Real option theory models real estate development as a developer-controlled exercise of an option to construct the optimal structure at the optimal time. In practice, most projects encounter a highly uncertain entitlement (i.e., regulatory approval) process that is largely uncontrollable by the...

The purpose of this chapter is to survey recent research on housing markets and policy in what used to be called the “second” and “third” worlds. We adopt the labels “transition” economies to refer to countries as disparate as Russia and Vietnam, and “developing” to refer to...

We use a model and show how inflation and mortgage loans based on nominal interest rates (NRMs), like FRMs, ARMs or IOs, are a source of instability for housing markets. NRMs allocate risk inappropriately and cause economic tensions due to the tilt effect (Lessard and Modigliani, 1975), the...

This article argues that New York municipalities should integrate land banks into the tax enforcement process to break the unhealthy cycle perpetuated by real estate and lien speculators. By transferring all tax liens and foreclosed properties to local land banks, municipalities can generate an...

Technology capacity and innovations conflate notions of private and public spaces; the latter today incorporate the Internet “lane,” while private spaces seek access to that pathway. Merchants and their landlords seemingly find themselves in a paradox. They must embrace consumer technology...

This Article considers the future interaction of environmental regulation and private property rights, with an emphasis on climate change issues. It concludes that environmental issues not satisfactorily resolved at the federal level will lead to more state and local regulation that impinges on...

Arguably the biggest obstacle to the realisation of India's urbanisation goals is the acute shortage of affordable housing. On an economy-wide scale, there is also growing evidence of inflated housing prices contributing to social and macro-economic problems.Since the quantity of land available...

This critical analysis contributes to a better understanding of urban land values by unifying the real option and redevelopment decision literatures within a broader context of real estate valuation. By combining these heretofore disparate literatures in this way, both academics and practioners...

Identifying which areas of a municipality are experiencing redevelopment, zoning changes, land assembly, and land subdivision is of great interest to many real estate professionals. Despite this interest, finding out where this activity is occurring across a large municipality can be quite...

In both economic and legal scholarship, a broad consensus has formed that zoning and other land use laws and regulations in our richest and most productive regions have become too strict. Land use laws, in both suburbs and downtowns, have made it too hard to build housing in the areas with the...