About this course

This course aims to study how methods from economics and finance can be used to evaluate real estate investment decisions and how to incorporate insights from urban economics to improve the profitability of investments. The course will begin with an introduction to the urban economics of real estate investment, focusing on how shifts in supply and demand across real estate related markets impact the risk and return of an investment. We will then study methods of varying sophistication in the empirical evaluation of risk. The next portion of the course will focus on the processes of real estate development and asset management, contrasting their impact on risk and return. We will then discuss the construction of REITs and their performance. The remainder of the course will dive deeper into evaluating the impact of major emerging trends in urban economics on investment evaluations that outperform spatially blind evaluations. Assessment for the course will centre on the valuation of a mixed-use retail property in London. A field trip to tour the property and surrounding urban environment will occur during the term.