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AUTHOR: Rita Avdiev TITLE: Golden Apple Or Poisoned Chalice? The Influence Of Education On Careers KEYWORDS: "Education, careers, future, change, trends, risk management" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Bryan Baker TITLE: A Locational And Risk Adjusted Individual Investor Model For Rental Residential Real Estate In Metropolitan Melbourne KEYWORDS: "Abnormal real estate returns, Capital asset pricing model, Economically rational investor, Financial theory, Hedonic pricing, Negative gearing , Portfolio theory, Private rental real estate, Rental residential real estate investment model, Security market line, Systematic/unsystematic risk, Taxation" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Sandy Bond TITLE: Estimating Stigma Of Ex-Contaminated Land: The 'Buyer Beware' Principle Reigns |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Contaminated land, remediation, “stigma”, valuation, regression analysis, survey" ABSTRACT: "The introduction of legislation in Australia, (for example, the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1986, in Western Australia) and New Zealand (The Resource Management Act 1991) has brought contaminated land issues to the attention of both property investors and valuers. However, uncertainty exists as to the possible magnitude and duration of impacts on property value arising from land contamination, including after remediation has been effected, and the appropriate way to account for these. This paper summarizes the initial results from a study of the impact of a site’s soil contamination history on land purchasing decisions and residential property values of remediated property. The aim of the research is to develop a methodology that can be used to measure “stigma”1 and value post-remediated property. Multiple regression analysis was performed on the vacant residential land sales along the Swan River, in Perth WA, from 1992-1998 to estimate the affect of the contaminated land history on residential property values. Further, an initial survey of residents was conducted to identify the issues and to determine the attributes considered important in residents’ purchasing behavior. Follow-up interviews are yet to be held to determine just how important each attribute identified in the initial survey is to the purchasing decisions. The results from both the market sales study and the surveys will be compared. Together, these studies will provide input for the development of a methodology to measure “stigma” arising from a site’s contamination history that will aid in the valuation of post-remediated property." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Michael Bounds, Wayne Dwyer, Girija Mallik TITLE: The Olympics And Regional Movements In The Price Of Residential Property: A Comparative Analysis Of Two Rapid Growth Regions In Sydney KEYWORDS: "Houses, units, price movements, regional, Olympics, regression analysis, growth rates" ABSTRACT: "Prior research by the authors on the anticipated rate of growth in house prices flowing from the Olympics indicated a mixed response in the immediate region of Olympic development using ordinary least squares regression and comparison of growth rates for Sydney housing. This research looks at the process of rapid inner urban development in Sydney and compares price growth rates in South Sydney in relation to the results of our previous research. South Sydney development is reviewed in the context of the residential, cultural, commercial and infrastructural development in the region. This research provides a further opportunity to look at the so-called Olympic effect in the broader context of rapid urban development, globalization and consolidation in the city." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Charles C. Carter TITLE: Reconciling Highest And Best Use With The Concepts Of Public And Private Goods KEYWORDS: "Highest and best use, Public goods, Private goods, Club goods" ABSTRACT: "The definition of highest and best use (HBU) has been a fertile source for debate about important concepts for appraisers. Professor James Graaskamp of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for instance, spent a good deal of time arguing about the proper definition of highest and best use in his writings that spanned his professional career (e.g., Graaskamp, 1970, 1977, 1981). A relatively recent development in economics has been the separation of different types of goods into public, private, and “club” goods. These notions have more recently been getting use in the land economics journals (e.g., Selwyn, 1995; Hanley, Kirkpatrick, Simpson, & Oglethorpe 1998). It is argued here that appraisal too should take cognizance of these notions because some confusion with the concept of HBU can be cleared up this way. Practical application of HBU is not made overly complicated." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Nelson Chan TITLE: How Australian Valuers Value Contaminated Land |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Contaminated land, valuation, unaffected approach, affected approach, stigma impacts." ABSTRACT: "Contaminated land is a liability to the owners, occupiers, financiers and insurers. Apart from public health problems, threats to the ecosystem, and potential legal liabilities, it also causes depreciation in rental and capital value of the property. In recent years, with the availability of more information about land contamination, the short supply of development land in urban areas and the relatively low value of contaminated land, a niche market for redeveloping contaminated land is emerging in Australia. Valuers are frequently required to assess the value of contaminated land. This paper aims at finding out how Australian valuers value contaminated land. A survey of Australian valuers was conducted in 1998. The paper analyses the survey results and compares the Australian approaches with those in other countries. It finds out that there are two main approaches used by Australian valuers. Their main problems are the lack of market data and a reliable method to assess stigma impacts. The paper concludes with recommendations further researches in the area of stigma assessment." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: K W Chau, F. Pretorius And W.M. So TITLE: Factors Affecting Mortgage Prepayment In Hong Kong |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Residential mortgages, prepayment, variable-rate mortgages, quasi-rational economics, behavioural economics." ABSTRACT: "This paper presents a quantitative analysis of prepayment data based on the historical prepayment experience of two banks in Hong Kong. One of the most distinctive features of mortgages as an asset class is the existence of prepayment risk. Research in prepayment has matured into a coherent body of work that has a sound theoretical framework and consistent empirical validation. Previous research in prepayment has identified certain important causes for prepayment. However, most studies on prepayment were based on fixed-rate mortgages in the USA, while little work on variable-rate mortgages and even less work on prepayment in other countries has been conducted. In this paper, the prepayment pattern of variable-rate mortgages in Hong Kong are examined. Following the logic of the option-based/optimal model, certain variables have been identified for inclusion in an empirical model on prepayment. As variable-rate mortgages are the custom in Hong Kong, it is considered that there will not be a refinancing incentive with decreases in interest rates as in the case with fixed-rate mortgages. In this study, interest rates are however found to be an important determinant of prepayment, with prepayments sensitive to real interest rates and borrowers sensitive to the prospect of an increase in interest rates. The explanation proposed for this behaviour is consistent with findings in the field of quasi-rational and behavioural economics. It is thus considered fruitful to incorporate concepts from this field into mortgage prepayment research." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: K W Chau, F. Pretorius And C.K. Yu TITLE: The Determinants Of Street Level Retail Shop Prices In Hong Kong |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "retail, location, hedonic price model, urban economics" ABSTRACT: "There has been little research on the location factors that influence small retailers' revealed location preferences within shopping centres, planned or unplanned. This may be explained partly as a consequence of a lack of reliable cross-sectional data at this low level of economic aggregation, and a consequent inability to control for higher level aggregate economic variables such as national or regional economic and demographic development. In high-density Asian cities such as Hong Kong, with limited land, very high population densities, intensive mixed land use, and very limited reliance on personal transportation generally, an opportunity exists to conduct research into low-level retail location decisions while controlling for the influence of high level aggregate economic variables. This allows research efforts to be concentrated on specifically micro-locational and physical property characteristics and their influence on retail property choice. A Hedonic Pricing Model is constructed to test the significance of such factors on retail property unit prices in Hong Kong, as a proxy for expected retail property performance potential. In order to minimize the problem of data heterogeneity, empirical data is drawn from transaction records collected from a single district in Hong Kong, Mong Kok, an unplanned shopping area in Hong Kong. Only street level retail property records are used. The results indicate that most, but not all, locational and physical characteristics are statistically significant. The results suggest that locational characteristics are comparatively more significant than physical characteristics. In particular, the study suggests that pedestrian flows is the key factor affecting retail unit prices, and that retailers are willing to pay high implicit prices for locational characteristics that are associated with high levels of pedestrian flows." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Gregory J Costello And Russell Elkins TITLE: “Location Location Location” Wise Maxim Or Clever Hoax? |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "House price indexes, Median price indexes, Hedonic price indexes, Location theory, ‘Abnormal’ price changes." ABSTRACT: "Median prices for individual suburbs in Australian capital cities are frequently quoted in the popular press as a measure of price change between geographic areas. This raises several interesting questions. Are these observed price changes truly representative of factors influencing prices autonomous within the specific suburb? Alternatively, are these changes the result of common factors that may be observed across several suburban areas during contemporaneous measurement periods? Are these reported price changes of any statistical significance? This paper empirically tests some of these questions. A rich data set of transactions for ten individual suburbs in the city of Perth, Australia for the period 1988 – 1999 is used. Quarterly hedonic price indexes are created for each individual suburb and tested for accuracy. Standard parametric and non-parametric statistical methods are used to test for significant differences between the ten suburb groupings. The results confirm a low number of statistically significant differences and the existence of a ‘pricing size effect’ as a determinant of house price change." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Garry Dowse TITLE: "Valuations At Issue: Market Value, What Is It?" KEYWORDS: Market Value – Duty of Care – Valuation Standards ABSTRACT: "This paper aims to examine the definition of market value, and the duty of valuers in light of recent and widely publicised Fletcher Homes Limited (FHL) claims. In the mid-1990s numerous claims surfaced in New Zealand against FHL regarding the way it sold “new homes” between the mid-1980s and the early-1990s. One of the main allegations was that homes were overvalued so purchasers could borrow a large percentage of the purchase price, leading to many purchasers borrowing more than their homes would fetch on the open market if on-sold. The paper traces the role of valuations in this process. It reviews explanations for variations that can occur between the initial purchase price/market valuation of a “new home”, and its subsequent re-sale as “secondhand”. With emphasis on these explanations it then presents a case study on segments of the New Zealand housing market. This leads to conclusions that are relevant to a range of property types. Conclusions are that the reported market value of a property can vary, by reason of the market in which that property is traded. Valuers therefore need to have an understanding of what they are valuing, and know the specifics of the market in which they are valuing. In circumstances where market values of properties with similar physical features differ because of the markets in which they are traded, it is important that the valuer clearly states the valuation assumptions, standards and the respective value(s) that apply. Any party who is relying on the valuation will then be clearly aware of the risk factor, and the valuer will be protecting him or herself against potential criticism/claims." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Peter Elliott And Melvin Zulu TITLE: The Incentive Effect Of Property Taxation On The Property Developer As Landowner: A Conceptual Framework. KEYWORDS: "Property taxation, site value, property developer and landowner, influences on development decisions, a conceptual framework ." ABSTRACT: "Obviously developers play a key role in development outcomes and are ideally placed to assess the variables which influence development outcomes. Property Taxation can either be site value based, capital value based or a combination of the two and is a variable in terms of producing certain property development outcomes such as discouraging land speculation and advancing the timing of land development. However there are few definitive conclusions about its impact in practice on such development outcomes. This paper outlines a conceptual framework within which variables influencing developers and property development can be classified and assessed. This framework also provides the basis for understanding better the significance of property taxation to property developers and also provides the foundation for developing research issues and propositions which can be investigated with the aim of establishing more definitive conclusions about the impact of the site value basis of taxation. A more comprehensive knowledge of the impacts of site value taxation would facilitate the formulation of urban policy with respect to the appropriate basis for property taxation especially in developing countries and cities where the development outcomes outlined above are vital for the development of the economy" View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Chris Eves TITLE: Developing A Nsw Rural Property Investment Index KEYWORDS: "rural land, investment index, land performance, rural land returns." ABSTRACT: "Rural property in Australia is the most extensive property type based on total area occupied. Agricultural land use currently accounts for over 60% of the total land area in Australia; in comparison, residential, commercial and industrial property account for less than 1% of total land area (ABARE, 1998). Agricultural production also currently accounts for 27% of exports, 3% of GDP and 5% of the Australian workforce (ABARE, 1998). Despite the overall size of the rural property market and the continued importance of agricultural land to the Australian economy, rural property in Australia has received minimal attention by property researchers in comparison to the extensive research attention given to Australian commercial and residential property markets. Reliable property investment performance indices are essential for informed investment decision-making by institutional investors. The lack of such an investment performance index for rural property in Australia has been one of the major impediments to the critical examination of the investment performance of Australian rural property by potential investors, including institutional investors. This paper will review the available rural investment indices in Australia and background the requirements to develop a comprehensive transaction based rural investment index (1990-1999). Initial rural land performance data will also be addressed in the paper." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Piet Eichholtz, Qing Xu TITLE: The Relationship Between Common Risk Factors And Uk Property Shares KEYWORDS: "property shares, expected return, risk factors." ABSTRACT: "The performance of international property shares has been studied broadly (Eichholtz, 1996,1997,1998). Based on the global and country general stock and property share indices, previous studies indicated that the correlation between property shares and ordinary common shares is decreasing. Therefore, there is diversification potential for investing in international property shares instead of holding real property. However, it is not clear that this phenomenon is just a cyclical or a more permanent change. Therefore identifying the reason of different performance of property shares is necessary. Previous studies indicate that REITs may possess distinct risk factors from common shares. This paper examines the relationship between return of UK Property Company and company specific variables, to see whether any of the risk factors prevailing among common equities are useful in explaining the cross-sectional return variation in UK property shares. Modified Fama-Macbeth regression is used to test the relationship between monthly cross-section return and company beta and specific variables. The results show that Beta or size has power when used alone to explain cross sectional return variation. However, when more than one factor is included in the model, none of them has consistent relation with expected return. Also, there is no evidence of significant relationship between beta and size of UK property shares." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Prof. Dominique Achour-Fischer TITLE: Is There A Myers1 Way To Value Income Flows? |Refereed| KEYWORDS: ABSTRACT: "The world of property investment analysis paradigms is divided into two broad spheres of influence, the US-sphere and the UK-sphere. Despite superficial similarities, the two spheres hide different theories and practices. This paper focuses on a single illustration of this difference (the valuation of income flows) and suggests that alternative solutions can and should be adopted without having to re-invent the wheel." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Prof. Dominique Fischer And Hafez A. Hafez TITLE: Risk-Adjusted And Eva-Corrected Performance Of Australian Listed Property Trusts KEYWORDS: "Australian Listed Property Trusts, Modigliani-Modigliani, EVA, static, dynamic returns" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Prof. Dominique Fischer TITLE: Risk Adjusted Performance: Bricks Or Paper? KEYWORDS: "Australian Listed Property Trusts, Performance, Modigliani-Modigliani" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: John Flaherty And Ric Lombardo TITLE: Modelling Private New Housing Starts In Australia KEYWORDS: "Housing starts, completions, economic aggregates residential property cycles, causal relationships, time series models." ABSTRACT: A number of causal and non - causal approaches to forecasting private new housing starts in Australia are considered in this paper. Simple time series models are developed in Excel and more complex ARIMA models are estimated using the popular econometric software SHAZAM. Combining models is also discussed. Interrelationships between housing starts and the state of the economy is briefly examined. View the Full Paper AUTHOR: David Fleming And John Storr TITLE: Applied Benchmarking And Performance Indicators For Facilities Managers Of Educational Buildings KEYWORDS: "Facilities, Benchmarking, Lecture Theatres, Non-positivist analysis" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: David Fleming And John Storr TITLE: Benchmarking Facilities A Phenomenological View |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Facilities, availability heuristics, performance indicators, users perspective, benchmarking" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Robert Ruscoe Fraser TITLE: Perspectives On The In-Place Value Of Buildings And Structures For Rural Property KEYWORDS: ABSTRACT: "The custom for valuation practice in rural localities is to apply a unit of value exclusive of buildings. Commonly the unit is ‘dollars per fully developed hectare excluding buildings’. The unit specifically excludes buildings and thus the in-place-value of them must be calculated in the process of deriving the unit value and its application. Bonbright (1937) portrays the substantive arguments and classic resolutions that have underpinned the theory for the whole valuation field, rural property included, and may still be the leading authority. Rural valuation literature is coy on the subject of the practical assessment of the in-place-value of structures but Frizzell (1979) and the American Institute of Appraisers (1983) are exceptions. Assessing in-place-value of buildings requires resort to a fairy-tale separation of land and buildings because there is no market for buildings separate from land. The purpose for assessment is clear; the operational system, by contrast, is a thick soup of muddied water. If unit value exclusive of buildings be persevered with the technique favoured is the observation method. This, the article proposes, should in the first place, be operationalised by dividing structure life and hence depreciation into quarters. Where the collection of buildings is old enough to have equal portions new and old the light bulb analogy is an obligatory check. Age/Life and Modified Age/Life fail because of practical difficulties with the estimation of age (effective or chronological) and the paucity of data on structure life history. The paper observes that a unit of value inclusive of structures, whilst it obviates the immediate difficulty of structure valuation, brings with it the necessity for consideration of building structure, type and function in making property comparisons. By implication this has its own problems but, the article suggests, to blithely follow the techniques of the crowd, who in Australia at least, are lead by assessors in Government Departments may not be the wisest course." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Paul Gallimore, Adelaide Gray And J. Andrew Hansz TITLE: Sentiment In Property Investment Decisions: A Behavioural Perspective |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Investor Sentiment, Behavioural, Investment, Decision-making" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Ir. Abdul Naser Abdul Ghani TITLE: Feasibility Of A Concealed Drainage Systems For Housing Projects In Malaysia KEYWORDS: "Drainage Systems, Open Channel Drainage, Concealed Drainage, Housing Development, Capital Costs Comparison, Design requirements." ABSTRACT: "Most rainfall reaching surface of the earth is disposed in two ways – infiltration and surface runoff. As urbanization occurs, the amount of surface runoff increase resulting in the requirements of proper drainage systems to drain excess water to final discharge point. Drainage systems in Malaysia are predominantly open channel drainage beginning from building perimeter drains to major river channel. Most authorities related to drainage prefer to maintain the status quo although concealed drainage is widely practiced in other countries. This paper will attempt to make initial comparison of using concealed drainage systems especially in new housing development in term of design requirement and capital costs compared to open drainage systems." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Megat Mohd. Ghazali Kamaruzaman Abd. Rasid Buang Alias TITLE: The Development And Administrative Issues Of Stratum Title For Underground Land Resources In Malaysia KEYWORDS: "stratum title, underground development, administrative procedures, planning guidelines, legal requirements, geology" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Hafez A. Hafez TITLE: Listed Property Trust Benchmark |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Listed property trusts, performance analysis & benchmarking, real estate indices & indexes, shareholder value added, measuring real estate returns, and investment funds allocation." ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Professor Bob Hargreaves And Mike Chen TITLE: A Comparison Of Residential Rental Indices |Refereed| KEYWORDS: Rental indices – rental housing – measuring rents – New Zealand ABSTRACT: "This paper compares several different methods of measuring changes in residential rental levels for North Shore City in New Zealand. The data set comprised 35,431 tenancies over the period 1992-1998. Of these, 9,256 were single tenancies and 26,175 repeated tenancies. The indices compared were median, hedonic, repeat rent, weighted repeat rent and hybrid. The median index simply chained median rents over time. The hedonic index used standard multiple regression methodology. The repeat rent index used just the repeated transactions. The weighted repeat rent index again just used repeated tenancies and down-weighted the index for length of time between tenancies. The hybrid index combined aspects of the hedonic method with the repeat rent method. Technically the hybrid method appeared to be the most appropriate, but the trade off was this method was more costly in terms of operator time and data requirements. The repeat rent method is relatively simple and has low administrative costs. The median method is very easy to set up but suffers from both seasonal and constant quality difficulties. The hedonic method is also costly in terms of time and data requirements. On balance the hybrid method was preferred." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Susan Flint-Hartle And Anne De Bruin TITLE: Residential Property Investment Decisions In New Zealand: Economic And Social Factors KEYWORDS: "Residential rental property, investment behaviour, decision making, questionnaire, in-depth interviews" ABSTRACT: "Despite criticism of property investment on the grounds that it is unproductive and therefore not helpful to the national economy, an increasing number of New Zealanders continue to favour this investment option. This paper examines the motivations for investment in residential rental property and explores the key factors that impact on these investment decisions. The findings and discussion are based on a postal survey of a sample of residential rental property owners and a study of a smaller sample using more in-depth interview techniques. The study comprises the first phase of a national exploration of property investment behaviour in New Zealand." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Mr. Chun Xing He, Dr. Sun Sheng Han And Shi Ming Yu TITLE: Land Price Variations Among China’S Regions |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Land Price, Regional Variation, China" ABSTRACT: "China’s land market developed rapidly in the last decade. In this paper, we seek to explore regional variations of land prices and examine determinants of such variations. A random sample of 190 cities is selected in Mainland China and Hainan Island. Data are obtained from various sources and cover the period 1986-1996. Descriptive statistics, GIS 3D analyst, and non-parametric tests are applied to explore the regional variations of land prices. Linear stepwise regression is employed to analyse the determinants of land prices. The empirical results reveal that land prices (commercial, residential and industrial) vary among regions. The coastal region, especially the Special Economic Zones and Open Coastal Cities, accommodate higher land prices than the non-coastal region. Guangdong and Fujian provinces have higher commercial and residential land prices than other provinces as a whole, which exclude Beijing and Shanghai. City size and industry size are two major determinants, which explain land price variations. Foreign investment intensity entered only the determination of commercial land prices. Thus the uneven distribution of foreign investment enlarges the gap of commercial land prices between the coastal region and the non-coastal region. This result explains that commercial land prices have more sever regional differences between the coastal region and the non-coastal region than residential land prices and industrial land prices do. State investment policy is a check on property market to prevent from over-investment in commercial properties. Quality of life has positive impact both on commercial and residential land prices. Urban infrastructure improvement has positive impact only on industrial land prices." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: David Higgins TITLE: An Overview Of The Causes And Patterns Of New Space Demand In Australian Commercial Property Markets KEYWORDS: "Commercial property markets, occupier demand, decision theory, new space criteria, structured market research." ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Judith Hopkins TITLE: The Effect Of A Non-Residential Use In A Residential Zone |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "NIMBY, Property values, Marae, Stigma" ABSTRACT: "This paper uses a case study of placing a Marae (Maori meetinghouse and ancillary services) in a residential neighbourhood to examine the process and implications of placing a non-residential facility in a residential zone. The consent has been granted but is being appealed by the community on the basis that it is not a residential use and will have adverse effects on amenity values. The applicant has also appealed as time of operation conditions have been applied. An unwanted facility in a residential zone is often referred to as a NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard). As technology increases and social responsibility is put back onto the community, more NIMBYs are being placed into our neighbourhoods. These are essential services to the community but residents would prefer them to be placed in someone else’s back yard. Current research regarding NIMBYs has varying results as to the loss of property value, over the long term. If the facility blends into the neighbourhood with no distinguishing difference from its neighbours. i.e. appears the same as the standard neighbourhood house, then the effect will be short-lived and only appear as a temporary negative adjustment in the market. However if the facility is not homogeneous with the neighbourhood then unless it can be seen as a benefit to the immediate neighbourhood, then the decrease in value is likely to remain over time." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Norman E Hutchison And Professor Jeremy Rowan-Robinson TITLE: The Valuation Of Wayleaves: Time For Change KEYWORDS: ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Angelo Karantonis And Hera Antoniades TITLE: Gst And Property - A Preliminary Study KEYWORDS: "Taxation, goods and service tax, GST, value added tax, property tax." ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Dr Russell Kenley, Chris Heywood And Professor Denny Mcgeorge TITLE: Australian Corporate Real Estate Management: Identification Of The Hybridisation Of Property And Financial Knowledge In Practice |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Corporate real estate, strategic management, focus groups" ABSTRACT: "The study of Australian Corporate Real Estate (CRE) management is an emergent field. As part of an enquiry into competitive practices in Australian CRE, focus groups were held to identify current and future Australian issues. One group’s participants were drawn from corporate organisations, the other predominantly from local government. While each group emphasised different aspects of CRE management, a common listing of findings is possible. The hybridisation of property and financial knowledge in the practice of CRE management is evident in five aspects of the issues discussed – the need for the alignment of organisational and CRE strategies, the decision-making methods, the skill-sets of CRE managers and outsourced service providers, and the organisation of CRE management." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: John Keogh TITLE: Have Legislative Reforms Expedited Property Development Approvals In New South Wales? KEYWORDS: Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Act 1997 – Exempt Development – Complying Development – Local development – State Significant Development – Construction Certificates – New integrated development assessment process – Private Certification ABSTRACT: "The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 was recently amended to expedite the approval process for development in New South Wales. The amendments came into force on 1 July 1998 and considerably changed the procedural process for the lodgement of development applications, and the procedures to be applied to assessment. The new integrated development assessment process introduced a single application for development, building and sub-division, giving developers the opportunity to either seek an integrated approval from the consent authority for all envisaged development and construction works or to defer building issues to the “Construction Certificate.” This paper profiles the essential elements of the reform programme and examines the success of the new amendments through the opinions of local government planners, private certifiers and developers." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Paul Kershaw And Peter Rossini TITLE: Simulating Valuation Problems On The World Wide Web KEYWORDS: "World Wide Web, Valuation Practicals, Assignments, Simulation, Education" ABSTRACT: "This paper extends work presented at the 4th Australasian Real Estate Educators Conference. The original paper used Microsoft help files and mail merge to simulate individual problems for students. An example was used involving the valuation of a multi-use site. This paper examines the same valuation problem simulated on the World Wide Web (WWW). Students are given instructions and access legal, physical and sales databases across the web. These databases are simulated for each student thus providing an enhanced learning experience." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Jinu Kim And Sang-Young Lee TITLE: A Study Of Real Estate Trust In Korea KEYWORDS: "Real Estate Trusts, Land Development Trust, Korean real estate market, securitisation." ABSTRACT: "In Korea, Real Estate Trust Institutions were introduced in the early 1990’s with the purpose of satisfying the burgeoning demands of the property market. The Real Estate Trusts were started in order to prevent the real estate market from speculation and to encourage the efficient use of land. The other purpose of the Real Estate Trusts in Korea was to achieve a competitive advantage in real estate development for local firms. Despite the above intentions, the Real Estate Trust companies have, in the wake of the Korean economic crisis of 1997, been in difficult situations because of asset deflation and recession. This paper analyses the problems of Real Estate Trust companies in Korea and proposes an alternative solution. As an alternative, the introduction of institutions similar to the Australian Listed Property Trust (LPT) or the U.S. Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is considered. This new institution - Listed Real Estate Investment Trust in Korea (K-REIT) - would establish new principles of real estate investment and the securitisation of real estate." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Rohit Kishore TITLE: What Does The Discount Premium Trading Of Listed Property Shares Tell Us? KEYWORDS: "Discount, Premium, Net Asset Value, illiquidity, investor sentiment closed-end funds" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Rob Kooymans And Mike Flehr TITLE: Arresting The Decline In The Number Of Office Users In The Adelaide Central Business District |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Back-Office Locations, Central Business District, Incentive Programs, Information Technology, Office Location, Sunrise Industry" ABSTRACT: "This paper describes a research project carried out by the authors for the University of South Australia, the Adelaide City Council and the Property Council of Australia to identify, inter alia, the factors that have caused a relative and absolute decline in the attractiveness of the Adelaide CBD. It is established that there has been a decline in the number of office-based businesses in the Adelaide CBD and that the mix of industries represented has significantly changed. Some of the causes of the decline are well documented. For example, the technology-enabled centralisation of firms’ operations at interstate head offices has had a large impact. The research surveys the perceptions of and attitudes to the Adelaide CBD of: •decision-makers whose firms have relocated from the CBD, •decision-makers whose firms have always been located within the CBD, and •decision-makers whose firms have never been located within the CBD. The results of the surveys will provide some insight into what might be done to address the fairly common phenomenon of the declining CBD. Only the data related to inner-suburban located respondents was available at the time of presentation" View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Rob Kooymans TITLE: The Outsourcing Of Corporate Real Estate Management – How Do Corporate Real Estate Units And Outsource Service Providers View Each Other And The Management Issues? KEYWORDS: "Alliances, Corporate Real Estate Management, Outsource Service Provider, Outsourcing, Out-tasking" ABSTRACT: "Outsourcing of corporate real estate management is a long-established practice in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in Europe and Australia. While the imperatives for outsourcing have been widely studied, there has been little research into the nature of the working relationship between the corporate real estate unit and the outsource service provider. The paper discusses, by reference to the literature, the issues involved in this working relationship. Methodologies for exploratory and final studies are explored by reference to the literature and other corporate real estate studies. Findings of exploratory studies in Australia are presented" View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Val Kupke TITLE: Relocating For Retirement Or What Makes For A Happy Retirement? |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "retirement village, housing, relocation" ABSTRACT: "This paper reports the preliminary results of a study undertaken to consider the decision-making processes of retirees who have recently located to retirement villages within the Adelaide Metropolitan District. The study recognises that the South Australia population is aging faster than any other state in Australia and suggests that the decision making of retirees both pensioned and self funded are of key interest to those in the areas of housing provision, housing investment and welfare provision. There have been a number of studies undertaken in the US (Marans 1983, Golant 1987, Stimson, 1990) where the environment of retirement villages, the health and “fit” of movers and the push and pull factors relating to relocation decisions have been recognised. However little has been documented about the housing decision process of retirees in Australia and there have been few studies into the location choices of households who have relocated to retirement villages. This study complements ARC funded research currently being undertaken in Queensland by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute which has been restricted to the Brisbane region. " View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Valerie Kupke TITLE: The Disappearing Doughnut: A Review Of Middle Suburban Demographics And Residential Price Change |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "suburban, reinvestment, residential development" ABSTRACT: "This paper is a review of annual median house price change in Adelaide, South Australia (Dept. of Environment & Natural Resources, SA) over a 20 year period between June 1979 and June 1999. It compares inner suburban price change to that of the middle and outer suburbs and the metropolitan area as a whole. The study attempts to identify real price change across these areas within the context of a suggested slow down in the revitalization of Australian inner suburbs, a significant back filling of middle suburbs and the threat of negative equity in fringe residential developments. This introductory paper builds upon extensive work on Adelaide’s inner city transformation by Badcock (1995, 1998) and Badcock and Browett (1992) and gives consideration to the notion of consumption landscapes. The study acknowledges the implications of change in demographic patterns to suburban infilling and to the modernisation of middle suburban homes which in exchange are GST free and may in due course show increasing capital gains." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Anthony Lavers TITLE: Protection Of Real Estate Developers And Users Against Economic Loss Arising From Defects In Construction |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Defective building, property development, Legal liability, economic loss." ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Stephen L. Lee And Peter J. Byrne TITLE: Risk Reduction And Real Estate Portfolio Size |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Risk Reduction, Portfolio Size." ABSTRACT: "Despite a number of papers that discuss the advantages of increased size on risk levels in real estate portfolios there is remarkably little empirical evidence based on actual portfolios. The objective of this paper is to remedy this deficiency by examining the portfolio risk of a large sample of actual property data over the period 1981 to 1996. The results show that all that can be said is that portfolios of properties of a large size, on the average, tend to have lower risks than small sized portfolios. More importantly portfolios of a few properties can have very high or very low risk." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Deborah S. Levy And Christina Kwai-Choi Lee TITLE: Family Member Influence And Its Impact On Housing Purchase Decisions KEYWORDS: "Family, decision making, influence, real estate" ABSTRACT: "Families and households make up a significant proportion of the real estate market. There is however little information in the real estate literature on the impact of family behaviour on real estate decisions. This paper clarifies some of these issues by analysing and expanding on many of the findings from the marketing literature, in particular the topic of influence between different family members in the purchase of a new home. This paper presents some important issues to be considered when examining family decision making. These include the roles played by different family members and their influence at different stages of the decision making process. It also reports on the findings of a study involving a series of in-depth interviews with real estate agents to determine their perception of the family decision making process in relation to a house purchase decision. The paper then discusses the implications of these findings and that of the literature to the real estate market, including service, promotion and valuation." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Deborah S. Levy And Edward J. Schuck TITLE: The Influence Of Clients On Valuations: The Client’S Perspective KEYWORDS: "Valuation Smoothing, Client Influence, Client Pressure, Ethics, Behavioural Approach, Interviews" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Stellan Lundström TITLE: Quality Assurance Of The Valuation Process For Property Index KEYWORDS: "Property index, valuation process, quality assurance, Sweden." ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: John Macfarlane And Stephen Moon TITLE: Characteristics Of Australian Commercial Property Markets: Towards An Improved Forecasting Model KEYWORDS: "Office markets, forecasting, cycles." ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Wayne Marano TITLE: The Market Value Of Remnant Native Vegetation On Rural Holdings In A Clearance Regulated Environment |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "rural valuation, vegetation management, heritage agreements, hedonic price function" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Amanda J Mccallum TITLE: Determining The Characteristics Of Supply And Demand For Housing Australia'S 55+ Age Group In The New Millennium. KEYWORDS: "Population projections, 'Older Australians', Technology, Wealth, Lifestyle factors, Housing requirements." ABSTRACT: "The paper considers some of the factors impacting on housing requirements, for 'Older Australians' over the next 10 to 15 years. To determine the future directions of demand and supply of residential housing, will require consideration of the trends and the importance of the factors likely to affect future accommodation needs. Given the composition of Australia's population, a key factor in this research will be the population trend for this age group. Our ability to prepare for the future for this group will need to be more carefully considered and better focused, to accommodate a population trend quite different from that, which has been experienced in the past. 'Older Australians' will represent a greater proportion of the population, not only due to the post war immigration and births bulge, but also longer life expectancy for this group. In addition to the expected population bulge and diversity of demand, the environment is likely to be influenced by a number of key factors, or forces. These forces will include, technology, level of wealth and lifestyle preferences. Exploring the environment of the future will provide an appreciation of issues likely to influence future needs and lifestyles, of the sector of the population under consideration." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Iona Mccarthy TITLE: The New Zealand Dairy Industry – Struggling To Restructure KEYWORDS: "dairy industry structure, dairy company shares, farmland value, unbundling" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: John Mcdonagh And Timothy Hayward TITLE: The Outsourcing Of Corporate Real Estate Asset Management In New Zealand KEYWORDS: ABSTRACT: "The outsourcing of non-core business activities has recently mushroomed throughout the world as organisations seek reduced cost and strategic business advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace. A component of this overall trend has been a dramatic increase in the extent to which real estate asset management functions of non-property investment organisations have been taken over by “external service providers”. This study is the first in New Zealand to examine current practice, emergent trends, and identify outsourcing issues and problems in detail. Via a survey of 457 organisations the reasons behind the trend to outsourcing are identified, as are the types of services outsourced, the basis of selection of service providers, the skills and attributes required of real estate professionals and the success or otherwise of outsourcing experiences." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Trevor Mills TITLE: Can There Be A Model Title Registration System |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Land Title, land registration, Torrens Title, Deeds system, land recording" ABSTRACT: "It is widely held that for a country to progress, that is to improve its economy, its living standards and its national well-being, it needs some method of recording what parcels of land exist in the country, or region, and who owns it. Further, to encourage foreign or even local investment in real estate, there needs to be some form of title to evidence the various interests permitted in that land, and to give some measure of security to the owner of that interest. This in turn is recognized as an incentive for more economical use and maintenance of a property, and hence better land-use planning. Secure title is more likely to attract overseas investment in real estate and thus generate more employment and wealth for the local inhabitants. Another important advantage of a land registration system is in the ability for it to be used as a base for the application of an equitable tax levy, according to people's ability to pay. That same system can act as a preventive measure against people avoiding their rightful obligation to their society. It is also commonly held that there are two main systems of land registration in the world. The one named after its founder and introduced in South Australia, TheTorren’s Title System and the other, based on the old English system of Registration of Deeds. There are many European countries as well as African, South American and Asian countries who, in the last 10 years or so, have been forced to review their land recording systems, because of political or economical changes in their respective countries. Many countries, to determine an appropriate solution to these changes, have spent much money investigating various systems. There is some evidence that some of the recommended systems have been the direct application of an existing system elsewhere in the world, without due regard for local conditions. There has even been a suggestion that there could eventually be a uniform and beneficial registration system for all the countries of the world, available through on-line access. Whether or not the registration be uniform, online or positively archaic there are essential elements that are required for a useful system to work. This paper looks at various registration systems around the world and papers on a similar theme from other academics to determine what essential elements are in a title registration system and what considerations should be given to implement a system." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Graeme Newell, Peter Acheampong, Marlene Padan And Rohit Kishore TITLE: Diversification Issues In Property Securities Funds KEYWORDS: "Property securities funds, property trusts, diversification, risk reduction, investment strategy." ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Graeme Newell, Peter Acheampong And Preethi Kottegoda TITLE: Using Style Analysis To Assess Direct Property Performance KEYWORDS: "Style analysis, property trusts, direct property, performance analysis, validation." ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Ismail Omar TITLE: The Influence Of Valuation Rules On The Supply Of Indigenous Land In Kuala Lumpur |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Institutions, valuation rules, valuation constraints, indigenous land supply" ABSTRACT: "Valuation rules may initiate and/or constrain agents’ decision to sell or to develop land (Adams et. al., 1985, 1988, 1993). When the value of land for compensation purpose is high, landowners may expect a higher land price in the future. As a result, landowners may be reluctant to sell or to participate in supplying the land for development. Similarly, high valuation for compensation means high acquisition costs, hence, limits the decision of the developer or acquirer to purchase the land for development (Ismail, 1999). This paper examines the existence and implications of valuation rules on the supply of indigenous land in Kuala Lumpur for development purposes. It shows the importance of valuation constraints and the way in which these institutions affect landowners’ decisions and, thus, restrict the supply of land for development. In the end, the paper suggests the establishment of an Indigenous Land Tribunal to deal with the problem of valuation constraints in Malaysia." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Pachara Pacharavanich, Nitaya Wongpinunwatana And Peter Rossini TITLE: The Development Of A Case-Based Reasoning System As A Tool For Residential Valuation In Bangkok |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Residential Valuation, Mass Appraisal, Case Based Reasoning, Expert Systems, Artificial Intelligence" ABSTRACT: "The academic profession has shown considerable interest of case-based reasoning systems. A number of systems have already been developed for law, medical, and engineering applications. However, few systems are currently available for residential valuation. This study describes the development of a case-based reasoning system for valuers. Especially, the study examines the usefulness of the system for the valuation of townhouses in Bangkok, Thailand." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Geoff Page TITLE: Graduate Quality Approach To Property Education KEYWORDS: "Graduate Qualities, graduate achievements, internationalisation" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: F. Pretorius, A.R. La Grange And K W Chau TITLE: Selected Effects Of Public Policy On Private Rental Housing In Hong Kong KEYWORDS: "Housing, Hong Kong, Private Rental Sector, User Cost of Housing Capital." ABSTRACT: "In general, Hong Kong contributes two principal insights into the role of private rental housing in many economies. Firstly, although sharing an international trend towards a declining rental sector, Hong Kong's private rental sector has declined more severely over the last two-three decades than many other countries. This is despite the pivotal past role it played in housing Hong Kong's people, especially in meeting the housing needs of a massive inflow of migrants in the two decades after World War Two. The second insight is that a major reason for this decline may be attributed to government policy, although the Hong Kong Government has not been overtly hostile to the sector (as many governments elsewhere have been). This paper presents selected housing indicators to illustrate the recent performance of private housing in Hong Kong (both rental and owner-occupied); and a critical analysis of important aspects of the Government’s housing policy. It is argued that fundamental causes of the decline in the private rental sector include the crowding out of the private rental sector by Hong Kong’s large-scale public housing program; and secondly, distortion in the demand for (and price of) private housing as an investment good partly as a result of the Currency Board Arrangement that dominates monetary policy in Hong Kong. In general, it is proposed that it is a serious public policy failure to neglect the role of an efficient private rental housing sector as substitute tenure in facilitating price competition in housing services." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Peter Rossini TITLE: Estimating The Seasonal Effects Of Residential Property Markets – A Case Study Of Adelaide |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Residential Real Estate, Housing Markets, Seasonality, Forecasting, Regression Analysis, Time Series Analysis, Hedonic Price Models" ABSTRACT: "This paper examines the seasonal effects in the detached housing markets in Adelaide, South Australia. Residential markets are generally considered to exhibit slight seasonal effects. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this is often observed in the form of variations in the volume of sales, with less noticeable effects on price levels. It is also suggested that there are significant variations in the seasonal effect in different locations particularly beachside and hill locations. This paper attempts to quantify the seasonal affects in the volume of transactions and the achieved prices of detached dwellings. Hedonic price models and time series models are developed for a range of locations across Adelaide to examine the effects in different locations. The results suggest that there are significant seasonal effects on the volume of detached dwelling transactions in Adelaide particularly in beachside and hills locations where summer and autumn show statistically significant seasonal effects. There is little evidence of any seasonal effect on prices of detached dwellings. If there is any seasonality in these property prices, it is too small to quantify at sub-market level, however there is some evidence that property prices may be around 1% lower in winter than in other seasons." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Peter Rossini TITLE: Using Expert Systems And Artificial Intelligence For Real Estate Forecasting |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Real Estate Markets, Forecasting, Time Series Analysis, Neural Networks, Artificial Intelligence" ABSTRACT: "This paper examines the use of expert systems and artificial intelligence, (in particular the application of neural networks) to real estate forecasting. While there is a great deal of literature about the use of artificial intelligence for mass appraisal, there is relatively little work on how it can be applied in real estate forecasting. This paper examines the current uses of artificial intelligence, particularly neural networks, in the business-forecasting field and considers suitable applications in real estate. The paper also considers the broader issue of expert systems and how a better system can lead to better results. Some real estate data are used as simple case studies to demonstrate their use." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Patrick Rowland And James Kish TITLE: Decision Making By Property Fund Managers: A Survey KEYWORDS: "Property funds management, asset allocation, performance measurement, property evaluation." ABSTRACT: "Many property markets in Australia are dominated by the decisions and pricing rules of managers of funds such as property trusts, superannuation funds, public syndicates, property securities funds and other pooled investments in real estate. This paper describes and analyses the responses to a mailed questionnaire sent to representatives of most property funds management groups in Australia in October 1999. The objectives of this survey were: 1. to learn about the decision-making processes of those responsible for public property funds in Australia; and 2. to explore distinctions between those funds which purchase properties and those which purchase property securities; and 3. to identify any regulatory and institutional changes that are having an impact on property funds management. The results provide insights into the reasons why mixed asset funds invest in property and show which factors property fund managers consider important in selecting properties. Their responses indicate preferred methods of analysing properties, common measures of return and risk and methods of forecasting. There is evidence of different approaches to the evaluation of properties and property securities. The responses suggest variations in thinking by managers of different types of funds but the sample sizes make these contrasts of little statistical significance. Some cautious comparisons are drawn with earlier surveys and similar surveys overseas. The respondents also provided information about their use of debt finance and their use of real estate agents for advice and brokerage. The respondents gave their views on the effects of changing governance and tax laws. Most did not expect there to be significant growth for property funds over the next three years. Although there are limits to the depth of answers to a mailed questionnaire, the survey has revealed current practices, preferences and approaches to property investment analysis by Australian property fund managers." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Karl-Werner Schulte And Till Schulz-Eickhorst TITLE: Perspectives For Commercial Real Estate Securitization In Germany – A Comparative Analysis KEYWORDS: "securitization, mortgage backed securities, public equity, taxation in Germany, investor behavior" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Jennifer Simmonds, John Flaherty And Robert Webster TITLE: Simulating Shopping Centre Returns KEYWORDS: "Monte Carlo simulation, risk, future cash flows, valuation" ABSTRACT: "Small suburban shopping centres are a common feature of urban Australia. There are a number of standard approaches to valuing such centres, most of which are based on turnover and location. How reliable is a good location if a competitive centre draws your customers away or if there is a shift in preferences by existing customers to shop elsewhere, a more convenient centre or through the Internet. The shopping centre is an asset which represents a stream of future cash flows to its owners, and the reliability of these cash flows determines the ultimate value of the centre. Monte Carlo simulation can provide a good deal of insight into change in the value of the asset and help identify potential risk factors impacting on returns. This paper uses a spreadsheet-based model to examine the impact of key variables on the market value of a shopping centre." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Garrick R. Small And Jacob Oluwoye TITLE: "The Significance Of Debt, Human Nature And The Nature Of Land On Real Estate Cycles." |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Property cycles, real estate fluctuations, forecasting, regression analysis, economic methodology, non-linear behavioural functions, electronic cycle analogies." ABSTRACT: "This study proposes a review of the current methodology of cycles research. The shortcomings of regression analysis for cycles research are summarised and an alternate quantitative algorithm suggested. The behaviour of a common electronic oscillator is used as a superior mathematical metaphor for regular financial flactuations. It is argued that the behavioural functions that underlie market actions can be more successfully interpreted through non-linear decision functions analogous to the electronic circuit considered and that theory should be drawn from actual causality relationships, contrary to the prescriptions of the dominant methodology. The methodological propositions are applied to real estate cycles. Supply, demand and rents are explored as market participant behaviours and a behavioural model is developed which includes debt leverage. From this model three critical hypotheses are extracted and tested against data sets. The data supports the hypotheses and therefore the causal, non-linear behavioural interpretation. The theoretical model suggests that a significant factor in the dynamics of real estate cycles is interaction of yields, interest rates, growth rates and rental levels over time. The empirical relationship between interest rates and value is shown to necessarily influence yields in the short term, resulting in longer term pressures for rental movements. However, the effect includes delays and an asymmetry between rising and falling rates. Combined with market psychology and political interventions, the result is a permanent instability paced by the market's ability to absorb rental increases and transmitted to the wider economy. The paper concludes that the behaviour of rent, especially when pre-emptively taken through speculative acquisitions lubricated by debt, may be core issue in the operation of economic fluctuations. The model serves as an initial test of the methodological approach and directions for further research are suggested." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Simon Stevenson TITLE: Bayes Stein Estimators & International Real Estate Allocation KEYWORDS: "Mean-Variance analysis, asset allocation, international diversification, real estate securities, Bayes-Stein estimators." ABSTRACT: "This paper re-examines the issue of international diversification in real estate securities and attempts to address the problem of estimation error in the inputted parameters through the use of two alternative techniques. The Bayes-Stein approach advocated by studies such as Jorion (1985) is used in additional to a simple minimum variance strategy. The results see an increased stability in calculated portfolio allocations in comparison to the classical mean-variance tangency approach, and see significant improvements in ex-post performance. In addition, the minimum variance portfolio significantly outperformed a naive equally weighted strategy ex-post." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Stephen F. Thode TITLE: Reit Ipos: Their Relative And Absolute Performance KEYWORDS: "Real Estate Investment Trusts, initial public offerings, REITs, IPOs, security returns, securitization" ABSTRACT: "The purpose of this paper is to extend the work on recent REIT market performance. However, unlike previously published work, the focus is on the performance of REIT IPOs relative to non-REIT IPOs in an attempt to establish whether the American equity capital markets are more adept at pricing REIT IPOs or non-REIT IPOs. In this paper, the performance of recent equity REIT IPOs in the first year following the IPO is compared with non-real estate operating company IPOs issued on the same day as the REIT IPOs. The paper analyzes: the relative price performance of REIT vs. non-REIT IPOs; the relative volatility of REIT vs. non-REIT IPOs, both in an absolute and relative sense; and, whether the volatility of REIT IPO prices and volume increases or declines through time." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Erica Walker TITLE: New Living In The Town Of Kwinana – Suburban Renewal In Public Housing KEYWORDS: "public housing, renewal, Kwinana, pollution" ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Anthony Walker TITLE: The Development Phase Of Foreign Investment Projects In The People’S Republic Of China KEYWORDS: "China has been in the process of modernising its economy for almost 20 years. A feature of this process has been the attraction of foreign investment. Whilst such investment takes many forms, a significant amount is channeled into construction for end-user joint venture companies and other forms of foreign investment. This paper examines the process of development with the objective of identifying the idiosyncrasies of the system relative to those commonly found in developed countries, within the context of the emerging market in China. In particular, the institutional arrangements for designing the project and project managing the pre-construction phase are examined. The structure of the indigenous design institutes and their integration with foreign design teams are explained." ABSTRACT: View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Megan Walters And Paul Kent TITLE: Informal Institutions In Multiple Ownership Property In Hong Kong KEYWORDS: "Institutional analysis, collective action, multiple ownership property, property management," ABSTRACT: "Hong Kong’s image is often portrayed as a sophisticated financial centre with high value real estate, home to some of the tallest, technically complex modern buildings in Asia. For citizens living in older urban areas outside the CBD the reality is somewhat different. In recent months falling masonry has killed one woman and a balcony collapse has injured two children. The Government is well aware of the poor state of private buildings in multiple ownership and has undertaken a number of initiatives to improve the situation, following a spate of fires in which 63 people died in a six-month period. This paper examines the institutions governing the maintenance and management of buildings held in multiple ownership. The formal institutions of contracts and statutes are outlined. These are contrasted with the informal institutions of social customs and cultural norms that affect the execution of the formal rules, to assess the potential of government initiatives to improve the standard of maintenance in multiple ownership buildings." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Peter C. Wills TITLE: "E.D.I., The Valuation Process And Who Owns What." KEYWORDS: "Valuation technology, paperless valuations, G.I.S., computer valuations, valuation computer data, and electronic valuations." ABSTRACT: "This paper will investigate the ever-increasing role of technology in valuation/appraisal practice. The use of computers in receiving instructions, the collection of on-line sales data (through different sources) will be investigated. The parameters for initial sorting and collation of data will be analysed. Linked to this will be the overlaying of geographical information systems (GIS) mapping data, through other on-line systems. Access to local government data will be investigated to show the use of new computer plan technology overlay systems, together with the GIS data already accessed. The input and collation of other on-line data, such as detailed sales records, combined with zoning (permitted land use codes) will be studied. The use of lap-top computers in carrying out property inspections, together with drop-down menus and ‘check listing’ of necessary data to be entered at the time of inspection will also be investigated. Additional input of data for the comparable sales analysis and then the application of this data to subject property will be studied, as though it were taking place ‘on-site’ or ‘on the road’. The use of pro-forma reporting and non-standard reporting will be shown as well as the forwarding of the finished product by electronic means. The use of quality control measures and the issue if privacy of information will also be covered." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Mr. Francis Wong TITLE: Housing Reform In Southern China: Shenzhen And Guangzhou |Refereed| KEYWORDS: "Housing Reform, Shenzhen, The Centre for Sale, Guangzhou, Housing Allowance Scheme." ABSTRACT: "The objective of this paper is to provide an up-to-date review of housing reform in Southern China, by taking the two wealthiest cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou as case studies. Firstly the paper attempts to investigate the housing reforms in Shenzhen’s SEZ. It starts by reviewing welfare housing development over the past twelve years in Shenzhen. Then it looks at the current situation in Shenzhen, and followed by an examination of the problems associated with housing reform in general and the sale of welfare housing programme in particular. The second section reviews welfare housing reform in the reformists’ city - Guangzhou. This is followed by an examination of the 'Housing Allowance Scheme' (HAS) against its objective of 'Home Purchase'. It highlights the opportunities and challenges facing the government. Finally, the concluding section gives suggestions for accomplishing the objective of 'Home Purchase' for HAS." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Aminah Md Yusof TITLE: The Impact Of Depreciation- A Hedonic Analysis Of Offices In The City Of Kuala Lumpur KEYWORDS: "Depreciation, systematic and specific sources, City of Kuala Lumpur's offices, and hedonic price technique." ABSTRACT: "This paper examines the impact of depreciation on offices in the city of Kuala Lumpur. It begins with a brief review of sources of depreciation and the Kuala Lumpur's office market in 1996 and 1998. The study aims to analyse a variation in office rental in order to explain the impact of depreciation for two periods, 1996 and 1998. It is hope that the 1998 analysis will provide some indications on the effect of market-wide factors, which have not been addressed in 1996 study. The 1996 study on depreciation was undertaken by the same author, who analysed the impact of depreciation on forty-nine offices in the city of Kuala Lumpur. The study revealed that building obsolescence largely attributed to the impact of depreciation, which are property-specific factors. The finding, nonetheless, was based on the analysis of the strong market in 1996. The strong demand to occupy modern (termed as intelligent building) was significant, which was indicated by high occupancy rate especially for these offices. The pattern, however, may change since 1997’s ASEAN economic turmoil, as slow economic activities may have significant impact on demand for offices. This paper extends the previous research by considering 1998 office market. The main analytical tool in this study is Multiple Regression Analysis and its extension of Hedonic Price Technique. Some related statistical tools such as Principal Component Analysis is presented. The relative importance of each factor included will be calculated in Hedonic Price Technique. The findings of both periods will be compared to examine the role of market-wide factors in property depreciation as well as to test the validity of property specific factors as dominant cause of office depreciation in the city of Kuala Lumpur." View the Full Paper AUTHOR: Hugo Zweep TITLE: "Therefore, By Their Fruits You Will Know Them: Real Estate Agency Practice And The New Ethics In A World Of Consumerism And Global Competition" KEYWORDS: ABSTRACT: "The question dealt with in this paper is whether the traditional assumption, that law defines ethics in real estate agency, is still valid in the face of consumerism and globally inspired competition. In order to answer this one needs to be able to define the underlying theory and justification of ethics and then use this definition to construct an ethical framework. The normative principles defined by Buber, through Kant, appear to establish the standards for conduct in this framework leading ultimately to the question of what one’s conscience tells one to do. Having arrived at that point one can ask whether the law is always ethical or ethics always lawful and conclude that neither is always so. That being the case, one may see the law as a series of guideposts warning of ethical danger. Dangers outside these guides then need to be dealt with according to the dictates of conscience. This paper then seeks out evidence of such other dangers. In Great Britain a survey reveals that a strong underlying concern is the conflict of interest that frequently arises when an agent deals with both the seller, his principal, and the buyer. The result appears to be that many buyers think the agent acts for them and a significant proportion of principals are dissatisfied with their agent’s actions. In the USA real estate literature recognises that it is often difficult to tell whom the agent represents and there is great concern with the question of disclosure. The need for such disclosure may be leading to the increasing use of buyer’s agents, a trend frequently encouraged by the selling agent. A study was made, by the writer, of principal/agent disputes dealt with in 1998 under the Property, Stock and Business Agents Act where it was found that in about 30% of cases the agent’s behaviour could be considered unethical and in 15% that of the principal was so. Most of the remainder of the cases arose from an agent’s incompetence or lack of communication. In academic discussions, two views have appeared: one is the belief that real estate agency relies on caveat emptor and should revert to professionalism, the other that the old “one master” theory of agency no longer applies. This paper accepts the latter with its call to either a well-defined dual agency with its own rules or increasing resort to buyer’s agencies as a solution to some of the ethical problems of the real estate agency industry. This is re-enforced by an American view that there is an increasing onus on the agent for informational disclosure and the avoidance of dual agency within the existing framework. In some quarters, when considering the issues of liability arising from the ethical implications of non-disclosure and even product liability, it is suggested that agency needs to be re-invented with the role of agents to become similar to that of stockbrokers. These problems need to be addressed but it is suggested that this ought not be through the slow process of regulatory reform. Rather, present remedies for ethical abuse should be widened and remain flexible so that responses from the industry can be timely and effective." View the Full Paper |
