Brady Gruenhagen, a Becker native and student at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, has won $1,000 in scholarship aid in the Stofer/Stensby Real Estate Student Competition, which was funded by United Properties. 

The annual competition challenges students to develop business concepts that have the potential to become viable, high-growth enterprises, or to make significant contributions to existing real estate companies.

Gruenhagen’s fourth place winning entry, titled Hata, is a brokerage company that reimagined how revenue was typically generated. Gruenhagen will split the $1,000 fourth-place scholarship award with project partner Cory Kaisersatt of Prior Lake.

Entries were judged by a panel of prominent real estate professionals. Each entry consisted of a five-page description of concept explaining the product or service, target market, value proposition to customers, and a description of the potential market and its size, as well as a 15-minute presentation about the concept. Students were judged both on the merits of their business concepts and the quality of their presentations.

St. Thomas is the only university in the Twin Cities that offers both an undergraduate degree and a graduate certificate in real estate. In 2019, the program was ranked sixth in the nation.