by Lai Yan Ching. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-43). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.v / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --- p.vii / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / The Focus of the Paper --- p.2 / Chapter II --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.3 / Chapter III --- PAST CYCLES AND DATA COLLECTION --- p.6 / Past Cycles --- p.6 / Private Domestic (small/medium units) --- p.8 / Private Domestic (larger units) --- p.8 / Data Collection --- p.10 / Chapter IV --- MODELLING THE REAL ESTATE MARKET --- p.12 / Chapter V --- ESTIMATION RESULTS AND IMPLICATIONS --- p.16 / Private Domestic (overall) --- p.16 / Private Office --- p.18 / Private Commercial --- p.20 / Private Flatted Factory --- p.21 / Summary of Real Estate Market in Hong Kong --- p.22 / Private Domestic --- p.22 / Private Office --- p.22 / Private Commercial --- p.23 / Private Flatted Factory --- p.23 / Some Notable Points --- p.23 / The Relationship between Vacancy and Completion --- p.26 / The Relationship between Vacancy and Absorption --- p.29 / Chapter VI --- FORECASTING - WHAT WILL BE THE FUTURE TRENDS IN REAL ESTATE MARKETS BASED ON HISTORICAL PATTERNS --- p.32 / Chapter VII --- CONCLUSION --- p.38 / APPENDIX --- p.41 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.42

We have built an application that integrates a technical editor feature and a custom real-time strategy game. The end users are able to use the technical editor feature for tweaking and customizing the unit attributes and progressions in the game using simple mathematical formulas, and they can play or test their tweaked formulas within the game. Various game modes in the software, which are Single Player, Multiplayer, and Simulation, can help display to the end users the results of their tweaked formulas, or users can just have fun by playing the game. The software was evaluated to see whether the software with the editor feature enabled is more attractive and appealing to the end users than the software with the editor feature disabled. The evaluation is based on the players’ feedback on the game with or without the editor. A total of 50 testers were randomly assigned into 2 groups evenly, the Tool group and the Game group. Testers assigned to the Tool group were able to customize the game unit attributes via the editor and play, while the testers in the Game group only play the game. The results from the post-test survey show both versions of the software are highly appealing to the testers, and there is no significant difference in game appeals between the Tool version and the Game version.

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. 55). / Compared to traditional investment options, such as stocks and bonds, direct real estate investments are illiquid. This problem is magnified in joint venture partnerships. Non-managing member partnership interest holders typically do not have a way to dispose of their interest (thereby unlocking any residual value) prior to a capital event at the property level. Even with a forced sale mechanism included in the joint venture agreement (buy/sell agreement, ROFO, etc.), the non-managing member partnership interest holder is disincentived to exercise the option without the expertise to manage the investment. Depending on the long term strategy (buy/hold/sell) of the managing member, the non-managing member partnership interest could remain virtually illiquid over the entire holding period. The thesis will answer whether or not the non-managing member partnership interests can be transferred more efficiently (and, therefore, more fully valued prior to capital event) via specialized investment platform and, if so, what changes will need to be adopted in the market and within partnership agreements to facilitate such transfers. Specifically, this thesis will examine the feasibility of creating and implementing a new, market-creating enterprise that purchases and trades non-managing member partnership interests. This topic is especially relevant today given the recent turmoil in the private real estate investment market and the prevalence of cash-strapped non-managing member partnership interest investors (institutions as well as individuals) seeking to unlock their wealth, as well as managing members desiring to preserve their ownership in real estate they believe will rebound with the market. / by Matthew DePucchio. / 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, 2011. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-104). / Society is at a crossroads; humanity is facing a new kind of threat to our personal happiness as our cities face the real risk of losing quality public space, the heart and soul of our urban civilization. The construction of an inspiring public realm develops a sense of place that people value and are attracted to living in. Pedestrian infrastructure and public spaces have essential roles in maintaining a healthy and vibrant community. These public infrastructure attributes of mixed-use developments however tend to be the most difficult to finance. In order to build a successful project a mixed-use developer requires the skills and knowledge to understand what constitutes a quality public realm and how to incentivize the financing. An important dichotomy exists; a great public realm is only developed though a strong public private partnership, with the addition of creative financing strategies, an interdisciplinary approach, and commitment to improving public spaces in the built environment. This thesis will examine what the most important attributes of a successful public realm are, why these attributes are important, and what strategies are available to finance the public realm in the future. There are a variety of financing mechanisms available for developers to leverage, yet many mechanisms are incredibly specific, require a strong expertise, and are difficult to bundle together in order to fill the financing gap that mixed-use projects require. This thesis will categorize financing mechanisms available for mixed-use development into six main categories and will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each. Financing mechanisms have a direct affect on the quality of the public realm and cities need to ensure their policies are incentivizing the outcomes citizens demand: a quality public realm. More specially, this thesis will analyze a successful mixed-use development case study in Denver, CO: The South Lincoln Redevelopment. This project is a mid-century public housing site that is being transformed into a mixed-income, mixed-use, transit-oriented urban development. Denver Housing Authority, the developer, has used various financing strategies to specifically enhance the public realm of this development. Some of the financing alternatives are not available to a private developer so this thesis will propose how one could replace financing mechanisms, such as a HOPE VI grant, with other sources while maintaining a quality public realm. This thesis will focus on a few key questions. First, why does the public realm matter? Second, what determines a quality public realm for mixed-use urban developments? And lastly, how can developers begin to look at how to finance these much needed improvements? / by Elizabeth DiLorenzo. / 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, 2012. / Many illustrations and maps printed landscape. 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. 105-108). / The topics explored in this thesis are first how the value inherent in agriculturally zoned land can be used to support the development of an organic farm and sustainable living demonstration center; and second, whether or not the existence of an organic farm can be considered a high value residential amenity-can access to fresh food, a strong local community, and a lush, bountiful, chemical free environment support 15-20% average yearly growth in real estate values? Or more succinctly, is it possible to 'grow' real estate values organically? / by Gordon Karau. / 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, 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 123). / Since 1994, approximately three million homes have been built for lower income households in South Africa, but as a result of population growth, immigration, increasing urbanization and systemic inefficiencies, such as corruption, the backlog of formal housing units stands at almost 1.5 million. This persistent unmet need for low-income and affordable housing is putting tremendous pressure on South African leaders to more efficiently implement the policies they have created and take a new approach to this decades old problem. The purpose of this thesis is to develop an understanding of the South African affordable housing market and the factors that are contributing to the chasm that exists between the demand for affordable housing and the limited supply of stock in this sector of the market. The study focuses on four major drivers -- three can be considered conventional market drivers and are land reform, construction processes and technology and access to financing. The fourth driver is an unconventional but significant factor and that is, corruption and its economic and societal impact. Of these four issues the most critical are land reform, due to well-designed but poorly executed policies, and corruption due to its profound impact on the affordable housing market. The seeming inability of the South African government to make effective progress in meeting the extreme shortfall in housing for lower income populations is leading to increased incidences of undeveloped, well-located land being informally settled, and is creating unrest in the population and political instability. This thesis discusses the discrete challenges within the land, construction and finance sectors, with special attention given to the industry-wide crippling force of corruption, which was uncovered during in-person interviews with South African developers, businessmen, educators and students. The author outlines potential solutions to mitigate corruption's impact through strengthened eradication efforts combined with economic approaches based on the concept of double marginalization. / by Marcella M. Barriére. / 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). / At the entity level, the design of sound corporate governance mechanisms is critical for REITs that are preparing to go public. At the industry level, issues of transparency and corporate governance are consequential to the further development of REITs in Asia. This study looks at various REIT regimes and corporate governance systems around the world. It then proceeds to examine the governance structures in place at the time of an IPO in the emerging REIT market of Singapore. The mechanisms of corporate governance used to evaluate the IPO of the REIT include (i) board structure and composition, (ii) ownership, (iii) compensation, and (iv) takeover defenses. The findings point to evidence that corporate governance structures are not "one size fits all" and must be tailored to fit the appropriate institutional context. / by Denise Tan. / S.M.

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. 118-120). / Numerous studies have shown that retrofitting an office building with energy efficiency improvements can significantly reduce operating costs, yet many existing office buildings have not been retrofitted. The objective of this paper was to explore the incentives and motivations of various parties throughout the real estate management chain to better understand why investments in energy efficiency are not more prevalent. The paper focuses on investor-owned multi-tenant office properties. The authors explored the question from a qualitative and quantitative methodology. The qualitative study consisted of interviews with key players in the real estate management chain including property managers, asset managers, portfolio managers, and institutional owners. The quantitative study consisted of a financial model to compare competing alternative capital investments. The competing investments consisted of a cosmetic improvement which was modeled to either increase rents or decrease leasing costs and an energy efficiency improvement which was modeled to decrease utility costs. Multiple permutations were tested in each scenario in order to gauge the sensitivity of returns in each scenario. Both methods were designed to understand how industry participants allocated capital to energy efficiency improvements. The study determined that financial considerations are the primary drivers behind real estate investment decisions. Secondary factors that drive investments in energy efficiency improvements include fostering a positive public image, winning new business, and focusing on environmental responsibility. / (cont.) Recommendations to increase investment in energy efficiency conclude the paper. Increased investment in energy efficiency will result if managers recognize that energy efficiency projects can decrease the volatility of returns, and that these returns are maximized by making the investment in energy efficiency prior to significant lease rollover. / by Kristian A. Peterson [and] Ross M. Gammill. / S.M.

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. 62-63). / This paper is intended to recognize the performance of REITs in Japan (J-REITs) by conducting two kinds of studies in a REIT-level and an underlying property-level: first, to do "factor loadings" that identify systematic risks of long run investment performance in J-REITs; second, to demonstrate "Pure Play Indices," segment-specific indices of REIT-based property market returns by tracking monthly REIT return data and property holding data. The first study employs the Fama-French three-factor model for monthly J-REIT returns from September 2001 to September 2008. This investigation upgrades past similar research with longer data periods in a two-stage regression (a time-series regression and a cross-sectional regression) for all the listed J-REITs. Nevertheless, the model results in a limited explanatory power for the J-REIT performance, probably due to too short a market history, as in the past research. The second study applies the Pure Play Indices, originally proposed by Geltner and Kluger [1995, 1998], to the J-REITs for office, residential, and retail segments since January 2006 when the J-REIT market became sizable enough for study. The developed Pure Play Indices perform similarly with the J-REIT return indices, except the Pure Play Residential Index during the down market due to the effect of non-target segments within the J-REITs. The reason for this effect will require a further study. As the market matures with more data accumulated, this two-fold study that shows demonstration of returns from J-REITs will become more valuable to derive risk of J-REITs and different types of information of properties. / by Rena Konagai. / 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, 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 (pages 65-66). / This thesis examines and analyzes the alignment of incentives, project control, and economics in development agreements between private developers and mission-driven institutions. Mission-driven institutions, such as churches, hospitals and universities, need to compete in their relative industries, and must leverage real estate assets as effectively as possible. In many cases, the best opportunities for underutilized institutional real estate is in the private market. In order to develop institutional real estate for the private market, institutions can partner with private development firms to utilize their knowledge and experience to maximize efficiency through complex development processes and create the best possible product for a given marketplace. This paper reviews existing literature on the topic of institutional-private development partnerships, then explains and analyzes two case studies: The Charles Street Jail, and a Market Rate Student Housing Project. The case studies act as real examples, and are used to examine the issues that can arise due to differences in incentives between private developers and mission-driven institutions, as well as possible ways that organizations can approach such concerns to mitigate associated risks. / by F. Samuel Reiche. / S.M.in Real Estate Development