It has been 70 days since the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the US. Since then it has spread and grown in all but 2 of 376 MSAs and all but 45 of the 636 counties that are contained in these MSA. In this paper we examine the determinants of how rapidly the virus grows once it has been...

We examine the 10k reports for 122 of the largest US “retail” firms, and analyze the impacts on their operating costs and factor usage of what venues they use to sell their goods: traditional stores that they operate, internet sales, and wholesaling to other stores. We find that the firm...

We utilize the data set developed by Acemoglu & Restrepro (2017) depicting the likely adoption rate of robots by firms in each US MSA. Our focus is on the impact of this automation metric on the market for industrial real estate (factories and warehouses). We get similar results to their...

This paper applies structural econometric methodology to estimating and forecasting the greater London office market. We assemble a time series covering the 1970-1995 period and estimate equations for net space absorption, movements in rents and new building orders. Together with two identities,...

This paper demonstrates that different types of real estate can have very different cyclic properties. Empirically, this is shown to be true, and the question is posed as to what might distinguish between property markets where movements are largely stable responses to repeated economic shocks...

Current construction cost indices typically are derived by applying national weights to local costs for materials and labor. In this study, construction cost indices are developed that are based on actual contractor tenders for projects. As such, they incorporate full variation in factor...

This paper is able to put together a data base of 86 repeat sales transactions for office properties in lower and mid town Manhattan spanning the years from 1899 through 1999. Using this very limited data base, decade-interval changes in real property prices are estimated - with varying degrees...

It has been more than 100 days since the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the US. Until most recently information on the spread of the disease was not available by geographic areas smaller than counties. In an earlier piece we found a significant positive impact of county density on the...

This paper examines the inflation in housing prices between 1998 and 2005 and investigates whether this run-up in prices can be explained by increases in demand fundamentals such as population, income growth, and the decline in interest rates over this period. Time series models are estimated...

“CoWorking” represents a new way of providing office space to corporate workers. Rather than companies acquiring dedicated space for their workforce at one or a few sites under long term leases (or ownership), companies contract with a “service provider” to have their workers housed...