REAL ESTATE MARKETS (URBAN 5039)

Summative Assessment 2024/25 Session

You work in the research department of Reintel, a leading international real estate consultancy and analytics firm. Recently, Skyline Developers Limited (SDL) has approached your company for a comprehensive analysis of the Scottish office market. SDL seeks to acquire a property that offers the best potential for redevelopment, aiming for long-term sustainable returns. Due to the terms and conditions associated with their development finance, SDL's focus is solely on the office sector and they are not open to any recommendations to invest in any other sector. SDL has built a strong reputation by delivering high-quality developments across various property sectors in England and now aims to expand its portfolio by investing in high-performing markets within Scotland. The two properties in the market are detailed in the table below.

Your client is a member of the Better Buildings Partnership, a collaboration of leading property owners dedicated to enhancing the sustainability of commercial buildings. SDL is open to any recommendations on how to effectively promote their sustainability and net zero corporate goals, while also achieving their financial objectives. An assessment of their current portfolio in England shows a strong proportion of BREEAM-certified buildings.

As a key member of the department, you have been asked by your line manager to produce a research-informed professional report and make reasoned recommendations to your client. You have not been given any structure or outline to follow, but have been advised to address the following in your report:

1) Analysis of key macro-environmental factors across different geographical levels and influence of local economy on the property sector under consideration.

2) Evaluation of past performance of the office markets using relevant indicators, visualisations and metrics that allow for effective comparative analysis.

3) Use of relevant empirical data and literature to analyse the effect of accessibility (i.e., intra- and inter-city transport networks) on the sector under focus.

4) Critical discussion of potential implications for the real estate sector of any recent or planned government policies, investment and economic development activities that are affecting (or might affect) the sector’s performance in the city and more specifically, the two local areas.

5) Future prospects for the relevant (sub)markets, accompanied by clear advice and recommendations on which markets to invest in, as well as effective investment strategies for the client to achieve their investment objectives.

You will realise the analysis will require you to compare market areas; this is best achieved by adopting relative indices and historical trends analysis. Your aim, in addition to the city-wide analysis, should be to present data that helps to show the merits and demerits of each area and their future trajectories. But in doing so, you must substantiate your assertions, advice and recommendations with relevant data and reflect on the implications of different perspectives provided by scholarly publications (peer-reviewed articles and books) and industry publications.

Marking criteria and weightings

Your report will be graded using the following criteria:

The assignment requires you to strike a balance between theoretical/conceptual argument, market evidence and discussion. It should be written professionally and should contain supporting evidence including academic references and other publications (e.g., real estate market reports, government agencies, economic reports, etc.). Sources of all data used for charts or tables must be duly acknowledged. You will  come across ready-made charts from real estate market reports and may be tempted to simply copy and paste them into your report. Avoid this practice as it contravenes an important intended learning outcome of this module (i.e., students should be able to search for, collate and analyse property market and macro-economic data) and will detract significantly from the originality/quality of your report and reduce your overall mark.

Submission requirements

The assignment should be submitted by noon on Wednesday 15th January 2025 through the Turnitin link available on Moodle. Assignments not submitted by the deadline will be subjected to a 2-mark deduction for each working day overdue, subject to a maximum of five working days. If an assignment has not been submitted within five working days of the deadline, it will be awarded zero (grade H). You are advised to run your coursework through Turnitin as a draft before making the final submission to avoid the consequence of unintended plagiarism, you can do that using the ‘Turnitin Draft’ link. For more information about University’s assessment and policy on plagiarism, please read the PGT handbook available on REPR Moodle.

You should reference appropriately and follow normal conventions for the Harvard style. of referencing. The word limit is 2,500 words (+/-10 per cent) including titles, tables, footnotes, and appendices but excluding references/bibliography. There are penalties on assignments that are longer than +10%. Submissions that go 10-14% over the word limit on an assessment will be subject to a 1-point deduction; 15-19% over a 2-point deduction; 20-24% over a 3-point deduction and 25% or more over will be awarded a failure grade (zero) and required to resubmit as a second attempt. More details can be found in the PGT handbook. Note that you must get a grade of D3(9) or above to pass this module. Resit/reassessment is allowed but it requires further approval from the course convener and administration team. The resit/reassessment results will be capped at C3 (12) when calculating GPA.

Getting help

It is normal for students to seek further clarification while writing the summative assessment, issues requiring further clarification might be generic or specific to individuals. The best way to ask such questions is to post them on the Moodle assignment forum where everyone can have a chance to see them and my responses. It will also prevent the same set of questions from being asked repeatedly unnecessarily. However, you are equally free to email me directly to ask questions that are peculiar to you. Please bear in mind that I am unable to respond to academic questions over weekends and holidays and might also not be able on the assignment due date.

Further information

You must not consult any company or real estate professional for this assignment, if you need to make any request at all, such requests must be channelled through the module coordinator. This is an independent submission and not a group work, therefore, penalties will apply if there is evidence that any groups of people have submitted reports with elements that are joint efforts. Plagiarism and contracting someone to write are considered serious academic offences by the University and might have adverse consequences on your academic progression.