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. / The model developed here provides an enhancement of the traditional DCF asset acquisition valuation template, in Excel. It provides a relatively transparent and user-friendly yet flexible risk-adjusted valuation of a subject individual acquisition, structured to consider the asset either as a core asset or a value-add asset. This study applies a basic stock flow model of space market dynamics to address the question of covariance among input variables. The model is designed with optional probabilistic inputs and historical data for the local space market (employment, rents, net rentable area, occupied space, new completions, vacancy and absorption) and the asset market (cap rates history) to produce a 15-year forecast for the relevant space and asset market for the subject property. An optional optimal rent module in the model uses the forecasted cap rates and consequent opportunity cost of capital to arrive at optimal asking rents for the subject property. The existing rent roll is combined with the future rents and vacancies along with asset level projections of operating costs and capital expenditures to arrive at the cash flow projections. Renewal probability and probability to lease up are major differentiating factors between the core and value add asset. The model also enables the user to optionally consider how flexibility in resale timing can improve the overall return performance from a probabilistic perspective. The output of the model includes an apprehension of the entire going-in risk return relationship, depicted relative to a relevant security market line generated by the input risk free interest rate and the opportunity cost of capital in the relevant asset market. Key words: Probabilistic, risk adjusted valuation, forecast, optimal rent, flexibility, renewal probability, probability to lease up. / by Sarwesh Paradkar. / 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. / 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. 67-68). / This study examines and forecasts the Seoul office market, which is going to face a big supply in the next few years. After reviewing several previous studies on the Dynamic model and the Seoul Office market, this thesis applies two structural econometric models to forecast trends of rent, vacancy, and new supply of office space of Seoul Office Market, which is going to face a big supply in the next a few years. The first model has rent and supply equations. The second model is a full model that consists of three simultaneous equations; rent, supply, and absorption equations Empirically, the simple model was tested against time-series data of the Seoul office market since 1975. Rent equation is explained by current office stock, current GDP and past rent and past GDP, both lagging one year. The supply equation explains new office supply by one year lagging completion, five and six years lagging rent and growth of GDP in two previous years. The second model is a full model that consists of three simultaneous equations: rent, supply, and absorption equations based on time-series data since 1991. In this model, rent is impacted by current vacancy rate, past rent and vacancy rate both lagging one year. The supply equation is explained by completion one year ago, five years lagging rent, and past vacancy rate lagging four years, and the absorption equation is expressed by GDP per employment, current GDP, one year ago rent, and occupied stocks. Using estimated models with exogenous supplies for the next six years, ten-year contingent forecasts are made based on three scenarios having different estimated GDP growths. The forecasts for both models demonstrate that untypical supply for next six years will impact office rent negatively in all of the scenarios. In short, the Seoul office market, strongly affected by big supply over demand until 2016, will tend to be become soft or tight during same period before supply goes down and rent reacts. Since late 2010s, however, the market will fully recover from oversupply. / by Kyungmin Kim. / 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. 52-53). / A lack of quality housing affordable to the average worker near employment centers has long been an issue in American cities where the private production of housing for middle income families is restricted by market forces, zoning or physical boundaries. There are approximately 2.3 million middle income households in New York who earn between 80% and 150% of the Median Family Income who are priced out of market rate housing. These households are forced to relocate elsewhere or spend a daunting percentage of their time and income on housing and/or transportation. The high cost of land, labor and materials are further exacerbated by zoning regulations and entitlement review processes to result in a prohibitively high cost of housing production. Governments across the US and in New York have developed various types of policy strategies aimed at subsidizing development and increasing the affordability of housing. This thesis provides a summary discussion and perspective on the factors that increase the cost of housing production. It then reviews the different strategies utilized in reducing these costs, both nationally and locally in New York. Next it tests each strategy's effectiveness using a case study of a proposed development project in Brooklyn, NY. Finally it discusses the effectiveness of these strategies and proposes additional ideas that could also be effective in reducing the overall cost of housing, aiding in the effort to make housing more affordable to the average worker. / by Samuel R. Moore. / 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 54-56). / In today's innovation economy, the development of innovation hubs is viewed as a strategic undertaking to nourish the entrepreneurial ecosystem and to enhance economic vitality. The study uses Silicon Valley, one of the most successful innovation hubs in modern history, as a case example to find the factors that have contributed to its success, and how these factors will evolve over time. Using existing literature and in-depth interviews, the study produces a framework of key factors that will influence the development of such hubs in the future. Silicon Valley case shows that the foundation element of a successful innovation hub is people - the human capital. Adding to this element, five hardware ingredients - Universities & R&D Centers, Venture Capital, Major Corporations, Service Providers, and Government - have an irreplaceable role in sustaining the vitality of such hubs. The intangible software, culture with its four dimensions entrepreneurial mentality, mobility of resources, global perspective and shared vision, acts as a catalyst that brings the foundation element and hardware ingredients together, allowing them to interact and cooperate. Ultimately, an effective entrepreneurial ecosystem is formed from the combination of all these factors. The findings from in-depth interviews suggest that the original culture of Silicon Valley will continue to play a key role in future innovation hubs. This entrepreneurial mentality, especially in terms of openness, supportiveness, forgiveness and risk-taking attitude, remains highly desired by today's entrepreneurs. Simultaneously, recent shifts in the demographic landscape have changed the nature of the foundation element - people. Millennials and the Creative Class have become a dominant pool of talented workforce, and they possess different values and preferences compared to other generations. Together with urbanization, this creative workforce shows high appreciation towards the role of place and urban lifestyle. Thus, in order to successfully attract and retain such talents, urban location will play an increasingly important role in future innovation hubs. It is estimated that the "place element" will become a new addition the innovation hub hardware system, supporting the overall development of entrepreneurial climate. / by Dandi Li. / 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. / "September 2009." Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-65). / In 2009's fragile real estate market, many developers are looking for safe investments for their invested capital. Developers are looking to the federal government, specifically the General Services Administration, for growth and safety. The General Services Administration (GSA) is the contracting body of the U.S. federal government. It is the nation's largest public real estate organization. It leases space from private developers in over 7,100 facilities across the United States comprising office buildings, border patrol stations, courthouses, warehouses, clinics, post offices and many other uses. The GSA pays over $4.6 billion in rent to landlords annually on nearly 181 million square feet of space. GSA is authorized by law to acquire, manage, utilize, and dispose of real property for most federal agencies. The thesis is primarily based on interviews conducted with industry professionals: developers, financiers, brokers, and GSA contracting officials. It looks at the opportunities and challenges of working with the General Services Administration on new lease construction build-to-suits. It focuses on four areas; 1) the lease procurement process; 2) opportunities for new procurements in 2009's market; 3) developer financed new lease construction build-to-suit projects; and 4) opportunities and challenges of financing projects in 2009's credit crunch. / by Nathan R. Boyer. / 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 58-60). / Over the past several decades, technological advances, the spread of free-market ideology and the shifting of the economic center of the world have resulted in an incredible transformation of the world into a globalized, interdependent place. The term "globalization" has become an essential keyword associated with business in the modern world, creating great opportunities for U.S. firms to seek future growth potential in the global arena, especially in emerging markets that are undergoing rapid economic development. Although the real estate industry has achieved some level of globalization in general, the development sector is one area of a broad real estate industry that has yet to show significant strides in global expansion activities. The purpose of this study is to examine the current business landscape of U.S. real estate developers' globalization efforts and to create a qualitative analysis of why globalization works / does not work for real estate developers based in the U.S. The ultimate question the study asks and answers is what are the key strategies that U.S.-based real estate developers should use to develop real estate property in emerging markets (Brazil, in particular)? Brazil was extensively investigated as the topic of this research. The research discovered some development risks in Brazil associated with the high levels of bureaucracy, tenants' perception of the product and lack of market intermediaries. A number of American real estate development firms have successfully overcome these hurdles by forming strategic alliances with local partners and adequately responding to cultural and administrative distances between Brazil and the U.S. / by Dan (Dong Woo) Kang. / 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. 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