Real Estate Finance (MGT 548/LAW 21401)

Course Description: 
This course offers a finance-based framework to analyze real estate investment problems encountered in the real world. Topics covered include valuation, underwriting and financing properties, REITs, land use regulation and taxation, and affordable housing. We will pay close attention throughout to the institutional features which distinguish real estate from other asset classes. About one-half of the course (Spring-1) will focus on residential real estate, and the other half (Spring-2) on commercial real estate. The course content includes lectures, guest speakers, cases, a take-home final exam, and assignments designed to help you gain practical experience evaluating individual assets and portfolios of properties. We will be using housing sale and commercial leasing data to apply accounting and valuation principles to timely situations, including the “work-from-home” shock to the commercial real estate market generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the recent iBuyer frenzy.


Enrollment Requirements: 
Reserved for MBA students, other students in master's programs at Yale SOM, and Yale Law School students. If there is space in the course, undergraduates and graduate students affiliated with other schools at Yale may enroll on a first-come, first-served basis by completing the steps with the Registrar as outlined here. 


Prerequisites: 
There are no formal prerequisites for this course. However, a background in economics and/or finance is useful. Sourcing & Managing Funds is the most closely related course from the MBA year 1 core. Some concepts from Basics of Accounting, The Global Macroeconomy, and Investor will also reappear. 


Syllabus:
The syllabus and all course materials can be found on the Canvas page for the course (Yale NETID login required).