the future of our industry."

The teams were evaluated on their ability to leverage ARGUS Enterprise to present a summary investment recommendation based on a hypothetical case study. The AE valuation model is based on a discounted cash flow (“DCF”) methodology and includes factual and assumptive inputs. Its capabilities range from property and portfolio valuation analysis to financial modelling, scenario analysis, and reporting. With over 30 years of industry presence, AE’s valuation methodology is deeply integrated in the industry and is taught in over 200 academic institutions worldwide.

Each team prepared a report encompassing a comprehensive analysis of the property's performance for the next ten years, considering building, pre-letting, financing, development, and market data, along with personal assumptions. The winners were selected by a judging panel consisting of leading industry experts including: Christopher Bourn, Bayes Business School; Gary Brown, Partners Real Estate; Mike Goode, CRE Consultant; and Ray Wong, Altus Group.

For more information on the ARGUS University Challenge, please click here.