Giorgio Pietrabissa

This course is available on the MSc in Real Estate Economics and Finance and MSc in Regional And Urban Planning Studies. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

How to apply: Priority: MSc Real Estate Economics and Finance and then other students. Priority is typically for students enrolled in Geography and Environment programmes, or joint degree programmes, however course specific availability is indicated via the 'Availability section' on the LSE course guide webpages. Guidance on how to apply to individual controlled access courses can also be found on LSE for You in the Graduate Course Selection system.

Please note: The number of students that can be accommodated is limited. If a course is over-subscribed, places will be allocated at the Department's discretion and a waiting list may be created. It is advised to have an alternative course in mind as a back-up in case you are unable to secure your first-choice course selection.

Deadline for application: Further guidance and information on course selection for Geography and Environment courses (GY4xx) will be available on the Geography and Environment Course Selection Moodle page which will go live from Monday 8 September and will be updated with course availability information daily throughout the course selection period. This page includes information on the timeline for course selection decisions in the Geography and Environment Department as well as the individual course application processes and requirements

A list of all taught master's courses in this Department are listed on LSE's course guide webpages.

For queries contact: geog.reef@lse.ac.uk

Entry into the MSc Real Estate Economics and Finance or by request from other qualified MSc students. Those qualified will already have knowledge of economics equivalent to a good first degree in the subject. 

GY472 aims to study how methods from economics, statistics and finance can be used to evaluate real estate investment opportunities, building the conceptual and analytical foundations from which sound investment analysis is established. Rather than surveying sector-specific conventions, the course operates at the level of first principles and deliberately orients students toward the methodological frontier.

The methods lectures cover four core areas: prediction modelling, ranging from hedonic pricing models to machine learning; risk estimation, drawing on financial theory and simulation approaches such as Monte Carlo analysis; forecasting techniques for assessing investment performance over time; and text analysis, tracing its development through to large language models and AI.

The applications lectures cover urban economics and how demand and supply affect investment values; greenfield development and land values; indirect real estate investment, including REITs and portfolio optimisation; and guest lectures from industry practitioners illustrating how these methods apply in real-world investment settings.

Assessment for the course will centre on the valuation of a mixed-use retail property in London. A field trip to tour the property and the surrounding urban environment will occur during the term.

20 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

In the Department of Geography and Environment, teaching will be delivered through a combination of classes/seminars, pre-recorded lectures, live online lectures and other supplementary interactive live activities.

Students will be expected to produce 2 essays in the WT.

• Archer, Wayne R., and David C. Ling. "The three dimensions of real estate markets: Linking space, capital, and property markets." Real Estate Finance 14.3 (1997): 5-11.
• Brueggeman, W. B. and J. D. Fisher (2005) Real Estate Finance & Investments (13th edition or newer), New York City, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
• Clayton, Jim, David C. Ling, and Andy Naranjo. "Commercial real estate valuation: fundamentals versus investor sentiment." The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 38.1 (2009): 5-37.
• Hoesli, Martin, Elion Jani, and André Bender. "Monte Carlo simulations for real estate valuation." Journal of Property Investment & Finance 24.2 (2006): 102-122.
• Gunnelin, Åke, et al. "Determinants of cross‐sectional variation in discount rates, growth rates and exit cap rates." Real Estate Economics 32.2 (2004): 217-237.
• Gyourko, Joseph, and Edward Nelling. "Systematic risk and diversification in the equity REIT market." Real Estate Economics 24.4 (1996): 493-515.
• Lieser, Karsten, and Alexander Peter Groh. "The determinants of international commercial real estate investment." The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 48.4 (2014): 611-659.
• Plazzi, Alberto, Walter Torous, and Rossen Valkanov. "Expected returns and expected growth in rents of commercial real estate." The Review of Financial Studies 23.9 (2010): 3469-3519.
• Sivitanidou, Rena. "Urban spatial variations in office-commercial rents: the role of spatial amenities and commercial zoning." Journal of urban Economics 38.1 (1995): 23-49.
• Daníelsson, Jón. Financial risk forecasting: the theory and practice of forecasting market risk with implementation in R and Matlab. Vol. 588. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.

Presentation (15%).

Report (60%, 2000 words) in Spring Term Week 1.

Report (25%, 3500 words).