Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, September, 2020 / Cataloged from student-submitted PDF of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 81-87). / Commercial real estate is at a crossroads; continued global population growth will necessitate significant additions to the current building stock, and new commercial space, if delivered using traditional construction methods and materials, will further increase the embodied carbon emissions of the built environment. However, there is an opportunity to mitigate the environmental impact of new development while also increasing value by employing new mass timber technology to meet the growing demand for new buildings. At the same time, approved changes to the 2021 International Building Codes (IBC) and increased investment in new production facilities will improve the scale and usability of mass timber, further reducing costs and environmental impacts. This dynamic presents developers with a unique opportunity to capitalize on changing tides and revolutionize the building industry. / This paper will explore the similarities and differences between mass timber and traditional timber construction before discussing the best ways to leverage mass timber's advantages over traditional steel and concrete building systems and how to apply lessons learned from existing projects to reduce costs in the context of an evolving industry. In order to prove the viability of mass timber, this paper will utilize construction cost analyses from an existing case study that compared mass timber development to traditional cast-in-place concrete development, and it will analyze these total cost estimates on a time-adjusted returns basis. Subsequently, it will analyze consumer and corporate trends based on demographics and sustainability preferences in order to demonstrate the proven willingness of individuals and companies to pay a premium for sustainability. / Based on that demand, it will then utilize leasing and valuation figures from LEED and Energy Star buildings as a basis of analyzing the superior returns mass timber delivers. Finally, a discussion of the current limitations to wide-spread adoption of mass timber will be identified, as well as means for owners to mitigate those limitations and identify the best potential markets for mass timber. With an understanding of the products, market, and existing challenges, this paper concludes with views on how the mass timber industry will evolve to facilitate wider use.. / by Andrew Thigpen [and] Benjamin Masselink. / S.M. in Real Estate Development / S.M.inRealEstateDevelopment Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate

Thesis (S.M. in Real Estate Development)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in Conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2013. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (page 44). / The idea of a pure-play property portfolio is simply to replicate the returns of a specified target real estate sector without any exposure to other sectors by taking an optimal mix of long and short positions in listed real estate securities, combined with bonds to de-lever the traded equity shares. The goal of this study was to explore the possibility of applying the pure portfolio methodology in Europe, similarly to the way it has been recently launched in the United States, by constructing various demonstration sets of country and sector indices for the major European real estate markets. We used data for the three-year period 2010-2012. We find that the pure-play methodology yields reasonable results for the European-wide office, retail, residential, industrial and multi-use indices. The all-sector country indices for the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden seem to relatively accurately reflect the underlying economic trends in each country, while the Dutch index produced exaggerated negative results during the sample period. The performance of the computed Eurozone and Other-Europe indices are in line with reasonable expectations, among other things mirroring the events in the single currency area during 2011. A number of country-specific sector indices were also constructed. For the UK, office, retail, residential, industrial and multi-use indices were estimated. For France, office, retail and multi-use indices were computed. For Germany and Sweden office and residential sector indices were calculated. While the results for the majority of the country-specific sector indices seem reasonable and reliable, some of them suffer from high volatility or negative autocorrelation. In summary, this study suggests that the currently available data on European REITs and other real estate investment companies may well enable the construction of a number of sector, country, as well as country-specific sector indices for the key European real estate markets. / by Kristian Elonen. / S.M.in Real Estate Development

Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, September, 2020 / Cataloged from student-submitted PDF of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 58-59). / We founded T-Space in response to the underutilization of transit stations and the opportunity it presents itself being a high volume, small footprint space with a strong network to residential neighborhoods and employment centers. As a team, we found ourselves asking: Can transit stations be an alternative space for retail service? Can we bring convenience to commuters? Can we add to the neighborhood identity through modernization and wayfinding strategies? Can we help transit agencies improve their real estate source of income? This thesis articulates the T-Space business model developed through MIT's DesignX accelerator program. T-Space, short for Transit Space, is a real estate company focused on modernizing stations and improving the quality of life for commuters. Our mission is to revitalize these untapped assets and incorporate innovative retail technology for convenience. By modernizing transit stations across the United States, we have an opportunity to better connect transit stations to its community while increasing the real estate revenue source for the transit agency. At the same time, retailers can test new markets, while commuters benefit from automation and self-service. In our efforts of developing a business model that works for transit agencies, retailers, and commuters, we hope the success of projects contribute to an increase in ridership. / by Manuel Velazco. / S.M. in Real Estate Development / S.M.inRealEstateDevelopment Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate

Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, September, 2020 / Pagination: 1-123, 142-146, 124-141. Cataloged from student-submitted PDF of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 144-146). / This paper examines the historic, current and future state of luxury residential amenities and the popularly-called "Amenity Wars" in luxury multifamily housing. The research is based on U.S. urban markets with a special focus on Boston, Massachusetts, where the recent building boom and overall healthy economy have created an active and competitive multifamily development environment. It also aims to answer the question: how has/will COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) impact the thinking behind and programming of residential building amenities? The discussion of recent Amenity Wars trends incorporates themes such as catering to resident needs on a lifestyle level; the draw of physical amenities vs. service-oriented amenities; and demographic and market conditions that have resulted in the current state of multifamily demand. / Following is an exploration of how, as of summer 2020, the coronavirus's rapid person-to-person spread has proved particularly disruptive to the way multifamily housing operates, and how it has challenged existing perceptions about what makes for a desirable multifamily housing experience. The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic will represent a profound moment in collective memory with the power to alter not only the planning and programming of multifamily features and amenities, but luxury urban residential demand in general. As such, it is now time to rethink what the future of the Amenity Wars will look like in both the evolving new normal and long-term new normal. This paper demonstrates how, during the pandemic, innovative designs and other creative solutions have already begun to infiltrate multifamily design and construction. / It also establishes that a healthy demand for luxury urban multifamily housing is poised to remain in the long term, along with which additional notable shifts in multifamily feature and amenity programming will occur. Going forward, we should expect to see changes to physical space in the form of more spatially-adaptable buildouts that enable flexibility of use in addition to more private areas and less community focus, as well as a shift toward service over some physical amenities. Additionally, some of the most lasting effects of the pandemic will be in regard to how multifamily buildings are designed to accommodate new demands of teleworking. / by Elise Dubuque. / S.M. in Real Estate Development / S.M.inRealEstateDevelopment Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate

Thesis (S.M. in Real Estate Development)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in Conjunction with the Center for Real Estate , 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 64). / The purpose of this research project is to examine the market pricing behavior of vacation homes in resort property markets. To accomplish this a price index is constructed to track real price fluctuations from 1981 to 2010 for the 3 localized ski resort markets in Park City, Utah. The resulting price indices reveal a history of cyclical price movements, and surprising long-term real price depreciation of 12% to 25% between 1981 and 2010. To determine the causes of the cyclical movements in the price indices, time series analysis is performed, and a model created to predict market behaviors based on past levels of price, construction, and skier days. The results of this exercise reveal that the number of annual skier days in the area is an effective representative of demand for housing, and that the local ski business has a considerable effect on real estate prices. Additionally, it is revealed that Park City's ski business is largely affected by national economic conditions, more so than by both regional economical conditions and local snowfall. The analysis concludes that despite the thirty year decline in real prices, the Park City resort market behaves as a well functioning, healthy market. The model indicates that while increases in prices do stimulate new construction, the growth in the total number of dwelling units reveals a relatively inelastic supply market. This suggests that any growth in demand should be accompanied with long-term price appreciation. Market forecasts based on various demand scenarios indicate that except in the most pessimistic cases, prices in Park City should experience healthy appreciation in the near to mid future. It is believed that these findings can be applicable to various resort markets. / by Brady W. Larsen. / S.M.in Real Estate Development

Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2014. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 57-59). / This thesis introduces probabilistic valuation techniques and encourages their usage in the real estate industry. Including uncertainty and real options into real estate financial models is worthwhile, especially when there is an elevated level of unpredictability surrounding the investment decision. Incorporating uncertainty into real estate pro formas not only provides different results over deterministic models, it changes the angle of attack to real estate valuation problems. When uncertainty is taken into account, the focus shifts from simply maximizing financial returns, to modeling and managing uncertainty to make better ex ante finance and design decisions. The ability to add optionality in probabilistic financial modeling can enhance returns by curtailing losses during downturns and taking advantage of upside conditions. A step-by-step example is carefully crafted to demonstrate the simplicity with which uncertainty, Monte Carlo Simulations and Real Options may be included into real estate pro formas. The example is entirely Excel based and is separated into three parts with each progressively increasing in complexity. SimpleCo Tower establishes the familiar Discounted Cash Flow pro forma as a starting point. ModerateCo Tower describes how uncertainty and Monte Carlo simulations can be incorporated into a pro forma while illustrating the effect of non-linearity on financial models. ChallengeCo Tower reveals how real options can add value to an investment and how it should not be overlooked. The case study illustrates how the techniques outlined in this thesis can add significant value to real estate decisions without much added effort or investment in expensive software. The case study also shows how the use of real world data to model uncertainty can be put into practice. / by Keith Chin-Kee Leung. / S.M. in Real Estate Development

This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2020 / Cataloged from student-submitted PDF of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 39-40). / This paper examines the housing market in Beirut between the beginning of 2005 to the end of 2018, focusing in particular on the slowdown in the early to late 2010s. It will be shown that this slowdown is partly attributable to a mismatch in the supply that private developers have introduced to the market and the actual demand from potential homeowners. The analysis reveals that the most at-risk assets are opportunistic developments targeting high-income buyers and that despite political and economic instability, property owners have continued to realize returns on real estate. At the time of writing this paper, there are no formal metrics to track the movement of real estate prices in Beirut. Two indices are constructed using transaction data to address this using the hedonic and repeat sales models. Finally, the different factors that have affected the real estate market are explored, including slow wage growth that has prevented homeowners from keeping up with housing prices, massive public debt that has paralyzed subsidization programs, and a high cost of debt that has made it difficult and unattractive to finance both new construction and homeownership. / by Abdulrahman Hammoud. / S.M. in Real Estate Development / S.M.inRealEstateDevelopment Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate

Thesis: M. Arch., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, May, 2020 / Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, May, 2020 / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (page 120). / The history of cultivating cannabis can be traced back to at least the 3rd millennium BCE, as evidence suggests it was consumed for psychoactive effects at least 2,500 years ago in the Pamir Mountains in central Asia. Viewed quite negative in recent centuries though, cannabis is currently illegal in most of the countries in the world, including the United States at the federal level. Started as early as in the 1970s, cannabis was first legalized in few states in the US for medical use. Later, as more states adopted lenient policies on the substance, the voice for the decriminalization of recreational cannabis increased. Now, as 12 states already legalized recreational cannabis and more than 30 states permit medical cannabis, the cannabis industry presents not only core business opportunities but also an arena for related building and facility design and development. Excited about this landscape, this thesis aims to explore unique building prototypes for cannabis operators and examine innovative investment opportunities through real estate investment trust (REIT) in the cannabis industry. / by F. Finn Xu. / M. Arch. / S.M. in Real Estate Development / M.Arch. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture / S.M.inRealEstateDevelopment Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate

Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2020 / Cataloged from the official PDF of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / This paper searches for the property value component due to existence of a redevelopment option. We do an empirical study based on over 6,600 industrial property transactions across United States from 2000 to 2018. This can be seen as a discovery journey of improving the methodology in identifying and evaluating the redevelopment option value embedded in the transaction price of such property traded among investors in the private property market. Starting from simple OLS regression, we observed a reverse causality phenomenon between property sales price and a dummy variable of the intention to redevelop the property, in which the redevelopment flag was associated with lower priced properties. The journey then ended up verifying the improvement in the most advanced methodology that academics on the frontier apply in studying the value of the redevelopment option. This advanced methodology by Buechler et al (2020)1 deploys an empirical analysis strategy using a probit model to develop a redevelopment propensity metric, instead of the dummy variable of redevelopment intention. We apply this methodology to solve the endogeneity problem with the original simple OLS regression, and we find that industrial properties have an average redevelopment probability of 0.22, which generates option value of $5.8/sqft (land), or 19% of the average property price per square foot of land ($30.2/sqft(land)). Comparing our study findings for industrial property with that of the Buechler et al study (2020) which is on all property types, the implication is that on average redevelopment option value tends to be a greater percentage of industrial property value than for the other types of commercial properties. The option value is not necessarily greater in absolute terms, but relative to the value of the property. These results apply on average to all industrial properties, not just to those sold specifically to be redeveloped. / by Yuling She. / S.M. in Real Estate Development / S.M.inRealEstateDevelopment Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate

Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2020 / Cataloged from the official PDF of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 71-74). / Much has been written concerning the positive socio-economic values of urban manufacturing and the need for cities to advocate for the protection of existing middle-income wage jobs in the industrial sector. However, there lie governing factors as to why a use, that has always been essential to communities, has become very hard to grow or even sustain in the present time. Urban growth models were usually developed around the idea that industrial uses are a negative externality. Unlike numerous cities that witnessed complete deindustrialization after World War II, New York City has over the years transformed the identity of its Manufacturing districts. The revival of urban manufacturing in the heart of NYC, where the highest and best use is not in favor of industrial use, has pushed for re-visiting the outdated industrial zoning framework for the first time since the 1961 zoning resolution. / The North Brooklyn Industrial Business Zone, a protected manufacturing district spanning across 1,066 acres and the third-largest industrial hub in the city by employment, is set out to become the blueprint for a proposed rezoning framework by NYC's Department of City Planning. The rezoning was initiated as part of the industrial action plan launched in 2015 and aims to create new models for innovative and diverse neighborhoods through mixed-use commercial and industrial uses. In 2018, The Department of City Planning released a draft rezoning framework outlining an additional density to support commercial investment in a growing of a mixed-use market. However, the plan does not define a clear strategy that aims to maintain net-zero losses in industrial jobs. In effect, a simple up-zoning applied to industrial land will not hold back competing uses from outbidding industrial tenants and creating further industrial displacement. / By shedding light on New York City's industrial land use policies and the mechanisms that helped maintain and grow its manufacturing ecosystem thus far, this thesis will demonstrate the feasibility and challenges facing industrial space development within the newly proposed North Brooklyn Re-Zoning Framework and under current market conditions. As part of the feasibility study, several deal structures will be explored from private development, public-private partnership, and industrial community land trusts which improve both the feasibility as well as the retention of businesses. / by Salma Abdelgawad. / S.M. in Real Estate Development / S.M.inRealEstateDevelopment Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate