published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze real estate investments from the vantage point of an institutional multi asset investor perspective, both in terms of the potential benefits real estate can bring as well as the challenges it can pose. The thesis consists of six papers and approaches the research question from three distinct perspectives. The quantitative papers consists of paper 1 and 5. Paper 1 analyses the portfolio characteristics of domestic and international real estate in a mean variance framework over seven investor domiciles. It is found that the optimal allocation to real estate is in the range of 15-25 percent depending on domicile of the investor. The fifth paper expands the analysis in paper one by expanding the data. Furthermore, the analysis is extended to investigate how the structure of the real estate portfolio can support a diversification objectives best. Papers 2, 3 and 4 are the market related papers. Paper 2 compares the suggested allocation weights with the allocation to real estate of institutions in four countries, and finds that the actual allocation is significantly lower and that all investor domiciles have a significant home bias. The third paper discusses changes in the institutional framework of real estate markets and the size of the investment universe. Paper 4 discusses various entry points to the real estate market, and how an investor can utilize these in order to adjust the characteristics of the real estate portfolio. The sixth and last paper is qualitative, and investigates how institutions managing pension capital handle real estate. ​ / <p>QC 20161115</p>

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries

The first essay of this dissertation investigates the relationship between downside risk and returns of real estate investment trusts (REITs) and assesses the performance of real estate mutual funds (REMFs). We measure the asymmetric risk through downside and upside betas and through the measures incorporated higher moments such as coskewness and Leland's beta. We do not find significant contemporary relationship between the asymmetric risk and returns of REITs. There are only a small portion of REITs reacting to up and down market conditions differently. We find weak evidence that this asymmetric movement of REITs to market may be due to small and value components embedded in REITs. We evaluate the performance of real estate mutual funds (REMFs) from the asymmetric risk perception. According to our results, most of REMFs do not outperform the market. The downside risk helps to explain some of the abnormal returns associated with REMFs. However, the evaluation may be sensitive to the choices of the model and the market index being used. The second essay examines the liquidity of Asian REITs. We use various measures to assess the liquidity of JREITs and SREITs. The overall evidence indicates that the liquidity of JREITs is greater than that of SREITs. Comparing to non-REIT stocks, JREITs are less liquid than Japanese common stocks while there is no significant difference in liquidity between SREITs and Singaporean common stocks. There is also strong evidence that US REITs have smaller spreads and are traded more often than both JREITs and SREITs. We also find that the primary determinants of JREIT spreads are turnover and return volatility. The secondary factors that affect the spread of JREITs are life and property holdings. The dominant factors affecting SREITs' spreads are price, return volatility, and life. The significance of life suggests that there is a learning effect existed in both JREIT and SREIT markets in 2005.

On 1 May 2013, real estate investment trusts (REITs), a listed property product, had legislation about it introduced in the South African property market. Prior to the introduction of this REIT legislation, property unit trusts (PUTs) and property loan stocks (PLSs) were the two predominant types of listed property investment products in South Africa. However, both the PUT and PLS are subject to uneven regulation and taxation, and they lack flexibility. The REIT legislation was introduced to eliminate some of the problems of the PUTs and PLSs, by creating: a more unified tax treatment of listed property companies, more stringent regulatory requirements and uplifting the South African property market to a level that is internationally competitive. It is therefore considered valuable to empirically investigate whether or not the introduction of the REIT framework into the listed South African property market will be advantageous to investors, and whether or not it would lead to improvement in the efficiency, regulation and taxation of the listed property market. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data to analyze the research problem. The questionnaire used a Likert scale format that consisted of 20 questions. There were a total of 58 useable respondents, each of who fell into 1 of 5 occupational categories. The questions were divided into 4 unifying themes and the findings were analyzed according to these themes. From the analysis of the responses it was found that the REIT legislation is perceived as a welcomed and suitable introduction to the South African listed property market. We could also infer that REITs allow for a more favorable tax dispensation, improved regulation, increased international competitiveness and enhanced liquidity within the listed property market. Overall, there is a perception that investors, especially fund managers, would find it potentially advantageous to include South African REITs or a higher proportion of such REITs in their investment portfolios.

Listed property entities on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange fall under the category of ‘Financials - Real Estate’. There are four types of property entities that a prospective investor can consider namely: Property Unit Trusts, Property Loan Stock Companies, Real Estate Holding and Development Companies and Real Estate Investment Trusts. The listed property sector allows investors to enter the property investment market in a uniquely affordable and secure way without the added risk, expense and administration that comes with direct property investment. This study evaluates the investment performance of the various property fund types through the implementation of Jensen’s alpha, the Sharpe ratio and Treynor ratio in an effort to establish whether there is a significant difference in the returns that can be obtained from the diverse funds given the associated risks. An analysis of the total returns and standard deviation of the property industry shows that the real estate market is affected by changes that take place in the macro economy. It is also investigated whether there is a differential risk associated with investing in these funds. We find that there is no significant difference between the performances of the various funds and there is no differential level of risk associated with investing in the property funds. An analysis of the fluctuation of total returns and standard deviation of the property funds over the eleven year period shows that the property sector is affected by changes in economic conditions however the changes are not enough to cause colossal volatility. For instance, the global recession of 2008 had an impact on the property industry returns but the sector has since made a steady recovery.

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Science (Building) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Construction Economics and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / Despite the perceived superior performance of the South African listed property market and, even so, the recent introduction of Real Estate Investment Trust legislation to increase its global competitiveness, limited research exists on the market. This report thus examines the drivers of listed property performance from an economic and firm-specific perspective as well as providing an overview of the South African listed property market. The results of the study suggest that investors particularly earn a premium for holding stock with a low ratio of book-to-market value of equity. This study advances the knowledge of the South African listed property market, and further provides investors and fund managers alike with insight on the performance of listed property stock. / XL2018

So Lam. / Abstract also in Chinese / Bibliography : leaves 67-69 / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1982

Lau, Chi Keung. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-188). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgements --- p.iii / Table of Contents --- p.iv / List of Chosen Samples Results --- p.v / List of Tables --- p.vi / List of Figures --- p.vii / Chapter Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2. --- Literature Review --- p.4 / Chapter 2.1 --- Real Estate Literature --- p.4 / Chapter 2.2 --- Financial Literature --- p.8 / Chapter Chapter 3. --- Methodology --- p.15 / Chapter 3.1 --- Augmented Dickey Fuller Test --- p.15 / Chapter 3.2 --- Band-Pass Filter --- p.18 / Chapter Chapter 4. --- Data Description --- p.20 / Chapter Chapter 5. --- Empirical Results --- p.23 / Chapter 5.1 --- Contemporaneous Correlation --- p.24 / Chapter 5.2 --- Results after Band-Pass Filtering --- p.26 / Chapter 5.3 --- Lead-lag Relationship Analysis --- p.30 / Chapter Chapter 6. --- Conclusion --- p.35 / Appendix 1. Variable Definition --- p.38 / Appendix 2. Limitation --- p.41 / Appendix 3. Results of Chosen Samples --- p.45 / Appendix 4. Tables --- p.54 / Appendix 5. Figures --- p.109 / Bibliography --- p.187

Thesis. 1975. M.Arch.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. / Includes bibliographical references. / by David A. Gressel. / M.Arch.