Household & Urban Finance Lab

The Household and Urban Finance Lab (HUF Lab) at UVA conducts research at the intersection of financial markets, public policy, and urban spaces, delivering insights that improve policymaking and enhance households’ economic well-being.

HUF Lab supports the acquisition and maintenance of data for researchers, connects a diverse set of collaborators from the academy, industry, and governmental organizations, and provides space for debate and discussion about on-going research efforts. The lab produces state-of-the-art academic research that deepens our understanding of the complex relationships between individuals, institutions, and the built environment in which they interact.

Founded in 2023, HUF Lab is an innovative partnership between multiple UVA schools and centers. Its founding partners include the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Batten School for Leadership and Public Policy, the McIntire School of Commerce, the Environmental Inequality Lab, the Center for Investors and Financial Markets (CIFM), and the White Ruffin Byron Center for Real Estate.

Research

Reflecting the complex context in which households make their decisions, HUF Lab brings together scholars with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise to explore how these decisions are made and the many effects they have.

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Data

To support the production of high-caliber research across an array of related topics, faculty gain access to a robust suite of data.

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News

Learn how our research contributes to the evidence base that shapes decisions for policymakers, investors, and consumers.

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Leadership

Sanket Korgaonkar

Hear my name

Assistant Professor of Commerce,Crum Real Estate Fellow

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W Ben McCartney

Assistant Professor of Commerce,Overstreet Fellow

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Jonathan Colmer

Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy,Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy,Director, Environmental Inequality Lab,Housing & Urban Finance Lab (HUF Lab) Director of Graduate Studies

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Affiliated Faculty

Michael Gallmeyer, Consumer Bankers Association Eminent Professor of Commerce, McIntire School of Commerce; Director, Center for Investors and Financial Markets

John Holbein, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Politics, and Education, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy; Shannon Center Mid-Career Fellow

Elena Loutskina, Professor of Business Administration, Darden School of Business; Peter M. Grant II Bicentennial Foundation Chair in Business Administration; Academic Director of Richard A. Mayo Center for Asset Management

David Leblang, Ambassador Henry J. Taylor and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor Endowed Professor of Politics and Professor of Public Policy, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy

Jeana Ripple, Chair and Vincent and Eleanor Shea Professor, School of Architecture

Jay Shimshack, Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy

Sarah Turner, Professor of Economics, Education and Public Policy, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy

UVA Household and Urban Finance Lab Research Symposium

The Household & Urban Finance Lab (HUF Lab) Research Symposium was hosted by the pan-University White Ruffin Byron Center for Real Estate and the McIntire School of Commerce's Center for Investors and Financial Markets (CIFM).

The event showcases UVA faculty and Ph.D. students whose research projects rely upon the datasets housed at HUF Lab — including CoreLogic real estate data, L2 voting data, and Experian consumer credit data.

Read about the 2026 HUF Lab Research Symposium

Programs at McIntire

Faculty & Research

It's more than an education.