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CRER Vol. 07 (2009)

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    CMBS: An Introduction
    Weis, Alex; Njoku, John (2009-05-01)
    Commercial backed securities (CMBS) were conceived during the last major real estate downturn- the Savings & Loan Crisis of the early 1990s- as an answer to a lack of liquidity which plagued real estate. Deemed viable financial instruments, they were extolled as risk mitigators and credit enhancers and provided a means to finance large transactions by breaking them into smaller components.
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    Seven World Trade Center: An Unlikely Success
    Norwood, John (2009-05-01)
    On October 21, 2004, developer Larry Silverstein joined Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg in signing the final steel beam for 7 World Trade Center before 500 of the project’s construction workers. The beam, wrapped in the same American flag that had been used less than two decades prior for the original building, was then hoisted over 700 feet and set into place atop the 52-storey structure1.
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    Retail Site Selection: A New, Innovative Model for Retail Development
    Ladle, Joshua K.; Stiller, Duane; Stiller, David (2009-05-01)
    This paper provides insight into the site-selection process for retail real estate decisions. After briefly exploring current methods of retail site selection, this paper will present a new method for site selection: the “regression approach for retail site selection.” This method—introduced through a case study determines a retailer’s key site selection criteria based on historical data from past site selections. A developer can then extrapolate any retailer’s past decisions to find attractive new sites for the retailer.
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    Golden Hills Residential Development
    Kollmann, Lars; Olsen, C. Bradley (2009-05-01)
    The Golden Hills Case Study is focused around the financial analysis and evaluation of two undeveloped tracts within a master-planned community in the Los Angeles region. The owner of the two parcels, Reality Development, has received an offer from a competitor to buy the land. In the role of Marc Baker, the protagonist of the case study, the task is to evaluate the net present value of the land if Reality were to develop it and compare the results again the offered price. As the market had turned after the burst of the internet bubble and demand for smaller unit had increased, the approved plans and product mix - that would represent a continuation of the existing surrounding - appeared to be not the most favorable solution as it has a concentration of three-bedroom houses. For this reason an alternative product mix with increased density and a faster overall absorption was developed. But not only the start of the construction would be delayed as the new design would maybe also face resistance from the existing community. A decision is to be made on how to proceed, assessing both the quantitative as well as relevant qualitative aspects.
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    2008 Cornell Real Estate Conference Highlights
    (2009-05-01)
    The 26th annual conference was held on September 26-27, 2008 in Ithaca, New York featuring key note speaker Stephen J. Furnary, Chairman & CEO of ING Clarion.
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    Front Cover
    (2009-05-01)
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    Compensation Structure of Buyer Brokers and Residential Real Estate Transactions
    Liu, Peng; Weidel, Richard III (2009-07-01)
    [Excerpt] Traditionally, commission rates were set by local boards of realtors. However, shortly after the inception of the Multiple Listing Service (“MLS”), the Federal Trade Commission began requiring brokers to disclose that commissions were “not set by any governing body and [were] negotiable between the Seller and the Listing Broker.” 1 Despite this disclosure requirement, the tradition of charging a standard commission percentage and equally splitting this commission between brokers continued. While a chorus of voices alleged collusion, the standard commission rate appears to have resulted from competitive market forces pushing rates to their lowest level.2 However, in the 1990s, as Limited Service Discount Brokers (“LSDB”) started taking market share from traditional brokers, the traditional brokers began to lower their commission rates to compete with these LSDB. The market driven commission rates dropped from the standard six percent to a range between four to five percent. Although most LSDB proved to be unprofitable and unsustainable, the lower commission rates have prevailed.
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    Galisteo Basin Preserve
    Grooms, Tyler (2009-07-01)
    [Excerpt] Conservation easements can act as a catalyst for new development by increasing land values, improving public access to recreational spaces, and provide land owners with tax savings, among other benefits. Furthermore, the public benefit and growing appeal of sustainable development approaches, such as conservation easements, can help fast track and improve the odds of approval of a project. Conservation easements are not without their costs, however. These costs include giving up developable land and creating a stewardship program, as well as other costs. Commonweal Conservancy acts as an example of the implementation of a large scale conservation easement as the centerpiece of a development. While the conservation easement plays a key role in sustainability efforts, it is the entire process that matters, from education of the community to choosing the right product for the market, to promoting stewardship into the future. Commonweal Conservancy’s case exemplifies this process.
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    Valuation Using Hedonic Pricing Models
    Monson, Matt (2009-07-01)
    Buildings can be compared to a bundle of goods sold in a market, where each of the building characteristics combined equate to the expected overall transaction value. By collecting data on many different buildings a regression analysis can be used to determine the correlation (relationship) of each characteristic to the transaction price —e.g. physical characteristics and other external influencing elements that may add or subtract from the building value. Each of these correlations can be measured to determine a degree of confidence (i.e. significance) and then subsequently be used to build a hedonic pricing model. Hedonic pricing models can be useful to determine the intrinsic value of each attribute, as well as to predict transaction prices. This can be particularly useful when traditional discounted cash flow models fall short because of the absence of a market, when no comparable buildings exist, and for nonincome generating buildings.
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    Miscellaneous Backmatter
    (2009-05-01)