Advanced Real Estate Development and Finance

Guest instructors: Frank Apeseche, Glenn Mueller, Richard Georgi and Jack RodmanThis course builds on GSD 5204 and comparable introductory real estate courses offered by other schools at Harvard. This year\’s course covers four main topics: (1) advanced financial analysis and deal structuring for land and building development, (2) Debt and equity capital – how to structure a capital proposal and where to go for different types of equity; raising money from private equity and other sources (3) REITS, public real estate markets, and market cycles; (4) international fund investment; and (5) Buying distressed debt and non-performing loans with emphasis on Asian capital markets. The objective of the course is to give students in-depth financial analytical skills for the dominant forms of real estate financing, fund management, and development. Using case studies and lectures, the course focuses on advanced real estate finance topics for all major real estate product-types including apartments, office, retail, industrial, single-family, and land development. The course also emphasizes financial structuring and key decision-making for all phases of the development process including site selection, due diligence, design, financing, construction, leasing, operations, and sales. The course will be team-taught by five faculty, coordinated by Professor Richard Peiser. Each faculty member is a specialist in the area he is covering in the class. Their course topics, brief descriptions, and emails for contact purposes are the following:Richard Peiser – How to analyze investment returns and structure development deals for income property developments and for land developments. Topics include land and community development and mixed-use development as well as the 5 stages of income property analysis. Richard Peiser is the Michael D. Spear Professor of Real Estate Development at Harvard Design School.