Three University of Baltimore students earned a third-place finish last May in a national competition for research papers on the future of energy demands for residential homes. The Meritage Homes Residential Real Estate Challenge, sponsored by the University of Arizona and Meritage Homes, a national home building company, tasked competitors to write a paper on zero net energy demand and home building.

The students, all from the Real Estate and Economic Development undergraduate program in the Merrick School of Business, are Michael Palmisano, Brian Maxfield, and Brendan Ferrara. The team was awarded a prize of $2,000.

"Our real estate students can compete with any in the country," said Deborah Ford, founding director of the B.S. Real Estate and Economic Development program in the Merrick School of Business. "This contest included teams from all of the major real estate programs, and we were among the best. I am very proud of the students and the UB real estate program, which is relatively new but clearly on the right track."

The Residential Real Estate Challenge, as stated on its website:

"Government policy is moving toward requiring homes to be built and eventually retrofitted to consume a fraction of their current energy demand. The identified goal in several states is Zero Net Energy Demand.

A.) What are the impacts on this becoming a code requirement for builders, utilities, and consumers?
B.) How will the additional costs incurred to build or remodel a home be balanced in the market place?
C.) What construction changes will be necessary in order to build Zero Energy Homes cost effectively?

The competition, launched earlier this year, is managed by the Department of Finance at the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management, with funding provided by Meritage Homes.

Learn more about the University of Baltimore's undergraduate program in Real Estate and Economic Development.