Purpose – The purpose of the study was to develop a baseline decription of the current state of corporate real estate management within South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – A combined online/paper questionnaire was administered on the top 200 firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Findings – Majority of the firms have no formally organised real estate unit. A few have only recently organised formal real estate units as a department of the company, reporting mostly to the CEO even though the latter seldom gets involved in Corporate Real Estate decision. The CFO appears to be the one in charge of corporate real estate decisions in most of the firms. Majority of the firms own, rather than lease their corporate real estate due to location, transport advantages, minimisation of the risk of rent changes and community links that are advantageous to their business effort. The principal reason for leasing was the flexibility it affords in relocating in future. Other issues covered include the cost treatment of using CRE, the importance of CRE management, in-house management and outsourcing of CRE services and the criteria for selecting an external CRE management service provider. Business Implications – Service providers need to take into account specific criteria used by respondent firms in the selection of who manages their corporate real estate. Originality/value – This paper provides the first comprehensive description of corporate real estate management on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Science in Building (Property Development and Management) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Construction Economics and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / The research study seeks to determine the most resilient residential real estate market segment throughout the economic cycle waves, for the innercity of Johannesburg, South Africa. The study is prompted by various global reports that subtly suggests a uniform effect to real estate market segments throughout economic cycle waves. Such reports have adopted various indices as proxy to economic cycle waves (e.g. interest rates, current account deficit, gross domestic product, etc.) and house price as proxy to real estate market segments in an attempt to justify the relationship between the proxies. For purposes of this research report, business cycles are employed as proxy to economic cycle waves whilst house prices are also representative of real estate market segments. In a country that ranks third globally on high inequality, with a gini coefficient of 0.63, it is considered improbable – at the very least - that the performance of real estate market segments would react uniformly to the effects of economic cycle waves. The residential sector is opted as a test case, mainly due to growing number of population and the desperate need for housing to accommodate such high population growth levels. The housing challenge needs to be thoroughly understood so that informed and/or adequate planning can be formulated. The research study follows a Pragmatism Philosophy, which allows for mixed method approach in addressing research questions, in order to meet the research aim and objectives. An Explanatory Sequential research design is used as a form of mixed method approach. The process involves collecting both Qualitative and Quantitative data, integrating the two forms of data, and using distinct designs that involves philosophical assumptions and theoretical frameworks. In this case, Quantitative methods are used to explain Qualitative methods. Priority is given to Quantitative data and the two methods are integrated during the interpretation phase of the research study. Empirical analysis using tools such as Quantile Regressions (e.g.OLS regressions) for a period between 2005 (Q1) and 2015 (Q4) are analysed and discussed. Standard errors and covariances were computed using tools such as the Huber-Sandwich methods, to which an Augmented Dickey-Fuller test was conducted to test for the null hypothesis of a unit root in a time series sample. The Breusch-Godfrey Serial Correlation LM test is also used to confirm the absence of serial correlation at four lags. The ARCH LM test is used to show that residuals are homoskedastic, i.e. that there is no evidence of time-varying variance. A negative and significant coefficient appears only the high price sector, suggesting that the business cycle has a negative impact on house prices in the high residential real estate market segment, displaying negative average growth over the period. House prices in the low and medium residential real estate market segments do not respond to movements in the business cycle, on the average. Property size also displayed a negative impact on house prices in the high residential real estate market segment. The autoregressive parameters for house prices in the low and middle residential real estate market segments are statistically significant at 5% and 10%, respectively. Negative and significant coefficient is recorded for the middle residential real estate market segment as well, at the second quantile. In conclusion, the low residential real estate market segment appeared to have been the most resilient residential real estate market segment amongst other residential real estate market segments. The middle residential real estate market segment appears to have been a partially resilient, whilst the high residential real estate market segment appears to have been the least resilient. Given these findings, it is submitted that residential real estate market segments need to be considered or assessed individually, in order to formulate adequate strategies for integrated and sustainable human settlements. / MT2018

Thesis (MAgricAdmin)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa is experiencing major political, economic and social changes and in its policy orientation towards the event of globalisation. These changes are intended for the empowerment of those previously disadvantaged and for the levelling of the playing field for future equality of opportunities. In empowering these individuals it is recognised that agriculture is one of the important sectors that would serve as a vehicle for the development of the country. It is the main source of economic growth and the bedrock of economic development. Agriculture depends strongly on land, which is also an asset that can be used to generate income. For this reason land reform in the form of grants is one of the important tools employed in South Africa to redistribute land to the disadvantaged in order to enable them to improve their income and also to develop rural areas. As this programme is based on a market-assisted approach, its success depends on land markets that function well and are stable enough to carry it. The objective of this study was to determine the state of land redistribution and to analyse the land market in the Boland region of the Western Cape province. The effectiveness of land redistribution was analysed with regard to the number of transactions that took place in the years 1998, 1999 and 2000 in terms of citizenship, race, mode of land acquisition amongst the disadvantaged (government grants, private acquisitions and inheritances), quantity and quality factors. The findings were discussed in terms of their implications for the success of the programme and their influence of the land market. Finally recommendations were made for potential improvements as well as for further research. It was found that land redistribution by means of government grants was rather slow and most of the transactions took place through private purchases, mostly through mortgage loans provided by the Land Bank of South Africa. Although private transactions redistributed more wealth measured in terms of size pf land, the accompanying land was less superior using price per hectare as a proxy for quality compared to land purchased with the assistance of the government. Transactions for the latter were mainly through joint ventures with current owners. The study also revealed that the land market in the Boland is one of the major obstacles to the speedy transfer of land not because of the foreign investment, but due to the nature of the sectors. The two main agricultural sectors are viticulture and deciduous fruit which have experience high growth in income and export. The analysis conducted established that there was no significant difference between properties bought by foreigners, white and Black South Africans. Future trends in land prices could not be predicted but it is expected that agricultural land prices will be well above the capitalisation value of future profits arising from the level of foreign investment as well as economic gain. Based on the finding the areas to be emphasised by the land reform programme in this region are joint venturing and the promotion of subsidies on mortgage loans as well as extending the government's role in the land market. Increased government spending and involvement of the private sector, including financial institutions and established commercial farmers, are some of the things to be encouraged to facilitate the process and ultimately to overcome poverty. The sole reliance on the current regional land market seems incapable of effectively and speedily redistributing land to beneficiaries, whereby equality can be achieved in the long run. However, if all the shortcomings of the land market are recognised and a new policy is adopted, land reform in the Boland and in South Africa will in the future be more likely to promote increased access to land, resulting in higher productivity, growth and a globally competitive agriculture. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika ondervind tans grootskaalse politieke, ekonomiese en sosiale veranderinge en so ook in beleidsoriëntering na aanleiding van globalisasie. Hierdie veranderinge het ten doel om voorheen benadeeldes te bemagtig en om die speelveld gelyk te maak met betrekking tot toekomstige geleenthede. Tydens die bemagtiging van hierdie individue word landbou erken as een van die belangrikste sektore wat kan dien as 'n voertuig vir die ontwikkeling van die land. Landbou is die hoofbron van ekonomiese groei en die hoeksteen van ekonomiese ontwikkeling. Alhoewel landbou grootliks afhanklik is van grond, is grond 'n bate wat gebruik kan word om inkomste te genereer. Om hierdie rede is grondhervorming in die vorm van 'n toekenning of subsidie een van die belangrikste meganismes wat in Suid Afrika gebruik word om grond aan die voorheen benadeeldes te herverdeel. Die doel van grondhervorming is om die voorheen benadeeldes in staat te stelom hul inkomste te verbeter en ook om landelike gebiede te ontwikkel. Hierdie program is gebaseer op 'n markondersteunde benadering en daarom hang die sukses af van die grondmark wat goed funksioneer en stabiel is. Die doelwit van hierdie studie was om die stand van grondhervorming te bepaal en om die grondmark in die Boland-streek van Wes-Kaapse provinsie te ontleed. Die effektiwiteit van grondherverdeling is ontleed met betrekking tot die getal transaksies wat plaasgevind het in die jare 1998, 1999 en 2000 in terme van burgerskap, ras, metode van grond aanskaffing tussen die minder bevoorregte (staatstoekennings, private aanskaffing en erflatings), hoeveelheid en kwaliteit. Die bevindings is bespreek in terme van hul implikasies vir die sukses van die program en hul invloed op die grondmark. Finale aanbevelings is gemaak vir potensiële verbeterings sowel as vir verdere navorsing. Daar is bevind dat grondherverdeling by wyse van staatstoekennings baie stadig was en meeste van die transaksies was deur private aankope, meestal deur verbandlenings verskaf deur die Landbank. Alhoewel privaat grondverkope grootliks rykdom herverdeel, is die waarde in terme van prys per hektaar minder in vergelyking met die waarde van grond aangekoop met die hulp van die staat. Wingerbou- en tuinbouprodukte het die hoogste groei in inkomste en uitvoer ondervind. Dit word egter verwag dat grondpryse ver bo die kapitalisasiewaarde van toekomstige winste sal styg voortspruitend uit onder andere die vlak van buitelandse investerings. Die areas wat beklemtoon moet word deur die grondhervormingsprogram in die streek, is gesamentlike ondernemings en die bevordering van subsidies op verbandlenings. Verhoogde staatsbesteding en betrokkenheid van die private sektor, insluitende finansiële instellings en gevestigde kommersiële boere, moet aangemoedig word om die proses te fasiliteer en om uiteindelik armoede te oorkom. Die huidige streeks-grondmark blyk onbevoeg te wees om herverdeling van grond aan begunstigdes effektief en spoedig op die lange duur te laat geskied. Indien die tekortkominge van die grondmark erken word en 'n nuwe beleid aanvaar word, sal grondhervorming in die Boland en in Suid-Afrika in die toekoms meer geneig wees om toegang tot grond te bevorder. Dit sal aanleiding gee tot hoër produktiwiteit, groei en 'n globaal mededingende landbou.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Building), University of the Witwatersrand, 2016 / South Africa implemented the REIT structure in 2013 with the intention of encouraging local and international investment. A year after implementation South African listed property was reported to have performed better than the UK, European, and Asian REITs. This report assesses the initial performance of South African REITs and their portfolio diversification benefits when paired with Shares, Bonds, T-Bills, and other Listed Property in a mixed-asset portfolio, over the period May 2013 to December 2015. The findings show that REITs are the second best performing asset, risk-adjusted. REITs are a return-enhancer when included in a mixed-asset portfolio, and tend to contribute at the higher end of the risk spectrum. This reports contributes to the few that exist on emerging markets, it is a study of the only major REIT market in Africa, and is significant as it discusses South African REITs from their implementation. / MT2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science in Building, Property Development and Management. Johannesburg, 2014 / Purpose: The primary aim of this research is to establish an awareness of CRE as an instrument for branding and determine which aspects of CRE may contribute to and even strengthen the corporate branding of companies. Design/Methodology/Approach: Comprehensive literature review, together with a quantitative analysis of an in-depth questionnaire survey sent to owneroccupier companies and qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with industry professionals. Findings: Not all aspects of corporate real estate are equally important when considered in relation to corporate branding, furthermore the importance of these aspects vary between the different owner-occupier groups surveyed. Research limitations: this research was limited to a relatively small group of owner-occupier companies that occupy recently developed buildings in the primary office nodes in Johannesburg, South Africa. Practical implications: The primary objective is to aid corporate real estate managers and developers in better understanding how the strategic positioning and intrinsic aspects of CRE can influence the corporate brand of a company. Originality and value: This research identifies and ranks the different CRE aspects that could be utilised as part of a corporate branding strategy, no concluding evidence has been established as to how the identified aspects can be used as part of a corporate branding or corporate real estate strategy. Recommendations: Further research to establish how the identified corporate real estate aspects could potentially be implemented as part of a branding strategy or CREM strategy. Keywords: Real Estate, Branding, Strategy, CRE, CREM.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of M.Sc. (Building) in Property Development to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / The lack of entrepreneurship is an obstacle to economic development. In South Africa (SA), disciplines are taught in a context that is enterprise-based, with no emphasis on the need to impart business start-up skills within specific disciplines. A culture of entrepreneurship is lacking, resulting in low records of entrepreneurship incidents in SA. The challenges and/or benefits of integrating entrepreneurship education within the South African real estate (RE) course and its effects on graduates’ entrepreneurial intent, is not well understood. The purpose of the research is to investigate whether the introduction of entrepreneurship education within the RE discipline would encourage graduates to become entrepreneurial in the practice of real estates. A mixed methodology approach has been used in this research. Primary and secondary research data has been made available in the form of questionnaire surveys of graduates and course directors/lecturers from the University of the Witwatersrand and other international universities that have entrepreneurship education embedded within their real estate programmes, as will be selected by the researcher. The research has found that both pedagogical strategies of course work and applying experiential learning teaching methods would be required to effectively integrate entrepreneurship education within a real estate programme in a manner that would stimulate graduates to be entrepreneurial in the practice of real estate, although it was not known whether the graduates would actually start businesses and when they intended to do so. It was also found that those students whose studies took place in real estate programmes that had entrepreneurship education embedded in them were more commercially aware. The integration of entrepreneurship education also resulted in an improvement of graduate self-esteem and confidence. Graduates were endowed with adequate professional, interpersonal, technical and business skills. The research, however, found the majority of real estate courses lacked in teaching graduates to be more versatile. The courses largely lacked in the provision of industry exposure and were inadequate in teaching graduates how to market themselves and their real estate businesses. According to the findings on the individual entrepreneurship test, graduates that studied entrepreneurship-based real estate courses had a higher probability of starting a business. / MT2018

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Property Management and Development to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / Purpose – Within the paradigm of consumer behaviour, the purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of the various property-specific factors that influence office occupation decisions in the decentralized office nodes of Johannesburg. The aim was to provide more definitive information on office space occupation to real estate marketers, managers, investors and owners. Design/Methodology/Approach – A Malaysian study by Adnan et al. (2012) was replicated in the South African context, utilizing their (adjusted) questionnaire survey. After review, Adnan et al.’s (2012) data analysis methods were altered and, in addition, three key-informant interviews were conducted to discuss the results of the survey and to try and gain further insight into the findings. Findings – The three categories that were considered of highest importance were Cost/Financial Considerations, Services and Management. Factors that scored the highest overall were Security & Access Control, Car Parking Provisioning & Accessibility, Electricity Systems & Provisioning and Rental Rate. The categories On-site Amenities, Space Functionality & Atmosphere and Location were considered of least importance. Research Limitations/Implications – The study was confined to property-specific factors and limited to tenants in P-grade, A-grade and B-grade office buildings in the decentralized office nodes of Johannesburg. It also took place during a specific stage of the South African economic cycle. Further research is required to determine the impact of office grade, firm type, firm size and economic climate on office occupation decisions. Originality/Value – No research on this topic exists within the South Africa context and this study contributes to the limited research, internationally, on real estate within the consumer behaviour paradigm. / MT2017

Most organisations nowadays want to build offices that are cost effective, but at the same time they forget to consider the impact of IEQ on the occupants’ wellbeing and performance. These offices are equipped with air-conditioners, which may impact negatively on performances if not monitored, controlled and maintained. An occupant’s performance may be accelerated or reduced, based on the effectiveness of IEQ in the office buildings. It is imperative that the employer or management create a work environment that is conducive to the occupants’ needs, so that the occupants may be able to improve their work performance that often yields increased productivity. The main aim of the study was to investigate the efficiency of a building’s Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and how it affects workers with regard to productivity. The objectives of the study were: to determine the level of satisfaction of the occupants in terms of the IEQ, evaluate the effects that the current IEQ of the building has on the productivity of the occupants, and proffer solutions to identified problems so that the building performance can be improved, and similar future buildings can be improved upon in terms of IEQ. Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) was utilised to conduct the evaluation. This will help stakeholders and managements to ensure that past mistakes committed are not repeated in the future buildings. POE analyses IEQ related to Indoor Air Quality (IEQ), thermal comfort, occupant’s satisfaction and occupant performance and productivity. There is a correlation between different indoor parameters of the occupants’ satisfaction, health and productivity at the workplace. For these correlations to complement each other successfully, IEQ factors must be conducive to human wellbeing. Workplace environments are perceived as unsafe and unhygienic. This situation is caused by poor planning of workstations, low indoor air quality, inappropriate lighting in the office, lack of ventilation and insufficient safety measures. In particular, findings of this study demonstrate the low level of occupants’ satisfaction with regard to office buildings in the Country Club Estate, Johannesburg. The results from this study show that POE is perceived to be completely new to occupants of the Country Club Estate. Management or stakeholders have a huge task ahead to address the benefits of implementing POE and to face the consequences if POE is not implemented.

Includes bibliographical references. / The essential purpose of this study is to assess the effect of action by the State, both legislative and judicial, on the value and utilisation of land and buildings; it does not set out to provide a general statement on the principles of land economics. The boundaries of the subject matter have been established by problems arising in the professional practice of a property economist in South Africa, rather than on any a priori basis. The title "Economic and Legal Aspects of Real Estate with particular reference to South Africa", may imply a broader examination than has in fact been made. At the outset therefore it must be stated that there are other matters which might well have been embraced by such a title, but which were not objectives of this study - for example the policy of successive governments towards the utilisation of land by Non-Whites.

A research Report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Property Development and Management, September 2018 / Corporate real estate is required by firms to operate business and this can either be owned or leased. Either option requires substantial amounts of money. Despite this fact most studies conducted have focussed on tangible corporate assets in general and not corporate real estate in particular, the reason put forward being that this asset type has diverse intangible aspects which makes the own or lease equation a complex one. South Africa is the second largest economy on the continent and has a real estate market rivalling that of European countries by size; these facts are reason enough to support investigating the real estate market in detail. Gauteng Province accounts for 34.4% of the country’s GDP and 23% of this is from the industrial sector. This study, which is based on a 2011 UK study by Barkham and Park, sought to establish whether non-financial factors play a key role in the decision to own or lease industrial real estate in Gauteng Province. The study used an empirical approach using Thematic Network analysis to explore the non-financial determinants of owning or leasing industrial real estate from data obtained from 4 firms. Findings reveal that both financial and non-financial determinants are considered in the LVB decision for industrial CRE in Gauteng. Ranking of these factors showed that 3 of the four respondents ranked the non-financial ones first followed by some financial ones. It is suggested that further research be conducted to cover a larger population i.e. industrial firms in the major cities with a large industrial presence country wide. Additionally one which includes different firm sizes and a mixed method for data collection and analysis. / XL2019