The Economics of Urban Real Estate Markets and the Built Environment
This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the economics of urban real estate markets and the built environment. This will include links between market drivers of property use and value, durability of buildings and infrastructure, finance, and social policy. The course begins with analysis of the 2007 housing market crash and the financial crisis it precipitated. Spatial patterns of development and real estate values are then considered, including patterns extending out from city centers, moving up high in tall commercial buildings, and differences across metropolitan areas. The course concludes with assessment of how new strategies to facilitate urban transportation along with work-from-home have potential to threaten central city office markets and affect patterns of development in cities.
Topics
- Apply the tools of supply and demand to explain spatial patterns of land use and value.
- Explain drivers of volatility in real estate markets and assess the potential for mispricing.
- Explain why cities typically have expensive housing and commercial space.
- Assess how different strategies to facilitate urban travel along with work-from-home may affect office markets and patterns of development in cities.
Official roster learning outcomes
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027