Research within the Centre and the department on real estate is broad ranging and international in scope.  The Centre's main areas of research activity relate to:

• analysis of real estate and real asset investment.
• modelling of real estate cash flows, mortgage finance and pricing of assets and loans.
• the role and performance of real estate and real assets in investment portfolios.
• the interaction of real asset and credit/capital markets.
• the role of real estate in urban development and the interaction between real estate and urban competitiveness and economic performance
• behavioural influences in real estate markets.
• the impact of social, political, environmental and technological change on real estate markets.

Current and recent research projects

These include studies on:

• investment in non‐traditional real estate sectors click to download from the IPF website.
• the potential for institutional investment in social housing (both for the Investment Property Forum).
• an analysis of the link between environmental sustainability and property performance (for GRESB).
• research on the relationship between leverage, decision‐making and performance for real estate funds and property companies/REITs (the latter part‐funded by EPRA).
• Capital Structure Survey – A study of capital structures across European property companies and the influences upon capital raising strategy.   This study is sponsored by British Land and Deloitte.
• Real Estate's Role in a Multi-Asset Class portfolio.
• Private residential and institutional investment
• Applying Behavioural Insights in the Development of Financial Systems in Rural China.The overarching research question of this project is whether and how behavioural insights can be used to help rural residents in China make sound financial decisions, which will ultimately contribute to the sustainable economic development in China.

Ongoing research includes analysis of ownership patterns in London offices; the determinants of global real estate capital flows at national and urban level; and an investigation of the relationship between REIT decision‐making and market sentiment indicators.

Current PhD topics

Doctoral students associated with the Centre are working on a wide range of topics, including land value taxation models, the persistence of real estate private equity fund manager performance, mean variance models and forecasting, the investment and value implications of green buildings, the dynamics of the Beijing office market, international REIT risk decomposition, bank debt covenants and real estate lending.

• Risk and Return Characteristics of Real Estate Private Equity
• The interrelationship among energy efficiency rating, consumer behaviour in the residential property market in relation to green housing issues and house prices
• International  Real Estate Markets: Drivers, Structural breaks, cointegration and portfolio diversification
• Land policy and prices in Latin America: spatial economic tales of Colombian cities
• Commercial real estate investment and risk management in China
• Modelling the commercial real estate market in Beijing
• Essays on REIT capital structure 

Research sponsors

We are grateful for the support of our sponsors.  Their support funds the basic data gathering and enables us to research the topics of interest to the industry.   We are also grateful for the guidance of the research committee of the Cambridge Land Economy Advisory Board.