Wen-Chi Liao

Wen-Chi LIAO is Associate Professor and Academic Director (BSc Real Estate) at the Department of Real Estate, National University of Singapore. He obtained a Ph.D. (Economics) from the University of Minnesota, M.Econ (1st Class Honours) and M.Comm (Finance & IT) from the University of Sydney, and B.A. (Economics) from Soochow University.

Wen-Chi's research areas include urban economics and regional science, real estate economics and finance, industrial organization, and transportation. He has published in Journal of Urban Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Urban Studies, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, and Journal of Housing Economics. He is an editorial board member of the International Journal of Strategic Property Management and Journal of Property Research.

Wen-Chi has contributed to the academic and research development of NUS through leadership roles and committee works. He was Deputy Director of the Institute of Real Estate Studies and Ph.D. Programme Director, Deputy Head (Research), and Deputy Head (Academic) of the Department of Real Estate. Representing his School and Department, he collaborated with the Urban Redevelopment Authority and established NUS-URA Urban Planning 101 training program for young urban planners in 2016. He also worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and City Development Initiatives for Asia (CDIA) to execute the Effective Urban Infrastructure Programming training programme for Asian city mayors in 2017.

Being an educator, Wen-Chi takes his teaching seriously. He received School Teaching Excellence Award in 2015 and 2019 and a distinguished instructor award from the Department of Economics, University of Minnesota. Besides academic teaching, he also mentors student leaders and supervises student CCA activities in performing arts, productions, and domestic and international community services.

Recognition & Awards

• SDE Teaching Excellence Award (STEA) - 2019
• Best Paper - 2nd Prize, Global Chinese Real Estate Congress, Global Chinese Real Estate Congress - 2018
• Practitioner Research Award, American Real Estate Society, American Real Estate Society - 2018
• Best Paper - 2nd Prize, Global Chinese Real Estate Congress, Global Chinese Real Estate Congress - 2017

Educational Qualifications

• Ph.D., Economics, University of Minnesota, 2007
• M.Com., Finance with IT, University of Sydney, 2001
• M.Econ. (1st Class Honours), Economics, University of Sydney, 2000
• B.A., Economics, Soochow University, 1997

Academic Experience

• Academic Director (BSc Real Estate), Department of Real Estate, NUS Business School, 2021 - current
• Resident Fellow, NUS King Edward Seventh Hall, 2016 - current
• Associate Professor of Real Estate (with tenure), National University of Singapore, 2014 - current
• Deputy Head (Academic), Department of Real Estate, NUS School of Design and Environment, 2016 - 2017
• Ph.D. Program Director, Department of Real Estate, NUS School of Design and Environment, 2015 - 2016
• Deputy Head (Research), Department of Real Estate, NUS School of Design and Environment, 2015 - 2016
• Deputy Director, NUS Institute of Real Estate Studies, 2014 - 2015
• Assistant Professor of Real Estate, National University of Singapore, 2007 - 2013