Real Estate Discipline Research Articles

On the American perception of real estate as business: revisiting the ontological project of Julian Diaz III

ABSTRACT This paper revisits the ideas of Julian Diaz III that were expressed in his journal article titled, “Science, Engineering, and the Discipline of Real Estate” that appeared in the inaugural volume of Journal of Real Estate Literature in 1993. In this article, Julian Diaz III made a bold attempt to use ontological constructs to help define conceptual boundaries of the real estate discipline. The paper begins by reviewing Diaz III’s key conceptualizations of real estate in terms of real estate as applied science and real estate as a bundle of activities. It then proceeds to evaluate these conceptualizations and use them to develop the theory of dualism in real estate discipline. Two dualistic models are identified: the Physical Model of Real Estate and the Business Model of Real Estate. Thereafter, the paper uses this dualistic realization to repudiate the conceptualization of real estate as an appendage of engineering or business profession. Finally, the paper advocates for the conceptualization of real estate as an independent discipline.

Why property market forecasts fail

PurposeThe paper addresses the puzzling phenomenon of the ubiquity of economic forecasting, of which property market forecasting is but one instance, on the one hand, and the unreliability of such forecasts, on the other hand. The paper explains why property market forecasts fail, in a non-trivial sense, and why this problem is irredeemable.Design/methodology/approachThis was a conceptual paper and was based on original thought and literature review.FindingsThis paper attributes the failure of property market forecasts to the inappropriate application of the methodology of the natural sciences to the social sciences by mainstream economics. Specifically, the problem is located in the positivist philosophy and the assumptions of methodological individualism and rational choice theory underlying neoclassical economic theory.Originality/valueThe paper makes an original contribution by clearly showing why and how the methodology of the natural sciences, especially physics, has been applied to economics and property market analysis, why this is inappropriate and why it leads to failure. The paper introduces a debate that has hitherto been mostly confined to philosophy and mainstream economics into the property or real estate discipline and in a manner that is accessible to a non-philosophy audience.

Editorial

The Journal of African Real Estate Research (JARER) continues to be an exciting outlet for authors across Africa to propagate the results of their research activities. This is the fifth volume and first issue for 2020 as well as the first issue under the stewardship of our reconstituted editorial board. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome them all to the journal and I have no doubt that their expert knowledge and experience will continue to steward the ascension of JARER as the premier publication on real estate related research in the African continent. In other news, we are in the process of developing a special issue highlighting the work of early career female researchers in real estate. Supporting female researchers in real estate is an important agenda for the real estate discipline and is strongly supported by the editorial team. The guest editors for the special issue are Karen Gibler and Geci Karuri-Sebina and publication is planned for April 2021. If you are interested in publishing your work in the special issue, please contact the co-editors or the managing editor.

Factors affecting the academic performance of real estate students in a specialized Federal University of Technology in Nigeria

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the factors affecting the academic outcome of real estate students in a specialized Federal University in Nigeria. Furthermore, this paper investigates the phenomenon of publication bias in the extant literature as such evidence poses severe threats to the validity of empirical findings on factors affecting the degree outcome of undergraduate students.Design/methodology/approachThe standard statistical approach adopted was to examine whether the reported coefficient estimates from ten empirical studies (105 observations) are independent of their standard errors by employing both ordinary least squares (OLS) and weighted least squares (WLS). In this paper, this approach enabled evidence of publication bias in the cited literature to be refuted. In addition, data were also collected on the academic measure and demographic information of 449 students who graduated between 2005 and 2011. For the purpose of analysis, the study utilized a stepwise logistic regression technique to examine the factors impacting on the degree outcome of real estate students.FindingsThe results of the OLS and WLS regression indicate that there is no significant evidence of any empirical effect of publication bias in the extant literature. The results of the logistic regression also revealed that grade point average, gender differences, prior knowledge of real estate discipline and potential difference in year of enrollment impact on students’ academic performance in terms of their ability to graduate at first attempt. In addition, factors such as age, marital status, high school grade and geopolitical/ethnic background of undergraduate real estate students do not influence their opportunities to graduate at first attempt from the university.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper focuses only on one specialized university of technology offering a bachelor’s program in real estate in Nigeria, so as to remove any extraneous factor(s) that could be present in the other institutional settings where students have completed such program. Extending similar study to tertiary institutions in Nigeria that share similar geographical characteristics and institutional settings can produce far-reaching generalization.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the scanty literature on factors affecting the academic performance of students in an undergraduate real estate program in Nigeria. A scientific element of novelty in this paper is the evidence of the absence of the underlying effect of publication bias in the extant literature on students’ academic outcome in tertiary institutions. Findings from this study serve as the basis for university officers to monitor significant transitions in real estate students’ academic progress, so as to identify those who are unlikely to graduate at first attempt early at the entrant level. Generally, the outcome of this research could provide faculty and admission officers in tertiary institutions with complementary information in arriving at an informed decision in a non-discriminatory admission process.

Net Present Value Analysis in Finance and Real Estate: A Clash of Methodologies

Executive SummaryWhile the finance discipline focuses on the added value of a capital investment project to the firm's assets (NPVA), the real estate discipline typically looks at the impact on the firm's equity investors (NPVE). The two approaches will generate the same value provided that the project and the firm are equally leveraged. However, if the project's capital structure differs from that of the firm, NPVE will differ from NPVA. This study explores the effect of different capital structures for the project and the firm in three scenarios—a single-year project, a project generating a single cash flow multiple years into the future, and a project generating multi-year cash flows— and the resultant discrepancy between NPVE and NPVA. Using two adjustment routes, we show that NPVE can be recalculated to equal NPVA in each scenario, although the adjustment process is complicated, particularly in the more complex scenarios.

Urban design quality and real estate value: in search of a methodological framework

This paper presents a critical interdisciplinary examination of the interface between the urban design and real estate disciplines and provides a modus operandi for estimating different aspects of quality design. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for further developing hedonic modelling of real estate markets to value urban design quality. It achieves this by investigating in detail the concepts of urban design quality and real estate value, and by advocating the need for an overarching conceptual approach through the application of utility theory that provides the theoretical underpinnings of the framework.

FACTORS AFFECTING CLIENT INFLUENCE ON PROPERTY VALUATION IN MALAYSIA: DO CLIENT SIZE AND SIZE OF VALUE ADJUSTMENT MATTER?

Client influence on property valuation has been an emerging theme of behavioural research in the real estate discipline. Studies on valuers’ decision-making behaviour imply that client influence is an important source of judgemental bias. Academic interest in client influence research has evolved from identifying the existence of client pressure to studies that explain the mechanism of client influence. A questionnaire survey was administered to valuers to measure their perception with regard to factors affecting client influence in Malaysia. The effect of client size and size of value adjustment requested by clients on valuation were also tested in a behavioural experiment. The survey revealed that valuers in Malaysia perceived client characteristics and valuer characteristics as some of the most important factors affecting client influence on valuations. It was found that factors such as type of client, size of client, integrity of valuer and experience of valuer could potentially impact on the amount and type of influence exerted on valuations. The results of the logistic regression model indicated that neither the client size nor magnitude of value adjustment requested by client affected the decisions of valuers to alter valuation outcome.

Research in Real Estate, 1973-2010: A Three-Journal Comparison

This research compares Real Estate Economics, the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, and the Journal of Real Estate Research in terms of their intellectual contribution to the real estate discipline. The 25 topics of real estate research identified by Winson-Geideman and Evangelopoulos (2013) are used as a basis for a comparison of topic emphases within the three journals. Findings show a shared group of topics, comprising the intellectual core of real estate research, as well as the specific thematic focus of each journal. Analysis of the dynamics in topic emphasis indicates a slow convergence of the three journals, suggesting that the discipline's maturation is accompanied by a process of scope clarification.

SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT FINANCE FACULTY OPINION OF REAL ESTATE JOURNAL QUALITY?

Real estate has evolved into a unique discipline, separate and distinct from its financeand economics-based origins. Our 2008 survey of U.S. academic members of theFinancial Management Association reveals that only 8% of respondents claim a realestate expertise, 6.9% report six or more academic real estate publications in the priorten years, and only a third have real estate faculty in their departments. These numbersare significantly lower than similar survey results of 15 years ago. Of the 204 AACSBtenure-track finance faculty respondents that likely influence the rank and tenuredecisions of real estate faculty within their departments, only half claim to be familiarwith the 1st tier real estate academic journals. As the real estate discipline continuesto evolve, university administrators should be cognizant of the decreasing familiarity,reliability, and relevance of finance faculty perceptions of academic real estate journalquality.

Financing Costs and NPV Analysis in Finance and Real Estate

Executive Summary. Business students majoring in real estate encounter seemingly contradictory treatment of financing costs in net present value (NPV) analysis between the finance and real estate disciplines. This study examines the difference in the treatment of financing costs between finance and real estate textbooks, reconciles the difference, and recommends that real estate textbooks explicitly address this issue to minimize students’ confusion and to give them a better understanding of NPV analysis.

Influential Journals, Institutions and Researchers in Real Estate

A threshold citation approach is used to measure the research influence of academic real estate journals, institutions and individual researchers. Real Estate Economics followed by The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics and Journal of Real Estate Research are the most influential real estate journals. Almost 63% of heavily cited works in core real estate journals are published in real estate journals. Twenty-one percent of the heavily cited works are published in Real Estate Economics. An overwhelming 80% of the citations of the 21 most heavily cited papers in real estate come from articles published in real estate journals. Even when real estate articles are published in top-tier finance and economics journals, the majority of the citations associated with these articles come from top real estate journals. This provides strong evidence of the existence of a distinct real estate research discipline. As compared to prior studies, an expanded universe of institutions is found to influence real estate research. Research-extensive universities generating high-quality economics, statistics and finance research influence the real estate discipline. The individuals that are most influential, however, are generally those with substantial real estate discipline specific research.

Strategic implications of information technology for the real estate sector

How society, its institutions and organizations relate to place and space is largely defined by advances in information, and communications and transportation technology. Advances in information technology transform society’s relationships to and involvement in economic and social activity, and therefore the real estate processes, systems, procedures and relationships that characterize the real estate that support society’s space‐using economic and social activity. Information technology advances simultaneously introduce complexity and simplicity to the real estate sector. Now, we are seeing a convergence of functions, as a particular space assumes multiple purposes, similar to the earliest phases of economic history. The resources and purposes of activities that occur in traditional work environments will increasingly reflect those that have been thought of as occurring in residential environments, and homes will have all the resources and electronic capabilities of places of business and merchandising. Ultimately, the implications of information technology for the real estate discipline challenge all involved to craft strategies reflecting an understanding of the direction and pace of society’s transforming relationship to place and space.