REMF70: Real Estate Finance

Module code: REMF70

Module provider: Real Estate and Planning; Henley Business School

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Xiaolun Yu, email: xiaolun.yu@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: No

Last updated: 28 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The module presents in depth concepts of real estate finance, both theoretically and empirically. It can be seen as an advanced course in corporate finance (funding and valuation) applied to real estate topics.

The module aims to enable students to interpret the main principles of corporate finance (cost of funding and valuation) with an appropriate emphasis on real estate. It will allow students to recognise the strategic importance of real estate to corporate financial decision-making processes. Finally, analytical and financial modelling skills will be improved. 

Module learning outcomes

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

• systematically understand how financial issues influence decisions involving real estate within firms;
• analyse the capital structure of a real estate firm and its weighted average cost of capital;
• examine the main sources of funding and their pricing;
• critically apply and evaluate different appraisal methods used for real estate assets.

Module content

• Reporting of real estate companies in financial accounts;  
• Principles underlying decisions about capital structure, debt and equity financing;  
• Comparison of valuation methods used in finance and real estate;  
• Application of real option analysis to real estate finance decisions;  
• Analysis of lease or buy decisions for both financial and accounting aspects; 
• Real estate investment risk assessment; 
• The impacts of economic shocks and green finance on real estate investment.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The delivery of this module consists of both lectures and tutorials. The tutorials are designed to provide feedback to students on their learning process and case study analysis. Students are expected to complete all work set every week, and they may be called upon to answer questions. 

Study hours

At least 30 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.

Students will receive feedback on the work they produce on a weekly basis. This will be done through practical sessions (workshops) where they can compare their work with a proposed solution and ask questions to develop their knowledge further. At the end of the semester, students will make group presentation on a case study and will receive feedback on their analysis. 

Reassessment

Additional costs