REAL2040 - Real Estate Law (Course Syllabus)
This course examines the fundamentals of real estate finance and development from a legal and managerial perspective. The course serves as a foundation course for real estate majors and provides an introduction to real estate for other students. It attempts to develop skills in using legal concepts in a real estate transactional setting. The course will be of interest to students contemplating careers in accounting, real estate development, real estate finance, city planning, or banking. The main topics covered may include the following: land acquisition, finance; choice of entity; tax aspects; management (leasing, environmental); disposition of real property (sale of mortgaged property, foreclosures, wraparound mortgages, sale-leasebacks); and recent legal developments. Lectures and class discussion required.
REAL2050 - Global Real Estate (Course Syllabus)
This is an introductory course on real estate markets around the world. The goal of the course is to help students develop a global mindset by introducing and applying the basics of real estate valuation and risk management to a wide range of global contexts. The course emphasizes topics students will need to understand cross-border real estate strategies, including currency risk, political risk, rule of law, property rights, and culture. We will discuss relevant current events and use them to characterize risks facing real estate investors. The course largely covers markets outside the United States, except when it is useful to compare with the U.S. or for occasional special topics. We will focus more on the qualitative aspects of real estate investment analysis and less on the quantitative aspects. This is a full-semester course, cross-listed for MBA’s and undergraduates. REAL 2050 can be counted toward the Wharton Undergraduate Global Economy, Business, and Society (GEBS) requirement.
REAL2080 - Housing Markets (Course Syllabus)
This course is designed for students interested in the economics and operations of housing markets. It is primarily a U.S.-focused course. The class is divided into five sections: (1) economic analysis of housing market fundamentals (supply and demand); (2) a policy analysis section on housing affordability issues in the U.S.; (3) operations of homebuilders and rental landlords, as well as the single family rental sector; this section includes a series of guest lecturers from industry executives; (4) the nature of housing cycles; and (5) a discussion of factors that have affected the evolution of housing markets over the long run. This course presumes knowledge of intermediate microeconomics. For Wharton students, this means you must have passed BEPP 2500. Non-Wharton students should have taken the equivalent course in the College. The class is primarily lecture based, although we will have one flipped class, as well as a number of guest lecturers from industry. There are two in-class midterms and two assignments.
Prerequisites: BEPP 2500
REAL2090 - Real Estate Investments (Course Syllabus)
This course provides an introduction to real estate investing with a focus on financial and economic analysis. It is intended both as a foundational class for students considering a career in real estate as well as a survey class for students interested in finance who want to learn about the real estate sector. Project evaluation, financing strategies, risk assessment, investment decision making, and real estate capital markets are covered. No prior knowledge of the industry is required, but students will rapidly acquire a working knowledge of real estate markets and will quickly develop the quantitative tools to help them make investment decisions. Classes are conducted in a standard lecture format with discussion required. The course contains cases that help students evaluate the impact of more complex financing and capital markets tools used in real estate. There are three case studies and two midterms. FNCE 1000 is required as the class assumes comfort with Corporate Finance concepts and terms.
Prerequisites: FNCE 1000
REAL2150 - Urban Real Estate Econ (Course Syllabus)
Urban Real Estate Economics uses economic concepts to analyze real estate markets, values, and trends. The course focuses on market dynamics in the U.S. and internationally, with an emphasis on how urban growth and local and federal government policies impact urban development and real estate pricing. A group development project gives hands on experience, and invited guest speakers bring industry knowledge. Besides the group project and presentation, problem sets are required along with a midterm and optional second exam. Lecture with discussion required.
REAL2300 - Urban Fiscal Policy (Course Syllabus)
This course will examine the provision of public services for firms and people through cities and other local governments. Why cities exist, when fiscal policy fails, investments in infrastructure, how to improve school quality, realities of local governments such as inequality, crime, corruption, high cost of living, congestion, and unfunded pensions will be covered. We will pay special attention to recent topics, such as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on city and public school finances, racial differences in police use of force, partnerships with the private sector, enterprise zones, the role of technology, and real estate policies that may (or may not!) promote housing affordability, such as inclusionary zoning and rent control.
REAL2360 - Int'l Housing Comparisns (Course Syllabus)
This course analyzes housing finance systems and housing market outcomes across the globe. In the US, the course focuses on the development of securitization markets and addresses the current challenges of housing finance reform, including the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Internationally, the course covers issues of access to housing and housing informality in developing countries, financial crises arising out of the housing sector, and market-oriented and public policy solutions. The course features a wide array of speakers in finance, government and academia who contribute their perspectives to pressing issues of mortgage market design. REAL 2360 can be counted toward the Wharton Undergraduate Global Economy, Business, and Society (GEBS) requirement.
REAL2400 - Adv Real Est Inv, Analys (Course Syllabus)
This course is designed for majors in Real Estate, but is also open to finance-oriented students who wish a deeper analysis of real estate investment and investment analysis issues than that offered in REAL 209. The class will contain a mixture of lectures, guest speakers and case discussions. Academic research is paired with recent industry analysis of key issues in order to marry sound theory and empirical results with current events and practices. Several classes will include lectures outlining what economics and finance tell us about a number of topics. Generally, these will be followed by guest lectures from industry professionals who will focus on a specific application of the principles introduced in the lectures.
Prerequisites: REAL 2090 OR FNCE 2090
REAL3210 - Real Estate Development (Course Syllabus)
This course evaluates "ground-up" development as well as re-hab, re-development, and acquisition investments. We examine raw and developed land and the similarities and differences of traditional real estate product types including office, R & D, retail, warehouses, single family and multi-family residential, mixed use, and land as well as "specialty" uses like golf courses, assisted living, and fractional share ownership. Emphasis is on concise analysis and decision making. We discuss the development process with topics including market analysis, site acquisition, due diligence, zoning, entitlements, approvals, site planning, building design, construction, financing, leasing, and ongoing management and disposition. Special topics like workouts and running a development company are also discussed. Course lessons apply to all markets, but the class discusses U.S. markets only. Throughout the course, we focus on risk management and leadership issues. Numerous guest lecturers who are leaders in the real estate industry participate in the learning process. Format: predominately case analysis and discussion, some lectures.
Prerequisites: REAL 2090 OR FNCE 2090
REAL3700 - Real Estate Data Analytics (Course Syllabus)
In real estate investment, data is used in a variety of ways to inform decision-making. The purpose of this course is to gain familiarity with analytical tools and techniques as they relate to guiding investment in primary real estate markets and capital markets. Students will learn statistical methods, data manipulation, data visualization, and apply business analytics tools to data on properties, mortgages, and macroeconomic indicators. A series of guest speakers will demonstrate how analytics is used in the industry, and the strengths and limitations of using data to guide investment decisions. The course will use data analytics to connect economics and finance concepts with real-world applications. The course will primarily use the R software package, but relevant materials will be provided and no prior coding experience is necessary. REAL 3700 can be counted toward the Wharton Undergraduate Technology, Innovation and Analytics (TIA) requirement.
Prerequisites: STAT 1010
REAL3750 - Real Estate Disruptions (Course Syllabus)
In the years before Covid, real Estate started to change dramatically for the first time in perhaps one hundred years. Covid and its aftermath led to further disruptions. This class will examine how technology is changing in many facets (all) of the industry. This course will address how technology has already changed the demand for real estate and how it will likely change how real estate is used, designed, developed, constructed, managed, leased, maintained, and financed. Among many questions to be considered: Can you crowd-fund real estate development? Will the office business become a part of hospitality? Can we build new buildings like we assemble legos? How will autonomous vehicles affect the demand for space and property values? What is the future of new data analytics services? What are the effects of working from home on cities and various real estate asset classes? This team-taught course will bring together a recognized industry leader and Wharton faculty. Includes a broad set of guest lecturers (Start-up entrepreneurs, incumbents, non-RE technology specialists, etc.). We believe there is no single approach to gaining insight into disruptions and change under uncertainty, so we will propose a mix of approaches, including in-depth case studies, interactions with guest lecturers who handle those issues daily, learning from economic history and other industries, and drawing from core economic concepts. REAL 3750 can be counted toward the Wharton Undergraduate Technology, Innovation and Analytics (TIA) requirement.
Prerequisites: REAL 2090 OR FNCE 2090
REAL3960 - Real Estate Entrepreneur (Course Syllabus)
This half-semester course focuses on the entrepreneurial aspects of the real estate investment business. The course structure is designed to track the life cycle of real estate investing with different units focusing on discrete stages of the deal process from sourcing, financing, and capital raising through asset management and property disposition. At each juncture, granular attention is paid to real-life deal making skills, all from the perspective of an entrepreneur operating with limited resources in different economic environments. As part of the class, students will analyze deals, models and investment documentation that, once assembled and retained, will arm them with a comprehensive "deal tool kit" that they can continuously reference as they engage in real estate transactions throughout their career. At the end of the course, time will be allocated to discuss the trajectory of entrepreneurship and how it corresponds to careers in the real estate business.
Prerequisites: FNCE 1000
REAL3990 - Independent Study (Course Syllabus)
All independent studies must be arranged and approved by a Real Estate department faculty member.