Posted p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014
UW-L provided him with a clear understanding of economics and above average communication skills to do the job.
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Norm Flynn, ’64 & ’66, of Madison, speaks at a country seminar concerning the code of ethics and multiple listing in Bucharest. Flynn has been president and CEO of the International Real Property Foundation for eight years.[/caption]
In the late 1980s miles of 14-story, concrete apartment buildings lined the streets of Moscow. Inside the penitentiary-looking facilities were cramped spaces and communal bathrooms. Yet due to demand for city housing, the wait list to attain one took more than 10 years, recalls Norm Flynn, ’64 and ’66.
The problem? The Former Soviet Union had no property managers or developers. Real estate was managed by the government, which wasn’t educated on how to run it effectively.
When the former Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, its states didn’t have a single real estate agent or practitioner.
Today Russia alone has thousands of real estate agents — a change largely due to Flynn — also known as the father of real estate in Russia.
Flynn has dedicated more than 20 years of his life to training countries, including Russia, how to improve the real estate market. He travels with his wife Sue, ’63, to far-off places where he teaches real estate practitioners and helps them form non-profit associations. They create and enforce a real estate code of ethics.
His work began in the early 1990s when he was president of the National Association of Realtors. He gave a speech at an international conference that intrigued a Russian official who wanted to know more about real estate privatization. Three months later, Flynn spoke at a conference in Moscow and subsequently applied for and received a $5 million grant from the U.S. government in 1992 to launch the International Real Property Foundation. The non-profit organization would be dedicated to extending standards of practice in real estate to not only Russia, but also developing countries around the world.
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Norm Flynn, ’64 & ’66, right, participates in a discussion regarding cross-country cooperation between Hungary and Romania in February 2013 in Budapest. He sits next to Dan Negulescu, past president of the Central European Real Estate Association Network, an organization that brings best practices to the real estate market in Central Europe. The network formed 19 years ago with help from a foundation Flynn helped found.[/caption]
The foundation now works in 29 countries and represents 200,000 members and companies throughout the former Soviet Union, Central Europe, Africa, India and other emerging markets in the world.
Flynn says UW-L contributed to his ability to lead the foundation by providing him with a clear understanding of economics and above average communication skills from English and speech course work. He also learned excellent leadership skills from participation in various campus organizations, especially the Newman Club, which was the largest organization on campus at the time.
Today Flynn says the Former Soviet Union cities look different. In Moscow, the penitentiary-looking facilities have given way to gorgeous condominiums. But Flynn explains real estate is about more than upgrading apartments. When the real estate market collapsed in the Great Recession, many saw first-hand influence of real estate on the global economy. It’s the ability of real estate management to strengthen world economies that keeps him motivated.
“A basic human need is housing,” says Flynn. “Unless you have a healthy real estate market, the entire economy doesn’t function.”
And, as the number of cities around the world with 20 million or more people continues to grow, Flynn says the foundation is needed more than ever to provide training around the world to meet new housing demands.
Norm Flynn, ’64 & ’66, of Madison, speaks at a country seminar concerning the code of ethics and multiple listing in Bucharest. Flynn has been president and CEO of the International Real Property Foundation for eight years.[/caption]
In the late 1980s miles of 14-story, concrete apartment buildings lined the streets of Moscow. Inside the penitentiary-looking facilities were cramped spaces and communal bathrooms. Yet due to demand for city housing, the wait list to attain one took more than 10 years, recalls Norm Flynn, ’64 and ’66.
The problem? The Former Soviet Union had no property managers or developers. Real estate was managed by the government, which wasn’t educated on how to run it effectively.
When the former Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, its states didn’t have a single real estate agent or practitioner.
Today Russia alone has thousands of real estate agents — a change largely due to Flynn — also known as the father of real estate in Russia.
Flynn has dedicated more than 20 years of his life to training countries, including Russia, how to improve the real estate market. He travels with his wife Sue, ’63, to far-off places where he teaches real estate practitioners and helps them form non-profit associations. They create and enforce a real estate code of ethics.
His work began in the early 1990s when he was president of the National Association of Realtors. He gave a speech at an international conference that intrigued a Russian official who wanted to know more about real estate privatization. Three months later, Flynn spoke at a conference in Moscow and subsequently applied for and received a $5 million grant from the U.S. government in 1992 to launch the International Real Property Foundation. The non-profit organization would be dedicated to extending standards of practice in real estate to not only Russia, but also developing countries around the world.
[caption id="attachment_29413" align="alignright" width="555"] Norm Flynn, ’64 & ’66, right, participates in a discussion regarding cross-country cooperation between Hungary and Romania in February 2013 in Budapest. He sits next to Dan Negulescu, past president of the Central European Real Estate Association Network, an organization that brings best practices to the real estate market in Central Europe. The network formed 19 years ago with help from a foundation Flynn helped found.[/caption]
The foundation now works in 29 countries and represents 200,000 members and companies throughout the former Soviet Union, Central Europe, Africa, India and other emerging markets in the world.
Flynn says UW-L contributed to his ability to lead the foundation by providing him with a clear understanding of economics and above average communication skills from English and speech course work. He also learned excellent leadership skills from participation in various campus organizations, especially the Newman Club, which was the largest organization on campus at the time.
Today Flynn says the Former Soviet Union cities look different. In Moscow, the penitentiary-looking facilities have given way to gorgeous condominiums. But Flynn explains real estate is about more than upgrading apartments. When the real estate market collapsed in the Great Recession, many saw first-hand influence of real estate on the global economy. It’s the ability of real estate management to strengthen world economies that keeps him motivated.
“A basic human need is housing,” says Flynn. “Unless you have a healthy real estate market, the entire economy doesn’t function.”
And, as the number of cities around the world with 20 million or more people continues to grow, Flynn says the foundation is needed more than ever to provide training around the world to meet new housing demands.