Thomas Dwyer, a 1985 university alumnus, worked in the real estate industry during the 2008 economic recession, held 10 jobs in 30 years and at one point managed a portfolio of $10 billion.
Tuesday night, the professor in this university’s real estate graduate program spoke to about 20 members of the new Real Estate Club in Tyser Auditorium in Van Munching Hall to share stories and answer questions about the field.
Sophomore Conor Moore created the club this semester, and the club has hosted a speaker each meeting, he said. Moore said he and other students wanted a place to congregate, learn more about the field and network to get involved.
Moore said he hopes to continue to bring more guests in while also having “lecture-style” meetings. This week’s speech, he said, was the best they’ve had because of the simplistic way Dwyer was able to delve into the concept of commercial real estate.
“That was the most informative speaker we’ve had to date,” the economics and finance major said. “He talked about a lot of good finance stuff, and I was happy there was a Q & A because many people aren’t familiar with the financial aspect, but I hope they all gained something.”
Dwyer earned a bachelor’s degree in urban studies and urban planning at this university before receiving his master’s in real estate from Johns Hopkins University. He went on to work for companies such as Allied Capital Corporation, where he was the senior vice president, and CWCapital, where he saw the company’s portfolio grow from $1 billion to $23 billion as managing director.
Dwyer also answered questions from students who asked how to find good property to sell, which areas are currently better for the real estate market and how young professionals can impress older people in the business industry and persuade them to work together.
Dwyer said it is important for him to help students at this university because of how much the school helped him.
“Real estate been my passion since I’ve graduated from here, and I like to give back and share my experiences to show [students] all the different sides of the business,” he said. “Maryland gave me a good foundation to understand real estate and the academic background I used to move forward, so I like to return the favor.”
Freshman architecture major Taylor Friedman, who attended her first Real Estate Club meeting Tuesday night, said Dwyer’s speech changed her perception of what real estate is.
“I didn’t know how much finance went into real estate,” Friedman said. “I always thought it was more about architecture, but after going to this meeting I realized how it ties into business, too, and that it’s an interdisciplinary field. … Based on what I learned tonight, I think it is a really interesting field with a lot of potential that I’m going to look into more.”
