REMB35: Residential Real Estate and Policy

Module code: REMB35

Module provider: Real Estate and Planning; Henley Business School

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Cornelia Agyenim-Boateng, email: cornelia.agyenim-boateng@henley.reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: na

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 28 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module will provide students with an awareness of the economic principles that underpin residential property markets and relevant government policies.  

Housing has always been a fundamental basis for human life. Recently though, it has also grown to become the world’s largest asset class, powered by three decades of rapid global house price inflation.  What happens in housing markets therefore affects almost everything; from financial market stability, to wealth inequalities; from national productivity, to rates of child birth.  
 
This module aims to provide students with an understanding of why global, national and local housing markets operate as they do, and the implications this has for economies and societies more generally.  It also aims to provide students with an understanding of how different types of policy – town planning, fiscal, monetary, etc. – can shape housing markets. 
 
The module explores what has happened to global housing markets over the last century, examining the key supply and demand-side determinants of house prices, rents and affordability. It explores the role of mortgage finance, the relationship between housing markets and the macro-economy, and the recent growth of institutional investment in housing as an asset class. It highlights the distinct features of housing and land markets which make them susceptible to market failure, and discusses the various ways in which the state can intervene to potentially address these market failures. 
 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

• Apply economic and financial theory to housing market analysis with appropriate reference to advanced academic research; 
• Discuss the distinct features of land and housing markets, and analyse the implications for policy; 
• Comprehensively discuss the supply-side and demand-side drivers of housing markets, including the role of mortgage finance, investment and the planning system; 
• Critically analyse the relationship between housing markets and the broader political-economic context at a local, regional, national and international scale. 

Module content

• Key historical trends in global housing and land markets
• Special characteristics of housing and land markets
• Supply and demand-side determinants of house prices and rents
• Analysing and predicting local/ regional/ national housing markets
• Housing finance and the growing role of mortgage markets
• Relationship between housing markets and the macro-economy
• Housing tenure choices; the decline of home-ownership; and the rise of private renting
• Institutional investment in residential real estate as an asset class
• Limits to housing supply, including the role of landowners, the housebuilding industry, planning systems and politics
• State interventions in the housing market: rent control, low-income housing and home-ownership subsidies
• Comparing international housing markets and housing systems

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will compriseof a series of hybrid in-person seminars/lectures, supported by virtual drop-in sessions 

Study hours

At least 24 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs