Publications

December 1980 (Revised January 1992)
Case

Savannah West

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Allison Porter, a loan officer for Chemical Bank, must decide whether to make a construction loan on a 216-unit apartment building to be built in Savannah, Georgia. In teaching this case, one begins by looking at the economics, marketing data, etc., of the proposed... View Details

Keywords: Credit; Property; Financing and Loans; Banks and Banking; Housing; Risk Management; Valuation; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Georgia (state, US)

July 1979 (Revised August 1986)
Background Note

Sources of Real Estate Information

Keywords: Information; Real Estate Industry

May 1979 (Revised August 2013)
Background Note

Financial Analysis of Real Property Investments

Develops a conceptual framework for financial analysis of real estate investments, taking into consideration the necessity for baseline data, project trends, and forecast discontinuities. View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Investment Return; Trends; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

November 1978 (Revised January 1986)
Case

Stanford Court Condominiums

Keywords: Real Estate Industry

August 1977
Teaching Note

Sunshine Builders, Inc., Teaching Note

By: Jeffrey G. Miller and Steven C. Wheelwright

Teaching Note for (9-606-024). View Details

Keywords: Real Estate Industry

June 1975 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Angus Cartwright III

By: Kenneth J. Hatten, William J. Poorvu, Howard H. Stevenson, Arthur I. Segel and John H. Vogel, Jr.

Judy and John DeRight, looking to diversify their investment portfolios, have retained Angus Cartwright, Jr. to identify prospective real estate acquisitions. Mr. Cartwright has four potential properties that he feels merit an in-depth financial analysis. The case... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Cash Flow; Investment Return; Investment Portfolio; Taxation; Balanced Scorecard; Valuation

November 1972 (Revised December 2000)
Background Note

Note on Forms of Real Estate Ownership

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Thierry Liverman

Examines the legal forms of ownership of real property. Included are the corporation, partnership, limited partnership, business trust, real estate investment trust, sole proprietorship, and joint venture. Tax factors and business management considerations are... View Details

Keywords: Ownership; Property; Taxation; Business Organization

Article

Caveat Emptor in Real Estate Equities

By: Samuel Hayes and Leonard M. Harlan

May 1968 (Revised January 1992)
Case

Graybar Syndications

A potential investor evaluates a proposed offering—a major office building in downtown Manhattan. View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Investment; Construction; City; Valuation; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; New York (city, NY)

Article

Real Estate as a Corporate Investment

By: Samuel Hayes and Leonard M. Harlan

Research Summary

A Case Study Approach to Teaching Real Estate

William J. Poorvu has developed a casebook and instructor's manual for teaching real estate by the case method. Real Estate: A Case Study Approach elaborates a conceptual framework for viewing real estate and the real-estate process. The instructor's manual (which... View Details

Teaching Interest

Business Opportunties in Climate Adaptation

By: John D. Macomber

This is a Short Intensive Program or SIP at Harvard Business School. It’s an optional student offering prior to the formal start of the Spring semester the following week. SIPs tend to cover new material on current topics, to be less formal than the HBS Case Study... View Details

Keywords: Resilience; Climate Risk; Climate Impact; Fire Protection; Insurance Risk Exposure; Hedge Fund; Public Health; Public Health Measures; Climate Change; Adaptation; Infrastructure; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States; Africa; Latin America

Teaching Interest

Cities, Structures, and Climate Shocks

By: John D. Macomber

This course is about building sustainable and resilient cities, future proofing real estate and infrastructure assets, and examining how businesses and investors find opportunities in climate adaptation.

The world faces substantial challenges in the face of... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Economic Development; Climate Finance; Migration; Climate Change; Adaptation; Urban Development; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

Forthcoming
Article

Collusion in Brokered Markets

By: John William Hatfield, Scott Duke Kominers and Richard Lowery

High commissions in the U.S. residential real estate agency market present a puzzle for economic theory because brokerage is not a concentrated industry. We model brokered markets as a game in which agents post prices for customers and then choose which other agents to... View Details