Thesis (M.Hous.M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (doctoral)--Europ. Business School, Oestrich-Winkel, 2006.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

There are several different investment opportunities for the private investor in South Africa in the asset class of immovable property. The purpose of this study is to identify the category of investment within this asset class that produces the most wealth creation. Four broad property investment categories exist. There are speculative investments involving short-term high profit returns. There are also long term income producing investment options. Property development is another category although there are often limitations in terms of financial accessibility for private investors. Finally there is the category of investing in listed property through property shares or unit trusts. Each category can be further segmented into property types such as residential, commercial, industrial, or undeveloped land. Each property type produces different returns and levels of profitability but is also affected by specific risks and externalities. Recent growth in the South African property market has caused a flood of private investors to enter the property market. Many of these investors lack knowledge of their asset purchase. This may be in terms of the potential financial return of their particular asset choice, or the variables and risks involved. Many potential investors feel that property investment is inaccessible to them and that it is reserved exclusively for the wealthy. This study undertakes to evaluate the category and type of property investment that offers the greatest potential for wealth creation for the private investor through research and calculation. It also serves to establish the profile and perceptions of potential private investors with respect to the different property investment options available to them. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Housing is currently a topical issue in South Africa which has a housing backlog estimated to exceed 2,5 million households. Banks are a critical component of the housing value chain. They have been struggling to facilitate the reduction of the backlog, citing a lack of market liquidity of townships relative to the suburbs as a primary reason for the failure to reduce the backlog. The aim of this research study is to determine the extent to which information asymmetry is a factor in the liquidity of the township property market, with a view to understanding the impediments to liquidity in the township real estate market, and make recommendations for parsimonious interventions. Quantitative analysis was performed by examining data obtained on Estate Agents, Properties Registered and Demographics. Descriptive statistics were employed to understand the structure of the market. Thereafter factor analysis was used to identify relationships and narrow the number of variables for further exploration. Finally, multiple regression was applied in order to understand how the variables identified interacted with one another. The findings revealed that estate agents and the type of housing product had a direct impact on market liquidity. Market liquidity in the township market could be improved by making practical and parsimonious interventions centred on the estate agents, and property developers. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

M.Com. / The potential investor in real estate is often confronted with a selection of properties in which he can invest. Each of these investments involves an expected rate of return and a risk that can be expressed in relation to each other. This relationship, known as the risk profile, differs from investment to investment and is therefore unique to a particular investment. The expected rate of return on an investment in real estate depends on the total expected tenant income less operating expenditures. Furthermore, the expected rate of return is influenced by the choice of capital structure. To be efficient, the capital structure must combine own as well as borrowed capital. Expected gross tenant income increases from year to year in terms of the escalation clause. The market average discount rate, at which income is discounted, does not necessarily have to differ from year to year. Consequently. a higher income could lead to a higher discounted value. The risk of investing in real estate is influenced by various factors such as location, interest rates, mass opinion, tenant mix and operating risk...

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (February 17, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-53)

Thesis (M.U.D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.U.D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.

In the asset-pricing framework, idiosyncratic risk is the risk that is independent of systematic risk and peculiar to one specific asset or company, it is left with no role in expected returns according to the classic finance theory since it could be completely diversified away. However, in the case investors holding under-diversified portfolios, previous theoretical studies generally demonstrate a positive relationship between idiosyncratic risk and expected returns. However, negative empirical evidences regarding the idiosyncratic risk-return tradeoff have been reported recently in the stock market of the U.S. and China, as well as in several real estate literatures. To reconcile the conflict, this thesis is dedicated to investigate the role of idiosyncratic risk in the context of real estate investment. In the theoretical exploration, an asset-pricing model with short-sales restrictions in the market and heterogeneous beliefs among investors is established. Specifically, a simplified version with only three risky assets, in which two of them are direct and indirect real estate investments, demonstrates when investors endowed with incomplete information setting and under-diversified holdings, idiosyncratic risk would play an important role in the expected returns in equilibrium. Furthermore, the comparative static analysis reveals a positive cross-sectional relationship between idiosyncratic risk and expected returns. In the empirical study, this thesis employs the Fama and French (1992) three-factor model to estimate monthly idiosyncratic volatilities of the Listed Property Companies (LPCs) in the A-share market of China, based on the daily data from May 1999 to Aug 2011. Specifically, for each LPC in each month, its idiosyncratic risk is computed as the standard deviation of the three-factor model’s daily residuals. The estimation outputs show that idiosyncratic volatility dominates the LPCs’ overall volatility during the study period, and it is features with a distinct pattern when compared to that of the U.S. REITs: the LPCs’ idiosyncratic volatilities are significantly higher and more persistent; they are less irrelevant to the firm’s market capitalization and present an evident co-movement with the broad market. Hence, this scenario reveals a special interest to further study on the cross-sectional relationship between the LPCs’ idiosyncratic risk and their expected returns. In the cross-sectional test, conditional idiosyncratic volatility forecasted by the EGARCH-GED model is employed as the proxy for expected idiosyncratic risk, as the LPCs’ lagged idiosyncratic risk is shown to be not a good estimate. Over the study period, a firm positive cross-sectional relationship between idiosyncratic risk and expected returns is documented, after controlling for various pricing factors such as firm size and book-to-market equity ratio, indicators of liquidity and momentum as well as returns reversal effect. This evidence not only confirms the prediction of previous theoretical studies and the model in this thesis, it also suggests a profitable trading strategy based on the idiosyncratic risk of the LPCs. / published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy