image: McCombs’ winning team in the National Real Estate Challenge, from left to right: David Garza, Cesar Valdez, Shreyas Khanjee, Jack Walsh, Connor Lee Wen, and Diego Minjares.
Credit: The University of Texas McCombs School of Business
For the first time since 2016, a team from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin has won the National Real Estate Challenge. The contest, held last week, brought together the top MBA programs across the U.S. to compete in Austin, where teams presented their solutions to a panel of 32 industry executives.
“This is the only real estate finance national competition for MBA students,” said Mandy Pope, director of the Texas Real Estate Center. The teams compete for $25,000, which is divided among the top four teams. They also receive national recognition from corporate sponsors and judges and opportunities to network with potential employers.
The McCombs team, known as Skyline Partners, took first place and a $12,500 prize. Members are Jack Walsh, MBA ’26; David Garza, MBA ’26; Diego Minjares Schmidt, MBA ’26; Shreyas Khanjee, MBA ’26; Connor Lee-Wen, MBA ’25; and Cesar Valdez, MBA ’25. “We are so proud of our McCombs team, who brought home the win for the first time since 2016. Their hard work and determination really paid off,” Pope said.
The other top finishers were second place, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Back Row Capital; third place, Vanderbilt University’s Hickory Capital Advisors; and fourth place, Georgetown University’s Huddle Heroes. Nineteen teams competed this year.
The National Real Estate Challenge was created by UT students 22 years ago and has grown into one of the premier real estate competitions for MBA students, Pope said. “Its reputation for rigor and its elite judge panel, featuring senior executives from top real estate firms across the U.S., continue to set it apart.”
The competition involves a case study based on an actual real estate transaction. It was developed by McCombs’ partners at Invesco Real Estate, Pope said. “This makes it extremely relatable to the real world, as the students solve problems they’ll likely encounter in their professional careers.”
This year, the case study focused on Rentaissance Realty, a $3.27 billion residential-focused fund that invests in apartments, student housing, and build-to-rent developments. The fund was facing rising interest rates, underperformance, and other problems, but recent acquisitions and defensive strategies showed that it had potential for growth. The teams had 72 hours to come up with solutions.
The McCombs team’s winning strategy concentrated on improving liquidity and optimizing the portfolio over several years. For 2025, the plan included selling manufactured housing and self-storage assets and stabilizing the portfolio through capital expenditures and strategic disposals of multifamily properties. The plan also aimed to expand into manufactured housing.
For 2024, the host sponsor was American Campus Communities; the lead sponsor was Transwestern; and the supporting sponsors were Bailard, Hines, MAXX Properties, and Xebec.
The 23rd Annual National Real Estate Challenge is set for Nov. 19-20, 2025, in Austin.