Sofia Dermisi
Victor L. Lyon and Alvin J. Wolff Endowed Professor
Department of Real Estate and the Department of Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington
About
Sofia Dermisi is the Victor L. Lyon and Alvin J. Wolff Endowed Professor in Real Estate at the University of Washington, where she holds a joint appointment in the Department of Real Estate and the Department of Urban Design and Planning. She also serves as Chair of the Interdisciplinary Group for Real Estate (IGRE), advancing cross-disciplinary collaboration in teaching and research across the built environment fields.
Prof. Dermisi’s scholarship is grounded in an interdisciplinary approach that reflects the complexity of real estate as a field spanning multiple property types, geographic scales, and analytical dimensions. Her research focuses on the evolution of office markets, particularly in downtown urban contexts, examining how internal and external shocks—including economic shifts, sustainability transitions, and disasters—shape real estate dynamics and long-term market trajectories.
Her work also explores the adoption of sustainable practices in existing office buildings, where capital investment challenges differ significantly from new construction, as well as the impacts of disasters on office and hotel markets. Through this work, she contributes to a deeper understanding of how real estate systems respond to changing economic, environmental, and social conditions in a highly cyclical industry.
Prof. Dermisi has received numerous research grants and professional recognitions for her contributions to the field. She has held leadership roles in the American Real Estate Society, including serving as Program Chair, Vice President, and President (2019–2020), becoming the first non-U.S.-born scholar and only the second woman to hold the presidency.
She holds a Diploma in Planning and Regional Development Engineering from the University of Thessaly in Greece, and both a Master’s and Doctorate in Design Studies from Harvard University.