Join your fellow Wharton alumni for a Cinco de Mayo happy hour followed by an insightful forum on Peninsula residential real estate at the DoubleTree Hotel in Burlingame, May 5 from 6:00 to 8:30 PM. The Wharton Club hosted forums in December and January addressing, first, the state of the real estate market in San Francisco at a very high level and, next, the state of the regional market from an academic, analytical perspective. On May 5, we’ll address what’s really happening on the ground on the Peninsula in the communities where Wharton graduates want to live.

The press has made a huge issue about housing bubbles and rising interest rates over the past year or more. "Experts" have warned of a pending collapse in housing prices while housing prices continued to climb. Meanwhile, people who sat out the market waiting for prices to drop have found their ability to purchase a home in the neighborhoods they desire slip through their fingers.

How valuable are the monthly statistics quoted by reporters in the newspapers? How much of the rise in prices is real as opposed to a variation in the mix of homes sold? How likely are prevailing prices to stabilize or rise in the months and years ahead? Does it make sense in our high-priced market to buy as opposed to rent? Are there ways to participate if not beat the market with finite resources? These are some of the topics to be covered in this forum.

Our panel will include Peter Aiello, broker and Vice President of Cash Company, a Peninsula residential real estate company with offices from Palo Alto to Burlingame. Craig George, founder and president of CMG Mortgage with over 50 offices will speak on home finance issues. Robert Gerlach, broker/manager of Alain Pinel’s Palo Alto office will comment on the market. Jim Scallon, Wharton MBA 1989, will be presenting along with Kevin Boer, Yale MBA.

Please join us for camaraderie, cocktails, south-of-the-border hors d’ouvres, and intelligent insights on the most important investment most of us will ever make. May 5 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Burlingame.