abstract / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Urban Studies / Master / Master of Social Sciences

This paper studies the effects of the gender of the real estate agents on the closing price of residential, single-family homes in seven cities in east Los Angeles county from 2016 to 2017. We conduct two sets of regressions and find that contrary to previous studies, female listing agents outperform male listing agents. We also find that the gender of the buyer’s agents does not have significant effects on house prices. These results suggest that negotiation skills might not be the main key to explain the discrepancy of performance between male and female real estate agents.

The commercial value for Bed and Breakfasts and Country Inns did not kept pace with other lodging establishments. Lodging real estate investment trusts (REITs) grew in the 1990's by acquiring hotels and motels but not the smaller Inns. This study investigated what sale terms and conditions an Inn owner would sell their property to a REIT. The study examined what conditions an innkeeper would manage the property for the REIT once the sale was closed. This study concluded that a REIT was not a feasible exit strategy for Inn owners.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the progress and development connected to the acquisition of domestic real estate by foreign exchange non-residents, especially the changes in legal regulations which deal with this issue, and to document this liberalisation with examples from court procedures. This thesis comprises seven chapters; the first two chapters are designated for the introduction, where the goals of this thesis are defined, and for a short historical excursion which introduces the issue from a historical context. The core of this thesis is chapters three, four and five. Chapter three describes and evaluates the development of this issue in the period between November 1989 and the adoption of the last Foreign Exchange Act. The most attention is paid to the dynamic development of the regulations in the Foreign Exchange Act and on the context of other matters which had a large impact on its provisions. The purpose was to order the single chapters and subchapters so that they constitute a logical unit on the one hand, but on the other hand each subchapter deals with its own topic and part of the issue. Logical milestones are events like the Accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union and the expiration of transitive periods. Factually the single subchapters deal with special...

This diploma thesis compares various appraisal methods while appraising chosen real estate. The goal of this thesis is to compare different outcomes of those methods and to analyze the origin of incurred differences.

Thesis submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of the Master of Management in Finance and Investment, 2015/2016 / South African inner-city , through a series of political cycles, social transformations and shifts in local government structures, have undergone significant physical change in a deteriorating direction. This change has largely manifested in the dilapidation of inner-city real estate stock, in that brownfield buildings, or buildings with former residential, commercial and industrial functions, have been re-appropriated for alternative (often illegal) uses that have potential consequences for that redevelopment and, through the sourcing of necessary capital, maybe restored and rehabilitees to better serve inner-city inhabitants and stake holds. / GR2018

A research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Building Science in Property Development and Management to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2018 / In April 2013, the South African listed property sector converted from Property Unit Trust and Property Loan Stock investment structures into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) structure that is understood globally. This conversion spurred consolidations in the property market in the form of mergers and acquisitions. Research shows that mergers and acquisitions tend to have high failure rates as growth strategies. It remains unknown how sufficient traditional due diligence is and how it can be improved to enhance the chances of successful corporate marriages within the South African REIT market. This paper reviews the aspects of the traditional due diligence scope which generally comprises of financial, legal and commercial due diligence in order to determine its adequacy as a decision making tool that helps reduce the risk of failure in REIT merger and acquisition transactions in South Africa. There is consensus in the literature that due diligence is a means to reduce the risk of merger and acquisition failure, some studies suggest that failure occurs when due diligence is not done well. This paper uses interviews conducted with due diligence professionals from seven REIT companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange who were involved in large merger and acquisition transactions in the preceding four years. The interviews were used to ascertain how the professionals perform due diligence, whether or not they think that traditional due diligence is sufficient for REIT mergers and acquisitions and to solicit their views on how the due diligence scope can be expanded. Transcribed data from each of the interviews was analysed based on three concurrent sub-processes adapted from the works of Miles and Huberman (1994) which consist of data reduction, data display and drawing and verifying conclusions. The results show that the traditional due diligence scope is not sufficient for REIT merger and acquisition transactions, a majority of the respondents agree with this observation. Encouragingly the professionals within the South African REIT market have a due diligence scope which is already much wider than the iii traditional scope, be that as it may, there is still a high failure rate of 59% observed in the sample analysed. Due diligence professionals have a low regard for understanding and resolving the different companies cultural issues, this is cited in the literature as one of the contributing factors for merger and acquisition failure. This is an area that can possibly augment the due diligence cycle and professionals should focus on it in order to improve the chances of success. The research proposes expanding the due diligence scope by incorporating strategic due diligence which is forward looking and it overcomes the challenges of traditional due diligence of relying on historic information. Strategic due diligence assists the acquirers understand the target’s future prospects, and it allows the acquirers to determine if the target prospects fit with their own strategic objectives. This together with a higher focus on understanding and resolving cultural issues of the merging companies should augment the traditional scope and ultimately lead to transactions that yield higher shareholder value. / XL2018

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of M.Sc. Building (Property Development and Marketing) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Construction Economics and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / Background The perception of inconsistent and uncertain valuations has been the subject of debate worldwide. However, it is a phenomenon that has gone largely ignored in South Africa. The effect of unreliable valuations cannot be overstated, as all lending and investment decisions are based on valuation estimates. Objectives This study seeks to investigate the level of valuation accuracy in South Africa by comparing mortgage valuation estimates done prior to finance of the properties against their actual realised transaction prices. Methods and Results Valuers from four financial institutions as well as from external valuation firms were randomly chosen to participate in a questionnaire and in addition 32,826 properties which were valued and sold between January to December 2016 were also analysed. The valuation estimates and actual transaction prices were collected in an Excel file. While data from the banks and valuers was collected and analysed using Qualtrics. Data was analysed using R software version 3.3.3 to come up with descriptive and inference statistics. The result of the analysis showed that the level of valuation accuracy for the properties in South Africa used in the study is high (2.03%), which shows a very high level of accuracy compared to the adopted benchmark of 10%. The accuracy level across the three provinces in our study namely Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape is 2.23%, 1.93% and 1.58% respectively, indicating that valuation accuracy is higher in Western Cape than Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal Conclusion The study revealed that valuation estimates were good proxies of the market value (actual realised sale prices). Based on the 10% acceptable margin of error benchmark adopted by this study it shows that valuers in South Africa are indeed accurate in as far as estimating residential cost values. Based on the 2.03% level of accuracy obtained in this study, we recommend that valuation stakeholders adopt 5% maximum margin of error between valuation estimates and actual realised prices. / XL2018

Even though we may not realize it, immovables are all around us. Because immovables are usually considered very valuable, ownership of real estate is examined more comprehensively in comparison to other things. Therefore, the laws of different states pay detailed attention to ownership rights and real estate. The same applies to the Czech Civil Code which came into effect as of 1 January 2014. This thesis is focused on a general explanation of ownership rights and immovables. Furthermore, it focuses on the theoretical analysis of the most important changes and developments that relate to real estate ownership rights brought about by the new Civil Code as well as on the consideration of the practical impact of these changes on legal relationships. Within the framework of these particular topics, the thesis refers to court decisions issued prior to the new Civil Code becoming effective, which are, in the author's view, also applicable to legal relationships established under the new civil rules. The basic principles of the operation of the Real Estate Register are also the subject of this thesis because the registration of the ownership rights of the majority of immovables in such a public register is necessary.