As the new year arrives, a new student club at Boise State is available to educate students with knowledge and skills related to the real estate industry.
Real Estate Association, run by founder and President Dylan Luxenberg and Financial Officer Harrison Thuleen, strives to provide networking opportunities for students interested in real estate.
The idea for the club originated around October 2024, when Luxenberg, inspired by a discussion with friends at Washington State University interested in commercial real estate, decided to create a platform for students to get engaged in the field.
At the same time, Luxenberg’s friends took the initiative to start their own real estate club.
“We talked and were like ‘Let’s start something students can get involved with and network with different professionals in the industry,’” Luxenberg.
The club provides different opportunities for members to network by hosting guest speakers from different real estate sectors to come and speak, giving students exposure to different career paths in real estate such as residential, commercial and international.
“It’s just more of involving industry professionals sharing their experiences,” Luxenberg said. “Gives students an idea of what it could be like for them and help them understand it’s actually possible, because in college, there’s not really any information on it.”
Luxenberg mentioned that speaking with industry professionals, they’ve mentioned the importance of keeping “young professionals” in Boise, offering work opportunities post-graduation as the Treasure Valley continues to expand.
“It really just goes along with the growth and these companies and individuals are expanding their departments, wanting to get bigger and grow more,” Luxenberg said. “Having young professionals, such as people in the club, have a lot of connections and it’s a really good thing.”
The club’s main focus is to “influence” Boise State to develop a real estate program/degree in the future as the city continues to grow. The Boise area population increased by almost 25% in 2024, totaling the population to almost 770,000 people.
“Starting this club, potentially getting Boise State a real estate degree path would be huge,” Thuleen said. “Just getting extra people to go in and learn more about real estate — I mean everybody needs to buy a house at some point.”
For the future, Thuleen says the club is looking to expand in providing competitive opportunities for their members, where students can compete amongst other schools through working on real estate development projects.
“I think that will be a great thing,” Thuleen said. “[It’ll] get involvement really high and also bring in big companies who want to help sponsor — [provide a] chance for internships. I think the first step is to get our name out there.”
Real Estate Association currently has 40 active members since they officially became a club in late Fall 2024. Starting this spring semester, Luxenberg says the club is looking to meet on a bi-weekly basis on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. in the Business building.
As of 2024, Idaho has one of the least affordable housing markets in the country, compared to states like California, Hawaii and Oregon.
CEO of City of Trees Real Estate, Brent Hanson, explained the shift in Idaho’s housing market post-2020.
“Regarding the Idaho housing market scene post COVID, especially around Boise — it’s been quite the ride,” Hanson said in an email to The Arbiter. “My take is that a major factor pushing housing prices up has been the influx of individuals seeking a kind of political refuge from states with policies they disagree with, not exactly in the traditional asylum sense, but more so people looking for a state whose policies align more closely with their personal views.”
In 2024, Idaho saw an increase in population, growing to over two million people.
With the launch of the Real Estate Association club, Hanson highlighted the club’s potential to shape the future of the real estate industry in the Treasure Valley by addressing the educational gap in this field.
“The launch of a real estate program at Boise State could really shake things up,” Hanson said. “I think this promises to elevate the focus and development of real estate professionals, introducing a higher standard of knowledge that’s much needed. This move could greatly enhance the professionalism within Boise’s real estate market.”
Hanson mentioned with the Treasure Valley continuing to grow and drive more development, making it an attractive spot for new residents, Boise’s real estate market prices will continue to increase.
