Real estate is an obvious investment for all commercial entities and by far the major investment for individuals.  The importance of real estate is universal defying changes in time, space and technology.  Even in the space age (with bit of imagination!) the space centres and shuttles will fall in the categories of real estate.  This module will introduce the corporate finance and investment concepts in the context of real estate markets.  It is designed for students studying BSc Accounting and Financial Management as an elective at level 3.  On the other hand it will also be beneficial for the students doing specialised programmes in retail, hospitality and tourism as all of these industries are primarily defined by a particular type of real estate.  Students intending to pursue a career in real estate would find this module as the first stepping-stone towards the industry.  A good quantitative skill is essential for this module. 

Business Finance MAN2047 

The aim of the module is to familiarise participants with corporate finance and investment issues in the context of real estate industry/markets.  Primarily the module will introduce valuation, financing, risk, leverage, securitisation, and portfolio management in real estate. 

By the end of the module, the participants will be expected to be able to: 
·               Recognise different valuation methods in real estate and illustrate how they can be applied for different valuation appraisals i.e. Residential and Commercial – office, retail, industrial and leisure (hotels and resorts). 
·               Comprehend the nature of Real Estate as an alternative investment vehicle and how to manage such vehicle in a real economy. 
·               Understand the corporate financial issues in real estate e.g. financing, mortgages and amortisation, risk and return, financial leverage, securitisation, financial instruments. 
·               Recognise the investment issues in real estate e.g. portfolio theory & construction, property indices and smoothing, international portfolio management, performance measurement of investment funds. 

Real Estate Finance: 
·               What is Real Estate Finance 
·               Principles of real estate valuation: Commercial (Office, Retail, Industrial & leisure) and Residential 
·               Mortgages & amortisation 
·               Project financing in real estate 
·               Incorporating risk in real estate project analysis 
·               Financial leverage in real estate 
·               Securitisation: mortgage securities, exchange traded property investment vehicles Real Estate Investment:
·               Portfolio theory and construction 
·               Real estate return indices and smoothing 
·               International portfolio management 
·               Measuring performance of investment funds 

Delivery: 
·               Weekly two hours lecture 
Active learning interventions:
·               Computer lab based demonstration of financial spreadsheet analysis using MS Excel 
·               Regular use of electronic voting system for increased class room participation 
·               Use of problem sets for participants to solve at their own to promote learning by doing 
ULearn: 
·               Use of ULearn as an information portal for the module.  It will also be used for managing the module e.g. delivery of project work, submission, announcement etc. 
Learning and teaching source: 
·               Beside chapters in appropriate text books in the area the students will be supplied with list of refereed journal articles on relevant topics as a major source of learning material.  This will enhance their awareness in latest research in real estate finance and investment.  This is a step towards bridging the research and teaching towards improved pedagogy. 
Other pedagogy (subject to prior arrangement): 
·               Invited lecture by industry practitioners 
·               Field trip to real estate firms or development projects
Assessment Strategy: 

Essential Reading 
Brueggeman, W.B. and Fisher, J.D. (2008) Real Estate Finance & Investments.  13^th edn.  Boston : Irwin-McGraw Hill. 
Recommended Reading 
Ball, M., Lizieri, C. and MacGregor, B.D. (1998) The Economics of the Commercial Property Market.  1^st edn.  London : Routledge. 
Baum, A. and Crosby , N. (1995) Property Investment Appraisal.  2^nd edn.  Routledge. 
Brown, G.R. and Matysiak, G.A. (2000) Real Estate Investment: A Capital Market Approach.  1^st edn.  London : Financial Times-Prentice Hall. 
Geltner, D. and Miller, N. (2007) Commercial Real Estate Analysis and Investments.  International edn. (with CD-ROM) 2e.  Cengage Learning. 
Johnson, T., Davies, K. and Shapiro, E. (2000) Modern Methods of Valuation of Land, Houses and Buildings.  9^th edn.  Estate Gazette Ltd. 
Millington , A.F. (2001) An Introduction to Property Valuation.  5^th edn.  Estate Gazette Ltd. 
Parnham, P. and Rispin, C. (2001) Residential Property Appraisal.  1^st edn.  E & FN Spon. 
Scarrett, D. (1991) Property Valuation: The Five Methods.  1^st edn.  E & FN Spon. 
Background Reading 
Journals 
Journal of Property Finance 
Journal of Property Investment & Finance 
Journal of Property Management 
Journal of Property Research 
Journal of Property Valuation & Investment 
Journal of Real Estate Finance & Economics 
Journal of Real Estate Literature 
Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management 
Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education 
Journal of Real Estate Research 
Land Economics 
Real Estate Economics 
Real Estate Review