Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in Conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2009. / 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 (p. 103-106). / The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) has arguably been the most successful government subsidy to finance affordable housing. Since its creation in the Tax Reform Act of 1986 as Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 42, the LIHTC program has helped finance over 1,670,000 housing units. LIHTC has endured the test of time due to its strength both in the public policy and political spheres as well as its effectiveness in attracting significant private capital and in encouraging private oversight. The collapse of corporate earnings in late 2008 led to the subsequent collapse of the LIHTC syndication markets as demand for LIHTCs practically evaporated. Proposed affordable housing developments that anticipated receiving private investment through the sale of LIHTCs stalled. In response to the overall national housing crises, Congress enacted the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA 2008), which contained numerous LIHTC amendments. In early 2009, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which temporarily converted the LIHTC program into a grant program. While HERA 2008 and ARRA were well intentioned, ARRA is a stopgap measure that could become costly to the US budget. This thesis argues that additional changes to IRC Section 42 should be implemented by Congress in order to reinvigorate the LIHTC syndication markets and improve LIHTC efficiency. This thesis will first provide a detailed, yet comprehensible, background on how the LIHTC functions. / (cont.) Armed with that background, the reader will then be introduced to the recent legislation affecting the LIHTC program. Finally, additional changes to the LIHTC will be proposed that, if enacted by Congress, should serve to further strengthen the LIHTC program and help revive affordable housing production. These changes include but are not limited to: expanding the passive investor rules to individuals, permitting LIHTC investors to carryback the LIHTC for five years, amending the LIHTC state allocation formula, accelerating the 10 year credit period, implementing methods to better control development and program costs, and expanding the Community Reinvestment Act. / by Jason Korb. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M. in Real Estate Development)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in Conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2012. / Cataloged from department-submitted PDF version of thesis. This electronic version was submitted and approved by the author's academic department as part of an electronic thesis pilot project. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-70). / Companies in the 21st century are increasingly relying on knowledge workers -- people who put to work what they have learned from systematic education as opposed to manual skills -- for value creation. Knowledge workers are the link to all of the company's other investments, managing and processing them to achieve company objectives. But because people, rather than things, are the means of value creation, they are mobile and must exercise choice to join, stay, and work hard for a particular company above all others. A company's survival in the knowledge-based economy is therefore contingent upon its comparative advantage to attract, retain, and make productive its people. This thesis seeks to develop an understanding of the motivational systems and strategies available to companies for sustained value-creation, and the extent to which they can be applied to the real estate industry. To accomplish the latter, the thesis conducts a case study on a leading real estate development and investment company. Through interviewing senior managers and high-performing employees, the thesis explores the specific systems and strategies implemented, and their implications for motivating attraction, retention, and superior value creation. After surveying the relevant literature and analyzing the theory in practice, the thesis concludes that extrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation are complementary features of high-performing organizations. The case study further suggests that real estate companies need to thoroughly understand their working culture and business model in order to craft tailored motivational strategies that support their high performers and the way they work. Only then can companies move away from merely managing the work of its people to successfully managing for lasting performance. / by Edwin En-Wei Liang. / S.M.in Real Estate Development

Thesis (S.M. in Architecture Studies)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture; and, 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. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 140-151). / The term "mass-customization" in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry refers to architectural elements that have similar purpose but are completely different from each other. Architects use mass-customized elements to give diverse design to different parts of a building. Mass-customization derives from three developments in computational technology: Building Information Modeling (BIM), the implications of programing in graphical representation, and the progress of computer-controlled manufacturing machines. However, the promise held by these technologies has not been fulfilled. While mass-customization is implemented in projects with large budgets, they are rarely employed in mainstream real estate. This thesis examines two multi-family projects: The Project on 8 Spruce Street and the Porter House, both located in Manhattan, to outline the challenges of executing commercial real estate projects that employ mass-customized envelope systems and makes suggestions as to how to overcome them. The thesis then examines the aircraft manufacturing industry, which is proficient in the use of Building Information Modeling and has advanced logistical expertise in transporting large-scale elements. The thesis examines its use of design and assembly processes such as Concurrent Engineering and Lean Manufacturing, and suggests that these techniques can be incorporated into the project delivery methods of the AEC industry. The thesis focuses on the production of fuselage and metallic wing skin panels, distinguishing between fabrication technologies that are used for the manufacturing of single-curved and double-curved panels. The thesis proposes ways in which these processes can be adapted to the standards of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry, and suggests that such adaptation could reduce fabrication costs. The thesis concludes by outlining the incentives for the aircraft industry to transition part of its operation into the fabrication of mass-customized envelopes for commercial real estate, pointing to the potential markets for such systems in the growing economies of China, Latin America and India. This thesis attempts to demonstrate the potential of utilizing features of the aircraft manufacturing industry so as to improve cooperation between all parties involved in the process of commercial real estate development and to create more beautiful and valuable buildings. / by Shaul Goldklang. / S.M.in Real Estate Development / S.M.in Architecture Studies

Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2016. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / How do commercial office rents vary across different floors within the same building? This question seeks to understand the heterogeneity of real estate by considering the location in three dimensions. This thesis aims to answer that question by analyzing office suite listings across geographies. The asking rents from 55,907 commercial office suite listings, in 2,567 buildings across 25 cities were analyzed for price differentials between floors. The asking rent level across each building for the last six months was used instead of hedonic analysis to allow for the underlying factors affecting price other than the floor number of the listed suite. The analysis showed a statistically significant positive rent premium for suites on higher floors in twenty three of the twenty-five cities. The rent premiums varied across the cities, with those cities with a larger market for commercial offices typically enjoying higher rent premiums. There was no relationship found between physical characteristics of the city (including population, density, average building height) and the rent premium for additional floors. / by Oliver Nutt. / 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, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 58-61). / Smart buildings have grown from an increase in digital technologies that can sense, recognize and verify the experiences of the building and its inhabitants. Nascent literature has identified what it means to be considered smart. Buildings must respond to all three components of systems, performance, and service and has to have the following components: a) Smartness and technology awareness, b) economic and cost efficiency, c) personal and social sensitivity and d) environmental responsiveness. Yet, it is unclear whether these systems have any value to the users or its owners. This thesis studies the economic impact of Smart, Connected and Green buildings upon rents and transaction prices. Using numerous data sources, we identify buildings that offer at least one so-called "smart" amenity and link them with the building's achieved rent and transactions prices as well as to other so-called "innovation" amenities, like greenness and or fiber-lit connectivity. Results documented in this study suggest that buildings that offer a more integral solution (i.e. buildings that are Smart, Connected and Green) have a premium in both rents and transaction prices over similar office products. While products that offer a more disintegrated solution have a smaller premium or even no incremental value premium, with the exception of green only buildings that offers a premium by themselves. This study contributes to the vast literature on real estate innovation but explores particularly the recent commercial office products that are Smart Buildings. / by Alfredo Keitaro Bando Hano. / S.M. in Real Estate Development

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in Conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2009. / 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 (p. 71-73). / Within commercial real estate, women are not as likely as men to achieve senior-level executive positions. Commercial real estate has been slow to change in terms of achieving gender parity, and though improvements have been made in the status of women in leadership positions, gender-based disparity still exists. The purpose of this study is to shed more light on the facilitators and barriers to career advancement of women in commercial real estate who have achieved top-level leadership positions. Thirteen women holding senior-level management positions in the commercial real estate industry were interviewed regarding facilitators to career advancement and notable barriers, the role of mentors, and work-life balance issues. What route did these women take to the top and what did they encounter along the way? Each story told involved some combination of diligent work, the pursuit of opportunities, and the will to succeed. The results from this study supported much of the research that has been done on this topic. Gender barriers, biases, and stereotypes were met along the way, but these women succeeded in spite of these barriers. The women attribute their success to facilitators of career advancement such as a strong work ethic, relationship building and risk-taking. While this thesis shed light on the careers of women in commercial real estate, it also raises at least two questions. How similar are the career paths of women and men in commercial real estate in terms of facilitators and barriers to advancement? Does the glass ceiling appear thin or non-existent once female executives are above it? / by Jodie Copp Poirier. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 52-53). / This thesis investigates flexibilities in commercial lab buildings with the help of the real options theory. The qualitative component of the thesis explores the development of the lab building as a building typology and its relationship to economic value creation for developers. It also investigates various strategies employed by developers during the design and development of lab buildings to hedge against the downside risk. The quantitative component builds upon that hypothetical lab building development case and creates a Real Options case as a framework for applying and valuing flexibility in this complex building type. Through this demonstration, valuation of flexibility employed in the current practice is derived. / by Kartik Shah. / 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, 2016. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 60-61). / The current practice of building is a slow-moving, fragmented, and conflicted industry that operates on a variety of scales, emotions, professions and realities. The current practice of making buildings has the potential for innovation to align interests among otherwise adverse parties. Buildings are complex and dynamic physical realities, operating as economic, social, and emotional constructs in the urban environment. Buildings also constitute the single unifying element upon which all stakeholders in the process place their expectations. Financial, spatial, emotional, and civic success hangs in the balance of a zero-sum process. The background of the development process is presented, focusing on the current practices of real estate development and architecture and highlighting the critical relationship between each entity. Following the description of the underlying relationships and processes, three case studies of actual practices are presented as innovative and unique alternatives to the current process of building. Each case study outlines a potential integration and convergence of real estate development and architectural design, providing a new viewpoint from which to analyze current practice. Five principles of excellent development emerge from the case studies as decisive benchmarks to analyze the building process. Following initial background information and explicit understanding of current processes and potential innovative alternatives, this thesis proposes a new practice model of integrated real estate development and architectural design, the Convergent Model, which seeks to simplify the building process and align economic, social, and cultural goals within a truly interdisciplinary team of professionals. The process is a potential solution to the compounded and interconnected issues of current practice and is more likely to meet the five principles of excellent development. Finally, the Convergent Model is put into practice through a hypothetical demonstration project. The demonstration project consists of a comparison between a Baseline and a Proposal, two developments on the same site. The Baseline utilizes traditional practices and the Proposal employs the Convergent Model. The development processes are compared side by side and evaluated as an illustrative depiction of the potential for a new development process that is more capable of creating excellent buildings. / by Jason Fisher. / 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 , 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-56). / Between 2010 and 2018, approximately $410 billion of maturing CMBS loans are expected not to able to refinance; that is, they are in high risk of default. The current real estate downturn has not only pushed delinquencies to a historic high but has also inflicted losses to bondholders. When losses are realized through foreclosure, junior bondholders can have the face amount of their investment significantly reduced with no cash payment, while the senior bondholders receive partial repayment of their investment at par. Alternatively, loan modifications, or workouts, yield different outcomes which are more favorable to the junior bondholders. The rising tide of loan defaults and loan workouts will certainly exacerbate the ongoing "tranche war" among the CMBS bondholders. Consequently, it is imperative to understand how the CMBS servicing structure governs default resolution and loan workouts. By analyzing the recent default of Peter Cooper Village-Stuyvesant Town, this study will examine the case of the largest commercial real estate default in the US history as a real life example to illustrate whether the overlapping role of B-Piece buyer and Special Servicer adversely affects workout prudence. Through interviews with industry professionals and a review of the Pooling and Servicing Agreement (PSA), and a review of the transcript of the CMBS Investment Grade Bondholder Forum in June, 2010, the study proposes structural changes that could potentially mitigate agency risk inherent in the current servicing structure.. / by Hengwa Lai. / 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 (page 65). / As the number of investors in real estate expands and current investors increase their target allocations, we can expect to see a substantial increase in the investment pace in real estate for institutions. Investors seeking high yields have been shifting their focus away from core investments due to high prices and resulting low yields, and have started to look beyond core properties and core markets for opportunities. This thesis examines the historical performance of Class A buildings in secondary markets and Class B buildings in primary markets from 2005 to 2013. Historical performance data is used from NCREIF, and the CoStar database is used to classify each property as Class A or Class B. Through this study we hope to shed some light on the importance of location and asset type (Class A or Class B buildings) as determinants of returns in commercial real estate investments. An analysis of our empirical findings, on an aggregated basis of an entire real estate cycle (2005-2013), indicates that while office and multifamily properties have demonstrated similar behavior throughout the cycle, this has not been the case for industrial properties. In the case of office and multifamily properties, Class B buildings in primary markets have outperformed Class A properties in secondary markets and the NCREIF NPI. As opposed to these distinct results, in the case of industrial properties, Class A buildings in secondary markets have outperformed Class B properties in primary markets and the NCREIF NPI. One explanation for this unpredictable behavior might be associated with the substantial economic and physical differences of industrial properties, specifically when compared to office and multifamily properties. Another possible explanation of this result has to do with the relatively small size of NCREIF data on industrial properties, and, consequentially, the industrial property data in this thesis was comprised of merely 93 industrial properties. Based on the overall empirical findings of our study, a savvy real estate investor, who is dedicated to maximizing his long run returns, would be better off investing in office and multifamily properties in primary markets, and in industrial properties in secondary markets. / by Omer Katz and Kailash Gupta. / S.M. in Real Estate Development