The Chair’s research program target six areas of primary focus around which various projects undertaken by teams composed of researchers, experts, doctoral or masters students and postdoctoral fellows are deployed.
1 – Real Estate Careers
This area of research aims to analyze the evolution of skills, careers and professions in the field of real estate and in particular to study how they are affected by the various institutional changes and technological or organizational innovations. The new skills in property management all involve the appropriation of new and constantly updated information and communication technologies. They cover many aspects: contracts, energy, sustainable building certifications, project management, risk management methods, major risks and resilience, reputation, ethics and integrity risks, Strategic intelligence (market intelligence, technology watch, institutional, legislative and regulatory changes, monitoring of new practices), relations with investors, customers, the community and the city, analysis of public or private statistics and meta data, etc. Appraisal, financing, investment and asset portfolio management skills are also involved.
2 – Property Management
Many aspects of the property, assets or real estate assets management and governance have evolved. The creation of tools and indicators to develop and disseminate best practices in property management has become a priority for investors and property managers. The real estate function within organizations, both in the private and public sectors, has also been refined and is now part of their business models and strategy. In this context, how can we study property management from the point of view of private and public managers, investors, decision makers and other civil society actors? How to stimulate in-depth reflection on the development and evolution of best practices in property management? The new needs of the tenants are also studied: densification of spaces, collaborative spaces, mix of use, development of environmental, social, well-being and productivity indicators.
3 – Real estate ecosystem
Projects related to this research area aim to better take into account the economic, social and institutional environment within which the real estate projects evolve. The concept of real estate ecosystem, which differs from the concepts of industrial cluster and competitiveness clusters, is useful for understanding the evolution of interactions and interdependencies between different real estate actors in large cities and for measuring the impacts of their activities on social, cultural, heritage and economic development. It can be useful for private and public decision makers. In addition to the evolution of the ecosystem concept, there are several questions about the value chain, business models and socio-economic impacts of these developments. Beyond the commercial and industrial sphere, the real estate ecosystem also refers to the analysis of changes in the quality of life conditions of urban citizens and the integration of social, political, economic, (Economic and social conditions of individuals, impact on housing quality, infrastructure quality, neighborhood vitality, the resilience of buildings and infrastructure, or, the increased vulnerability of populations facing the phenomenon of densification of cities, climatic risks and major risks, notably natural, industrial and pandemic disasters).
4 – Contractual engineering, life cycle and project risk management
Contractual engineering of projects refers to the legal and financial structural arrangements for major real estate and infrastructure projects, taking into account the specific institutional, political, legal and regulatory context under which the project evolves. Many of the Chair’s research projects are devoted to the identification of innovative arrangements throughout the world in order to study their impact on tendering, governance, performance, financing and investments in real estate. Particular attention is given to the analysis of the effectiveness of these arrangements according to the segmentation or grouping of the project life cycle, to the risk management and allocation methods as well as the benefits for the various stakeholders in the project.
5 – Real estate valuation, financing and investment
Studies in this area focus on methods and tools developed in the field of real estate valuation, financing and investment, with a particular focus on:
- Valuation models of real estate assets of the different real estate classes in real estate: commercial, industrial, multi-residential, mixed-use and other;
- Strategies for diversifying portfolios using real estate assets at national, global or international levels;
- The evolution of financial intermediation;
- The performance measures of multiple types of real estate investment vehicles;
- The evaluation of the new rating and certification methods associated with environmental risks and sustainable building (LEED, BOMA Best, etc.)
- The accounting and tax aspects of real estate valuation from a national and international perspective.
6 – Innovation and Valuation Observatory
This research area aims to follow, identify and monitor innovations as well as their dissemination and valorisation in the business models and organizational configurations of the different types of actors involved in the real estate ecosystem . These innovations can include indicators, measures, tools, processes, new technologies, metadata management, artificial intelligence.
Related Projects:
- The impact of spatial planning on productivity;
- The use and development of commercial and institutional real estate;
- Collaborative spaces;
- Multisensory environments;
- Eco-responsible consumption;
- Analysis of statistics on jobs and businesses in real estate;
- And others.