The Real Estate Research Institute was formed to encourage, support, and conduct research in real estate. The Louisiana Real Estate Research Institute was established in 1985 with funding from the E. J. Ourso College of Business and the Louisiana Real Estate Commission.

Continued funding for the institute has been provided various private sources along with grants. Institute faculty are subsidized by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission Endowed Chair of Real Estate, the Latter and Blum Professorship of Business Administration, and the C. J. Brown Professorship of Real Estate.

In terms of professional outreach, the RERI, along with the Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, hold the annual Trends in Baton Rouge Real Estate which typically between 300-500 attendees. In terms of academic research, Ong, Ooi, and Wong (2001) ranked LSU as second in terms of publishing in US real estate journals. Dombrow and Turnbull (2002) ranked LSU as third out of 40 institutions for publications in the core real estate journals.

Along with its 44 networked workstations and two Bloomberg terminals, the SMART Lab now also features ARGUS on every networked computer. This was made possible through a $200,000 software donation from Argus to use toward the company’s real estate softwarefor real estate valuation and investment analysis. Becoming ARGUS certified affords students a unique opportunity to obtain valuable skills and credibility in real estate prior to graduation. [MORE]

The Student Real Estate Association is an organization that aims to provide connectivity, education, and guidance to students interested in the real estate industry. The Student Real Estate Association's goal is to promote awareness of career opportunities in the business-related areas of real estate. The association strives to promote the development of skills and knowledge beneficial to employment and investment opportunities in the real estate field. These goals are achieved through contacts with professional personnel from local real estate businesses and associations. Through its efforts, the SREA yields a supportive network of students with the singleness of purpose to prosper in the real estate industry. For more information on the SREA, click here.