Texas Real Estate Research Center Chief Economist, Research Economist Retire

Dr. James Gaines, chief economist and director of research at the Texas Real Estate Research Center, and Research Economist Dr. Ali Anari have retired.

During his 15 years at the Center, Gaines specialized in housing and land development issues. He was the author of more than 50 Center reports and articles and the organization’s principal speaker.

Previously, Gaines spent 16 years with KPMG and Arthur Andersen providing real estate consulting services. He also served five years as president of the Rice Center, an urban research center affiliated with Rice University.

His decades of experience included a broad array of professional activities, primarily in real estate research and education, urban economics, land-use analysis and development, and project risk assessment. Gaines worked extensively with major corporations, developers, investors, financial institutions, and government agencies across the country.

In 2019, Gaines was part of the Texas Realtors delegation representing the United States at the MIPIM 30th Engaging the Future conference in Cannes, France.

Dr. Ali Anari, who conducted research in econometric modeling, real estate economics, and macroeconomics, also retired. In 2003, he began writing the Center’s Monthly Review of the Texas Economy. While at the Texas Real Estate Research Center, he authored 102 technical reports and articles.

Anari has presented papers on economic modeling at conferences around the world and published book chapters and articles in scholarly publications.
Funded primarily by Texas real estate licensee fees, the Texas Real Estate Research Center was created by the state legislature to meet the needs of many audiences, including the real estate industry, instructors, researchers, and the public. The Center is part of Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.