Publications

December 2012
Teaching Note

The Paris Opera Hotel (TN)

By: Arthur I Segel

This case provides an introduction to hotel investment, development and management from the perspective of a short term oriented investor group. Students learn that hotels are a unique real estate property type, with performance often tied to the broader economy, and... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Hotel; Paris; Business or Company Management; Negotiation; Finance; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

30 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Real Estate: The Most Imperfect Asset

my course is about risk mitigation. I hope they will be able to answer the following question after a term in my course: How does one use all the tools learned at HBS to successfully structure deals and companies around the risks in this... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston; Real Estate; Real Estate

16 May 2018
News

How Companies Can Use the Data They Collect to Further the Public Good

June 2012 (Revised September 2015)
Case

The Paris Opera Hotel

By: Arthur I. Segel and Chad M. Carr

Real estate investor Javier Faus invests in a luxury hotel development in central Paris, and must select a management company. View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; International Business; Capital Investments; Investment; Property; Business or Company Management; Real Estate Industry; Paris

January 2017
Teaching Note

SOHO China: Transformation in Progress

By: Charles F. Wu and Alexander W. Schultz

In 2016 against the backdrop of a challenging Chinese macroeconomic environment, SOHO China, the largest owner and developer of Class-A real estate in Beijing and Shanghai, was struggling to convince analysts of the merits of their new “build-to-hold” strategy. Founded... View Details

Keywords: Merchant Builder; Real Estate Development; Public Markets; China; Shared Office Space; Growth and Development Strategy; Property; Construction; Stocks; Financial Markets; Marketing Strategy; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; China

2025
Working Paper

Fiscal Externalities of Transaction Taxes: Evidence from the Los Angeles Mansion Tax

By: Daniel Green, Vikram Jambulapati, Jack Liebersohn and Tejaswi Velayudhan

We estimate the fiscal externalities of a property transfer tax, the Los Angeles “Mansion Tax”, on the revenues from property taxes when assessed values are closely tied to transactions. In California, as in over half of U.S. states, growth in tax as- sessments... View Details

Keywords: Public Finance; Real Estate; Property Demand; Taxation; Property; Revenue; Los Angeles

SSRN

July 2020 (Revised September 2020)
Case

Property Finder's Strategy for Online Classifieds in the MENA Region

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Gamze Yucaoglu and Fares Khrais

The case opens in 2020 as Michael Lahyani, founder and CEO of Property Finder, Dubai’s leading online real estate classifieds portal, contemplates the company’s five-year growth strategy.
Since its founding in 2005 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Property... View Details

Keywords: General Business; Real Estate; Entrepreneurship; Property; Strategy; Emerging Markets; Growth Management; Online Technology; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; United Arab Emirates; Saudi Arabia; Egypt; Turkey

06 Apr 2025
News

Headcount at the World’s Largest Real Estate Brokerage Is Shrinking, and Two Lawsuits Claiming Sexual Assaults Inside the Company May Offer Clues as to Why

July 2012 (Revised August 2015)
Case

SOHO China: Design, Development, and Social Harmony

By: Arthur I Segel and Mukti Khaire

Founded in 1995 by Zhang Xin and her husband Mr. Pan Shiyi, SOHO China has developed into a world-class real estate development firm that has consistently delivered high-quality projects known for their cutting-edge designs and investment potential. Despite the... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Organizational Culture; Leasing; Design; Asset Management; Salesforce Management; Sales; Real Estate Industry; China

Web

The Forgotten Real Estate Boom - Bubbles, Panics & Crashes – Historical Collections – Harvard Business School

data on 1920s home prices and foreclosures means that many questions remain unanswered. 22 Historical trade publications like the weekly New York Real Estate Record and... View Details

2021
Working Paper

The Business of K-12 Education in China

By: Geoffrey Jones and Yuhai Wu

This working paper examines the evolution of K-12 education in China, especially between 1985 and the present day, drawing extensive interviews with participants in the educational sector. China has been hugely successful in reaching almost 100 percent literacy,... View Details

Keywords: K-12 Education; China; Real Estate; Early Childhood Education; Performance Evaluation; Teaching; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Personal Development and Career; Social Issues; Nonprofit Organizations; Private Sector; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; China

Read Now

September 2024
Case

Faena: Magic in Mid-Miami Beach

By: Robin Greenwood, Denise Han, Dave Habeeb and Ruth Page

The link to this multimedia case should be provided to students in advance as preparation for classroom case discussion.

This multimedia case follows real estate developer Alan Faena as he expanded his luxury development business from Argentina to the... View Details

Article

Healthy Buildings in 2070

By: John D. Macomber and Joseph G. Allen

Fifty years seems a very long time in the future for most industries. Not so in buildings and real estate; built structures routinely last decades if not hundreds of years, as long as they are economically competitive. Any discussion of the 50-year future has to... View Details

Keywords: Health ＆ Wellness; Real Estate; Architectural Innovation; Public Health; Health; Buildings and Facilities; Well-being

Read Now

23 Aug 2006
Op-Ed

The Real Wal-Mart Effect

the world's largest company, primarily focused on its treatment of workers. The recent spate of books on the company is no exception. Some are overtly critical, for example Anthony Bianco's The Bully of Bentonville: How the High Cost of... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat & Ken A. Mark; Retail

March 2020
Case

A Tower for the People: 425 Park Avenue

By: John Macomber, Joseph G. Allen and Emily Jones

Healthy buildings and superior air quality are increasingly important since people now spend so much time indoors. Indoor spaces drive performance and productivity. Commercial real estate landlords and investors are responding to the demands of sophisticated tenants... View Details

Keywords: Health And Wellness; Real Estate; Sustainability; Health; Pollution; Buildings and Facilities; Performance Productivity; Finance; Real Estate Industry; New York (city, NY)

Research Summary

Energy, IT, real estate, and sustainability

By: Rebecca M. Henderson

Professor Henderson’s current research focuses on the energy, information technology, and real estate sectors and the challenges firms encounter as they attempt to act in more sustainable ways. This work is an outgrowth of her decade-long examination of the... View Details

Fast Answer

REITs (real estate investment trusts)

Where do I find information on real estate investment trusts (REITs)? General Background: National Association of Real Estate Investment... View Details

29 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

Are First-Time Buyers Left Out of Real Estate’s Rebound?

interest tax deduction. Retsinas is a senior lecturer in real estate at Harvard Business School, director emeritus of Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, and former Federal Housing... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Real Estate

March 2014
Supplement

China Vanke (A-3)

By: Lynn S. Paine, John Macomber and Keith Chi-ho Wong

China Vanke's president is considering whether and how the company might make further inroads into the commercial real estate sector, while continuing to lead in the residential sector. He is also considering whether to branch into overseas residential markets such as... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; China; Sustainable Development; Green Building; Asset Management; Urban Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Safety; Assets; Real Estate Industry; China