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Grace Wong is an assistant professor of real estate at the Wharton School. Her current projects focus on the relationship between owning a house and well-being, linking economics with psychology. Does the feeling of well-being have anything to do with how expensive your house is, or whether or not you own your house? How does your house compare with your neighbors'? Even after differences in income and demographics are accounted for, various aspects of "housing consumption" seem to have a significant link to life satisfaction, highlighting the unique role of housing as a consumption good. Her second line of research focuses on situations where behaviors of housing market participants might deviate from predictions of classical economic theories and consequently have an impact on market outcomes. For example, she asks whether an epidemic that drove people to "panic-buy" food had a similarly dramatic impact on housing prices. Professor Wong, who holds a BSc and an MSc in economics from the London School of Economics and a PhD in economics from Princeton University, has also written on topics such as the role of media and politics in speculative housing bubbles, and the effects of social capital and "green-city" strategy on housing prices. In addition to her research and teaching responsibilities, Professor Wong is the faculty advisor to the Undergraduate Real Estate Club. She initially got involved with the club when "the incoming president of the Undergraduate Real Estate Club and I started talking after a speech I gave on the economy and the current real estate market at a Delta Sigma Pi [Wharton business fraternity] event," she recalls. "We both witnessed the level of interest Wharton students have in the real estate market, especially given the recent market developments. I could feel an incredible energy coming from the new officers of the club. Being involved with the club is a great channel for me to see what students are into, what they need to know, what they think of the world and how they are connecting with the larger business world. "Wharton is a great environment for students," continued Professor Wong, "especially students interested in business, since the school itself is kind of a miniature business world. The students have the choice of seeing their fellow students as competitors in that world, or as colleagues—people they can work with and cooperate with, who can mutually benefit from each other. "And that's what I see the Undergraduate Real Estate Club trying to do—identifying their individual strengths and weaknesses, and trying to contribute what they can for the success of their members. They have their intellect and energy, and they also can take advantage of the networks we have—for instance, the MBA Real Estate Club, our alumni network—to generate even further interest in the field among the Wharton community," said Professor Wong. "This is a great channel for students to learn about real estate, far beyond just the numbers we see in the news every day."
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