Research at the Division of Real Estate Economics and Finance

In the area of real estate, housing, and urban economics, there are a large number of social challenges. This concern questions about the functioning of the housing market, housing affordability, housing shortage, and over-indebtedness, and partly how the real estate sector should respond to the climate threat. In addition, there exist new research that applies real options models, e.g., for land valuation.

The research profile at the Division for Real Estate Economics and Finance can be described based on several themes. These include real estate economics and finance, housing economics, real options, and construction economics. The research focuses on commercial real estate markets and housing markets. Furthermore, the research study both direct and indirect real estate markets.

The research is mainly based on economic theory but is applied to our thematic areas. Since the real estate markets are highly integrated with the financial markets and the overall macroeconomic environment, the research also takes into consideration the interaction between the different markets and macroeconomic variables.

The research is based on quantitative research methods, with a focus on empirical research aiming at estimating causal relationships. However, some research also focuses on the development of theoretical mathematical models of real estate markets. Forecasting of property prices and quantification of property price risks also belong to the research agenda. Research on securitized (listed) real estate markets has grown in importance, where applied financial econometrics research on the price and return data of public REITs and listed real estate sector indexes are at focus.