Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Bayreuth, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

M.Com. (Business Management) / The commercial real estate broking industry is considered one of the most competitive industries globally, with research showing that it has many competitors and the ease of entry is rather easy. This research was conducted in the context of the commercial real estate broking industry in order to examine the extent of competition in the industry and to establish how one of the companies in this industry can sustain the competitive advantage. The study revealed that gaining and sustaining competitive advantage is about strengthening the resources that are not valuable, rare and imitable in the organisation as reflected in the model by Knott (2009: 166). The primary purpose of this study was to explore how JLL SA can obtain and sustain competitive advantage in the competitive commercial real estate broking environment through the Resource Based View. The research methodology applied in this study was a qualitative study, which consisted of 9 semi structured interviews from Jones Lang LaSalle South Africa (JLL SA). The criteria for the population sample was that the respondents had to have adequate experience in the commercial real estate broking industry and had a thorough knowledge of the company under review. The research highlighted a number of challenges regarding the market position of JLL SA and that the company does not have a formal rivalry strategy. From the research, it was found that strategic planning, particularly for competition happens as and when the organisation is challenged by competition. The study also reveals that JLL SA does not communicate a strategic direction for tackling competition. The main recommendations of this study is that JLL SA adopts the model suggested by Knott (2009:166) as a measure to gain and sustain competitive advantage. The model refers to the valuable, rarity and inimitability of resources through, in which JLL SA can selects attributes or resources to evaluate in order to sustain competitive commercial real estate broking industry is considered one of the most competitive industries globally, with research showing that it has many competitors and the ease of entry is rather easy. This research was conducted in the context of the commercial real estate broking industry in order to examine the extent of competition in the industry and to establish how one of the companies in this industry can sustain the competitive advantage. The study revealed that gaining and sustaining competitive advantage is about strengthening the resources that are not valuable, rare and imitable in the organisation as reflected in the model by Knott (2009: 166). The primary purpose of this study was to explore how JLL SA can obtain and sustain competitive advantage in the competitive commercial real estate broking environment through the Resource Based View. The research methodology applied in this study was a qualitative study, which consisted of 9 semi structured interviews from Jones Lang LaSalle South Africa (JLL SA). The criteria for the population sample was that the respondents had to have adequate experience in the commercial real estate broking industry and had a thorough knowledge of the company under review. The research highlighted a number of challenges regarding the market position of JLL SA and that the company does not have a formal rivalry strategy. From the research, it was found that strategic planning, particularly for competition happens as and when the organisation is challenged by competition. The study also reveals that JLL SA does not communicate a strategic direction for tackling competition. The main recommendations of this study is that JLL SA adopts the model suggested by Knott (2009:166) as a measure to gain and sustain competitive advantage. The model refers to the valuable, rarity and inimitability of resources through, in which JLL SA can selects attributes or resources to evaluate in order to sustain competitive advantage.

This dissertation consists of three separate essays. The first two essays focus on real estate brokerage; one studies the conditions for efficient employment in the real estate brokerage industry under fixed commission rates and the other examines the role of real estate agents in buyer-seller bargaining. The third essay presents an integrated analysis of housing investment and consumption choices that takes into account both the uncertainty in investment returns and liquidity constraints. Essay one presents a model of real estate trading with brokerage that integrates sequential search, two-sided matching, and the competitive entry and effort choice of real estate agents. The equilibrium employment pattern of the model helps to explain the observation that the number of agents is more sensitive to the expected transaction price than to the transaction volume. The condition for efficient employment requires the commission to be proportional to the opportunity cost of search time and the expected trading gain, with the proportion determined by the productivity of brokerage employment. Efficient employment also requires regulating the entry so as to achieve the productivity balance between the number of agents and individual effort. Essay two examines asymmetric information and bargaining within the model of real estate trading developed in essay one. The equilibrium outcomes of bargaining with and without information asymmetry are characterized with the help of mechanism design methodology, and the associated welfare levels are compared. The analysis is applied to evaluating the role of real estate agents in the bargaining. Agents seek compromises between the buyer and seller by providing credible information to both parties. Such a role is welfare improving when the scale economy of brokerage with respect to the stock of buyers and sellers is not strong and brokerage employment is sufficient. In essay three, Pratt's certainty-equivalent approximation is applied to the Henderson-Ioannides (1983) housing tenure choice model. The key trade-offs for housing investment and consumption choices induced by the uncertainty and liquidity constraints are clearly illustrated and the implications for tenure choice examined against the existing empirical evidence. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

The goal of this Master's Thesis is to evaluate the use of online marketing tools used by the Prague-based Real Estate company Happy House Rentals Ltd. and to propose improvements for their online marketing strategy. The first part of the paper describes available online marketing tools. The second part introduces the Real Estate market and describes, using published data, the situation of the Real Estate industry in the Czech Republic and Prague metropole in particular. This is followed by a primary analysis of the web presence of Prague's Real Estate Agencies fitting the competitive profile of Happy House Rentals Ltd. The third part is a case study on the online marketing presence of Happy House Rentals Ltd. Using the tools and data introduced in the first two parts of this Master's Thesis, the author suggests improvements for the online marketing strategy of Happy House Rentals Ltd.

The problem this study addressed was the determination of those real estate tasks perceived to be most essential by successful residential salespersons (defined as the recipients for the past five years of the Salesperson of the Year award, (or, designation) and in some cases, Realtor Associate of the Year designation awarded annually by some local Texas boards of realtors). Out of 116 local boards of REALTORS listed in the 19781979 Texas membership directory, twenty-eight awarded the Salesperson of the Year designation. During the years 1973 through 1977, ninety-five individuals received the award. Of these sixty-nine returned usable questionnaires for the study. The final list of task statements ranked by the participants in the study were selected by a panel composed of Advisory Council members from post-secondary institutions offering real estate programs, and chairpersons of education committees from local boards of realtors.

Regioner och kommuner har en rad olika fastigheter med varierande ändamål. Idag finns detofta inga uttalade strategier som kan ge beslutsfattare den grunden som behövs för att ta välgrundade beslut rörande fastighetsinnehavet. Inte heller har det funnits systematiska genomlysningar kring fastighetsinnehavet som ger en tydlig bild av vad som ägs. Att ha en strategi kring ett väl sorterat fastighetsinnehav är något som är och kommer bli allt mer viktigt i framtiden. Syftet med denna uppsats är därmed att genomföra en genomlysning av region Gotlands fastighetsinnehav samt ta fram ett förslag hur en generell fastighetsmodell skulle kunna se ut för att hjälpa sveriges kommuner och regioner göra mer välgrundade beslut från ett fastighetsekonomiskt samt långsiktigt perspektiv. Uppsatsen använder sig av en abduktiv metod där både teori och empiri används för att kunna ta fram ett förslag till fastighetsmodell. En litteraturstudie görs där bakomliggandeteori förklaras. En dokumentstudie genomförs där regionens policys och riktlinjer redogörs. Sedan genomförs en kvalitativ intervjustudie med hjälp av intressanta aktörer på marknaden. De slutsatser som kan dras är att fastighetsindelningen bör ske för enkelhetens skull utifrån skatteverkets typkoder. Analyser kring ekonomi, långsiktighet, flexibilitet, utvecklingspotential samt hållbarhet bör göras för att bestämma handlingsplanen kring enfastighet. Kring diskussionen när regionen ska äga eller hyra sina verksamhetslokaler kan en enkel princip göras. Vid långsiktigt behov av fastigheten bör den ägas samtidigt som vidkortsiktigt behov av en fastighet bör fastigheten hyras. Vidare bör en fastighetsstrategi arbetas med årligen och kontinuerligt uppdateras. / Municipalities has a variety of real-estate with various purposes and there’s often no strategy for the decision-makers to help them take well-grounded decisions regarding thereal-estate portfolio. There’s also often no systematic overview surrounding the real-estate possessions that gives a clear picture of what the municipality actually possess. To have astrategy surrounding the real-estate portfolio is something that is and will get more important in the future. The study aims to categorize the municipality Gotlands real-estate portfolio as well as suggest how a real-estate modell might look like to help decision-makers in swedish municipalities take more well-grounded decisions from an real-estate economy and long-term perspective. The study uses an abductive method where both theory and empiri are used to gatherinformation regarding the subject. A literature-study are made where the underlying theoryis explained. A document-study are made from the municipality’s policies and guidelines arepresented. Thereafter, a interview-study are made with help from interesting companiesfrom the swedish real-estate market. The study concludes that the categorizing surrounding the real-estate portfolio should bemade out of Skatteverkets “typkoder”. Analyses surrounding economy, longevity, flexibility,potential development and sustainability should be made to decide an action plan forreal-estates. Whether the municipality should own or rent their real-estate for theiroperations can a simple rule be made. The municipality should own the real-estate if theyhave a long-term requirement of it, and the same real-estate should be rented if it onlycovers a short-term requirement. Furthermore, a real-estate strategy should be work withyearly and updated continuously.

Even in the days of an ever closer European union, Europe contains no less than four different legal cultures with respect to real estate conveyances: the Latin-German notary system, the deregulated Dutch notary system, the lawyer/solicitor system, and the Scandinavian licensed real estate broker system. The latter is of particular interest in that Scandinavian brokers play a far larger role in real estate transactions than their European counterparts.This paper examines and compares the Swedish real estate broker and the Latin notary. The Swedish broker is required by law to act as an impartial intermediary, to provide counseling to both parties, and to assist in drawing up all contracts and other documents necessary for the transaction at hand. To that end, the broker must be active and observant of the particular needs of the parties to the present transaction, always striving to enable them to reach equitable and practical agreements so as to prevent future disputes. In other words, the broker is required to tailor the transaction to fit the needs of the buyer and seller.The Latin notary profession prevails in large parts of the world, particularly the Latin-German parts of continental Europe, and Latin America. While there are divergences in the notarial laws of all countries, the similarities are greater still, and it is correct to speak of a single profession throughout all these countries. The notary carries out several important functions, the nexus of which is the authentication of legal documents. In the preparation of these documents, the notary is required to provide impartial counseling in order to tailor the transaction at hand to fit the will and needs of the parties. To uphold the integra fama of the profession, and to safeguard the proper performance of the notarial functions, lawgivers in all countries emphasize the importance of impartiality and integrity. There are national divergences as to the specific rules of conduct related to impartiality, particularly those concerning what activities are considered incompatible with the notariat, but they rest on common principles. Most importantly, not only must the publica fides be honored, it must be seen in the eyes of the public to be honored. The organization and regulation of the notary profession raises important economic issues, particularly with regard to competition/monopoly and market failures. The discussion of the regulation or deregulation of the notariat is by no means settled. Comparing the two professions, it is striking to see the enormous similarities in the legal frameworks and their respective rationales. Two common features are of particular interest. Firstly, both the Swedish broker and the Latin notary are required to assist the contracting parties in the contract phase, drawing up any necessary documents and counseling the parties as to the implications of the transaction. In that respect, both professions function as tailors to the transaction. Secondly, both the broker and the notary are required to act impartially and independently – impartially visavi the contracting parties, and independently in order to preserve the public faith in the independence and integrity of the professions.The similarities can be summarized as a function on the real estate market: impartial counseling and contract-engineering. This function exists alongside other functions, such as the brokers’ traditional matchmaking, or the registration of property rights. This functional approach may prove very useful in all kinds of analyses of the real estate market, whether of political, legal, or economic nature. For instance, with respect to the merits and/or necessity of the Swedish impartiality rule, those wishing to amend the law and introduce a system of overtly partial brokers acting solely on behalf of their principal have to face the question of what is to become of counseling for the principal’s counterpart. Should the counterpart be forced to choose between hiring their own legal counsel or make do without? Further, those wishing to contest the mandatory notarial intervention in real estate transactions have to face the same question: what is to happen to impartial counseling, given not only to the client but also to the client’s counterpart? Both instances illustrate the common feature shared by the two examined professions: impartial contract-engineering and counseling. To complete the picture and cover the whole arena of real estate transactions, the next logical step is therefore to compare and analyze different systems for registration of property rights. Doing so will hopefully achieve a tool for examining the real estate market that will prove useful indeed, particularly in future discussions concerning European harmonization.

A major concern for investors in residential real estate throughout the United States is the decline in value of residential real estate. The high demand for residential real estate bas increased prices significantly. Many analysts believe that the recent price increases have been fueled by speculation and there is currently potential for a decline in prices. This thesis studies various methods by which investors might potentially hedge the decline in residential real estate values that many analysts predict will occur. Three possible methods that could provide investors with a cost-effective way to hedge a decline in residential real estate values are studied in this thesis. These methods are taking a short position in a portfolio of stocks from the PHLX Housing Index, buying Morgan Stanley I 00% Bear Capital Protected Notes, and selling a Hedgelet portfolio, which consists of binary options offered by Hedgestreet. Throughout the analysis of the hedging strategies, the objective was to determine which hedging strategy would provide the best possible hedge at the lowest possible cost to the investor. I concluded that none of the three hedging strategies would provide a cost-effective hedge for the investor.

An investment vehicle that holds listed real estate securities that focus on residential properties globally, is currently not available. The study’s purpose is to determine the feasibility of such a product, its potential advantages and disadvantages. This thesis applied a qualitative research method by conducting semi-structured interviews with professional fund managers in Sweden and Germany that manage real estate funds. The literature review and theory consist of fundamentals and academics in real estate investing, investment vehicles, portfolio theory and lastly investor types and their behaviour. The authors conclude that the majority of experts interviewed considered the proposed vehicle as interesting but lifted concerns that need to be addressed in further research. The political risk, especially on a global scale, was stated as the major risk. Furthermore, experts have divided opinions regarding the maturity for listed real estate companies on the financial markets. What type of investment vehicle that would be the most suitable will depend on investment tactic, investors and the current status of the global economy and the financial markets. The overall investigations result is that experts view the proposed idea as positive and feasible. It poses a good foundation for further research and might find its place in the sphere of real estate investments. / En investeringsform som innehåller noterade fastighetsaktier globalt, där bolagen är fokuserade på hyresfastigheter, är förnärvarande inte tillgängligt på marknaden. Uppsatsens syfte är att avgöra om en sådan inveteringsform är genomförbar samt undersöka dess fördelar och nackdelar. Denna uppsats har applicerat en kvalitativ metod genom semi-strukturerade intevjuer med profesionalla fondförvaltare som förvaltar fastighetsaktiefonder i Sverige och Tyskland. Litteraturstudien och teorin innehåller akademisk forskning och fundamentala teorier inom fastighetsinvesteringar, investeringsstrukturer, portfölj teori och till sist investeraryper och dess beteende. Författarna konstaterar att majoriteten av experterna ansåg att den förslagna investeringsformen är intressant, men belyste också svårigheter och risker som bör adresseras i forstsatt forsking på ämnet. Den politiska risken, speciellt på ett globalt plan, ansågs vara den största risken. Experterna hade delade åsikter angående mognaden för globala fastighetsaktier på de finansiella marknaderna. Vilken investeringsstruktur som är bäst tillämpar beror enligt experterna på investeringstaktik, investerarna och det nuvarande klimatet i världsekonomin och på de finansiella marknaderna. Studien resulterade i att experterna ser på den försglagna investersformen positivt och som genomförbar. Förslaget innehar en godgrund för fortsatt forskning och kan i framtiden hitta sin plats i sfären av fastighetsinvesteringar.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / China Area Studies / Master / Master of Arts