Private Real Estate Research Articles

The financialisation of contemporary urban planning policy discourse: insights into Serbian and Irish planning legislation

ABSTRACT While existing literature highlights the role of private real estate interests in shaping urban policy agendas, few studies have examined formal changes in planning legislation as a key site of influence. This paper investigates planning legislation reforms in Serbia and Ireland as illustrative cases of a broader trend of reducing investment risks and enhancing the financial viability of real estate development. Employing critical and context-sensitive narrative analysis of policy change, we present three key insights. First, we reveal how planning has been transformed into a tool for creating real estate assets driven primarily by financial considerations. Second, we demonstrate that public interest is often subordinated to private interests under a policy narrative dominated by financial sector logic and document how legislative and policy changes frequently introduce new barriers that restrict democratic engagement in planning policy formation. Third, we identify an increasing centralization in planning administrative structures, which undermines the principle of subsidiarity and provides opportunities for certain lobby groups to exert undue influence over policymakers. As the financial sector's influence on built environments grows globally, this study calls for more research into how real estate finance and planning systems affect each other, and how this plays out in practice.

Price exuberance episodes in private real estate

In this paper, we investigate price exuberance episodes in the main UK commercial real estate sectors – retail, offices and industrials - over the period December 1986–April 2022. Using the Backward Supremum Augmented Dickey Fuller approach of Phillips et al. (2015a,b), we find that episodes of price explosiveness are asynchronous across sectors with only common phase being the period 2003–2007. We also conduct a multivariate probit analysis to identify factors that indicate the occurrence of price exuberance episodes and generate early signals for possible price bubble building. The predictors for price explosiveness differ by sector with more consistent signals obtained from the yield curve for retail and industrials, rent growth for offices and industrials, and inflation for retail and offices. A key implication of this study is that the study of price exuberance and bubbles in private real estate should be sector specific even within the same country.

CLIMATE‐JUST HOUSING: A Socio‐spatial Perspective on Climate Policy and Housing

AbstractFocusing on the nexus of climate and housing policy, this article analyzes the socio‐spatial consequences of urban climate mitigation policies and the resultant need to broaden the concept of climate justice. By using the example of energy retrofitting in a low‐income district in Kiel, Germany, the article examines cities’ dependence on real estate companies to reach low‐carbon goals in a privatized housing market and the (potential) need to provide incentives for investment. As the case study shows, this can lead to a highly sensitive confluence of climate policy, private real estate investment and neighborhood development policy, which leads to a higher financial burden as well as the potential displacement and further political marginalization of current tenants. In light of these results, the article argues for the application of a climate justice frame in analyses of urban climate policies that integrates housing justice with spatial justice. Specifically, it calls for the right to climate‐just housing; that is, for the right to affordable housing to be connected with the right to energy‐efficient housing in one's own neighborhood. This implies the right to information and to urban space as political space, which in turn means the politicization of the targets, strategies and, not least, spaces of urban climate policy.

Reinventing Budapest in a Post-Imperial Era: Symbolic Landscapes of the City Between the Two World Wars

This article explores the ways interwar Budapest adapted to 20th-century challenges in a post-imperial context, highlighting the distinctive features of Budapest as a capital city during the decades following the fall of the Habsburg Monarchy and the subsequent breakup of historic Hungary. After reflecting on the historical background and making comparisons with other capital cities of the region, the investigation concentrates on the symbolic dimensions of urban space, showing how the dominant political ideologies of the interwar era were represented in the cityscape of Budapest. The designs of public spaces, street names, other toponyms, monuments, and memorials stand at the focus of the analysis, all interpreted as elements of an attempt to transform the city’s space into a coherent symbolic landscape. It is an important goal to highlight the continuities and discontinuities between the pre– and post–World War I period. Meanwhile, the study also pays attention to the factors that had little to do with the official ideologies of the day, namely, the changing paradigms of urban planning and architecture, the role of market forces and municipal endeavors, and the possibilities of public versus private real estate development. It concludes that Budapest was characterized by a striking dichotomy of tradition and modernity during the interwar period: while conservative worldviews and various shades of right-wing ideologies exerted a strong influence on the public space, radically modern architectural forms and new patterns of urbanity appeared as well, all simultaneously shaping the city.

Twenty years of private well testing in New Jersey: A review of the United States's most comprehensive well water testing regulation

Abstract Since the adoption of New Jersey (NJ) Private Well Testing Act (PWTA) over 20 years ago, approximately 134,000 wells have been tested, representing an estimated 34% of the private wells in NJ. The PWTA requires testing of raw water from residences with a private well at real estate transfer. Landlords are required to test private wells every five years and provide results to tenants. There are up to 43 required parameters including bacteria, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), synthetic organic compounds (SOCs), arsenic, iron, lead, mercury, nitrates, gross alpha radioactivity, uranium, three per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), alongside secondary contaminants iron, manganese, and pH. Among tested wells, 15.7% had at least one or more exceedance of a primary drinking water standard. The most common exceeding contaminants have historically been gross alpha radioactivity and arsenic, but since the inclusion of PFAS in 2022, over 12% of wells have exceeded for at least one PFAS. Jurisdictions interested in developing real estate private well testing policies can contemplate many of the findings, successes, and limitations of NJ's PWTA and should consider private well testing policies as a part of a larger private well program which brings together local, state, and federal resources.

Political connection and credit risk of real estate enterprises: evidence from stock market

Although extensive research has examined the credit risk of real estate enterprises, the relationship between the political connection of real estate enterprises and these enterprises’ credit risk has not been formally studied. Using the panel data of 123 real estate listed companies in the Chinese stock market from 2008 to 2021, this paper finds a significant positive correlation between the political connection of private real estate listed companies and their credit risk. This phenomenon is attributed to the excessive debt that benefits from political connections since it may raise the credit risk of any real estate firm. Interestingly, considering that 2013 is the first year of China’s Internet finance era, we find that the popularity of Internet finance and other decentralized lending financing channels may enhance the impact of political connections on real estate credit risk. Our findings provide new micro evidence for the influencing factors and mechanism of credit risk of real estate enterprises during the recent “credit crisis” in the real estate market in China.

The making of a racialized surplus population

Abstract In capitalist Eastern Europe, surplus population is created at the intersection of economic restructuring, leading to the decline of jobs, the absorption of housing in broader circuits of capital accumulation, and the state's disinvestment in social housing. Drawing on the lived experiences of the impoverished Roma from Baia Mare (Maramureș county, Romania), I analyze how racialization produces them as surplus-as-laborer and surplus-as-tenant. The article explores the historically constituted labor-housing nexus. Capitalist enterprises are interested in having permanent access to a cheap and flexible labor force that reproduces in housing conditions that are as low cost as they are inadequate. Private real estate capital excludes those who cannot afford the fast-rising level of the ground rent while the post-socialist state refuses to invest in public housing.

Research on the Current Situation, Problems, and Prospects of the Development of Chinese Real Estate Enterprises under the New Situation Take Yuexiu Property as an Example

As the Chinese real estate industry has experienced a rapid development phase, hidden risks and issues have started to emerge in its industry. Factors such as insufficient population demand, the issue of industry bubbles, companies facing insolvency, and the global economic downturn have led to the closure of many private real estate enterprises and a downturn in the overall real estate market. Taking Yuexiu Property as an example, this study analyzes and summarizes its financial performance and strategic operational direction, in order to derive operational strategies applicable for real estate companies to cope with the new situation. The study found that the growth momentum of the real estate market under the new circumstances is insufficient, and companies cannot rely on high leverage to acquire more land reserves. Deep transformation and development into integrated development operators, as well as diversifying the business chain, are the optimal strategies for all companies in the current situation.

Building upcycling or building reconstruction? The ‘Global Benefit’ perspective to support investment decisions for sustainable cities

Investment decisions on demolition and reconstruction vs. refurbishment of the existing building stock can extend beyond financial and economic criteria. However, they must involve energy savings, environmental preservation, material consumption, and waste management for sustainable cities. The regulatory framework used in the past decades and the correlated research seem more unbalanced toward the containment of building energy consumption than toward embodied energy (EE) management in production processes and environmental impact management. Foreshadowing the perspective of a more restrictive regulatory framework on EE, such as prohibiting the displacement of materials with residual energy potential, such as waste in landfills, some challenging frontier issues are involved when facing the limits of the economic evaluation methodologies for transformation projects. Thus, this study aimed to propose a reasoning and an operative modality to support urban governance policies and investment decisions involving private and public subjects in the construction sector. Circular economy and life cycle thinking principles, through life cycle costing (LCC) and life cycle assessment (LCA), are assumed and harmonized with the discounted cash-flow analysis (DCFA): (1) monetizing and modeling into the DCFA the EE and the embodied carbon (EC); (2) internalizing the Global Cost and the new ‘Global Benefit’ into the net present value (NPV) calculation; and (3) focusing on the residual end-of-life value calculation from the early design and investment decision stages. The reasoning can be extended to single buildings, the urban scale, or even entire portions of existing buildings in urban areas concerning typological sub-segments. The operative modality is yet to be explored in a concrete application for orienting urban governance policies and sustainable public–private partnerships, including environmental and, thus, social externalities even in the private real estate investment decision process, in the scope of evolving regulations.

Examining personal financial advisors’ knowledge, client recommendations, and personal investments in private real estate and real estate investment trusts (REITs)

Examining personal financial advisors’ knowledge, client recommendations, and personal investments in private real estate and real estate investment trusts (REITs)

Can North Korea Enforce Foreign Arbitration Awards?

The enforcement of foreign arbitration awards in North Korea is highly problematic due to the unique legal and economic structures. A dearth of enforcement options for property rights, rooted in limited individual ownership, widespread distrust in local currency, and limited movable assets, leads to a focus on real estate use right for enforcement actions. The absence of private real estate ownership and a proper registration system, however, pose considerable challenges. Article 65 of North Korea’s External Economic Arbitration Law provides seven grounds for refusal to recognize and enforce foreign arbitration awards, one of which allows for broad interpretation, possibly leading to governmental interference or non-enforcement. Furthermore, this article highlights the difficulties in enforcing arbitration awards via real estate assets due to restrictions on ownership and the absence of a real estate registration system. This article also analyzes ambiguities in transferring real estate use rights to foreign creditors following arbitration awards.

Style Factors for Private Real Estate—Beyond Property Type and Location

Style Factors for Private Real Estate—Beyond Property Type and Location

ЖИТЛОВА ПОЛІТИКА ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКИХ КРАЇН. ОГЛЯД МІСЬКИХ ПРАКТИК

Housing policy is one of the most relevant topics in the study of today's world. Ukraine currently lacks regulation of housing development as a state policy, which creates a gap between legislative and regulatory regulation of this aspect. The resulting gap creates ample opportunities for the private real estate market and at the same time alienates the end user, the resident, from his or her right to housing. In European countries, the "right for a home" has a similar status to the Ukrainian one, but the "housing issue" is one of the key issues in the policies of the states. Generally, housing policies in European countries are focused on social support of their citizens. This is where the main difference in the form of "social housing" arises, which can have a different form, model or even name, depending on the specifics of the country. In the current Ukrainian context, the housing issue is a direct aspect of the post-war reconstruction of the country. The article examines the housing policies of European countries and urban practices of forming local housing policies. The analysis focuses on the development and functioning of housing models in European cities. The study also includes the architectural and social aspects of housing models. The article considers external sources and studies, in particular Griffith, Jepma and Savini (2022), Glaser, (2017), Schindler, (2021), Förster and Menking (2017), Altreiter and Litschauer, (2022), Hamiduddin and Gallent (2016), Bican (2020), and analyzes local programs (policies), analytical reports on housing construction and statistics on the quantitative characteristics of housing stocks. The review of housing policies of the studied countries provides an opportunity to analyze the current context of the housing issue in the European space. Most of these countries have common features of the housing sector. For example, most of the policies reviewed have a common process of policy-making. In all cases, the influence of local authorities in shaping local housing policy is significant. All of the examples reviewed have in common the advocacy of the quality of architecture and, as a result, the living environment and the widespread use of architectural competitions. It should be noted that the housing policies of the studied countries demonstrate the importance of a joint and comprehensive approach to housing issues, based on common socially oriented principles.

Macroeconomic Uncertainty and Predictability of Real Estate Returns: The Impact of Asset Liquidity

Recent research has shown that macroeconomic uncertainty is a significant factor that is contemporaneously incorporated into asset returns. Therefore, it should not have a role in predicting future returns. At the same time, separate research has demonstrated that illiquidity is related to future returns. We examine the interplay between these two dynamics in a commercial real estate setting, where (il)liquidity is a defining characteristic of the asset class. Empirical tests confirm the absence of return predictability for liquid assets (publicly traded property portfolios). However, we find significant return predictability predicated on ex ante macroeconomic uncertainty when we examine assets that are not as liquid (directly held property portfolios). Our findings are robust to several refinements, including adjustments for delays in the transaction closing process to establish transaction prices in the directly held market, controls for leverage inherent in publicly traded real estate asset returns, and pro-cyclical liquidity variation in private real estate markets.

Evaluation of Factors Driving Real Estate Investment Decisions by Private Investors in South – East Nigeria

This research focused on evaluating the factors driving real estate investment decisions among private investors in South – East Nigeria with a view to appraising real estate investment pattern in the study area. The study was conducted in South-East Nigeria specifically; Anambra, Enugu and Imo State. Data were collected from 331 registered Estate Surveyors and Valuers, 131 members of Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria (REDAN) and 133 private real estate investors in selected states. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. The data collected was analysed using Percentage, Mean Score, and Kruskal Wallis test with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, version 25). Respondents were required to scale the impact factors base on five points likert scale. The results revealed that economic factors (interest rate, inflation rate, population growth and high cost of building materials) have significant effects on real estate investment decisions and government policies (Land Use Act), shortage of finance, and high cost of building materials are found to be most significant constraints to real estate investment decisions. The study concludes that interest rate, inflation rate, population growth and high cost of building materials influence real estate investment decisions. The study recommends among others the need for potential real estate investors to consider the factors that drive real estate investment decision before investing in real estate.

Practical Applications of Cash for Calls: A Quantitative Approach to Managing Liquidity for Capital Calls

In <b><i>Cash for Calls: A Quantitative Approach to Managing Liquidity for Capital Calls</i></b>, from the Fall 2022 issue of <b><i>The Journal of Alternative Investments</i></b>, <b>Jerome Schneider</b>, <b>Sean Klein</b>, <b>Wade Sias</b>, and <b>Simon Fan</b>, all of <b>PIMCO</b>, provide an approach to address the difficult task of minimizing cash drag while ensuring that limited partners can meet capital calls for private investments. By analyzing cash flow data for private equity, private debt, and private real estate funds, the authors quantify the extent of cash drag experienced when committed, but uninvested, capital is held in cash. They also illustrate the danger of holding the capital in public market equivalents (PMEs). Using historical call rates, the authors then simulate a tiering approach to holding committed capital in assets that have a range of risk and return characteristics and dynamically adjust the allocation. They show this strategy performs similarly to constant proportion portfolio insurance. The portfolio grows when the market outperforms, due to commitments that are partially allocated to PMEs, while an allocation to safe tiers protects the portfolio in market downturns.

A Market Without The ‘Right’ Property Rights: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s Newly-Emerged Private Real Estate Market

While Vietnam’s reforms provided some of the weakest legal private property rights amongst the transition countries, cities like Ho Chi Minh City have booming domestic real estate markets. Interestingly, while most properties in 2001 did not have legal title, those on the market did advertise a variety of property rights claims. Employing a hedonic price model to analyse the pattern of prices at which sellers offer properties in Ho Chi Minh City, this study examines how this market values property rights. The findings show that multiple forms of property rights, enforced by highly decentralized state institutions, are operational in this market. Furthermore, legal title itself is not the most valuable form of property right. These findings suggest that the value of property rights emanates from where it is enforced within the particular institutional context of a market.

Congolese Land Rights Put to the Test by the Private Real Estate Investment Revolution

Congolese Land Rights Put to the Test by the Private Real Estate Investment Revolution

Japanese Private Real Estate Models and Portfolio Selection

Japanese Private Real Estate Models and Portfolio Selection

Comparative Analysis: Influence of Interest Rates on Returns of Real Estate Private Equity Index and Real Estate Public Equity Index

Abstract In this paper, we studied the influence of interest rates on a US-based real estate private equity index as well US Wilshire public equity REIT Index. The interest rates that are chosen as independent variables include Monthly LIBOR, Yearly LIBOR and the Federal Cost of Funds Index. The dependent variables include US-based real estate private equity index that includes quarterly returns of 1,035 real estate funds, including liquidated funds formed between 1986 and 2018. The other dependent variable is the US Wilshire REIT Index. The variance of returns of interest rates considerably influences the variance of returns of the US PERE Index, whereas variance of returns of interest rates doesn’t influence the variance of returns of the US Wilshire REIT Index. Also, the real estate index is positively correlated to interest rates and so rising interest rates influence the returns of US PERE Index in a positive manner. The study shows that private equity real estate investors should expect higher return as the cost of funds increase.