International Real Estate: An Institutional Approach

Foreword by Jeremy Newsum, Grosvenor Group Holdings xi

Preface xiii

Part 1 Analysis of Real Estate Transactions in Unfamiliar Markets, Using an Institutional Approach 1

1 Real Estate Transactions: an Institutional Perspective 3
William Seabrooke and Hebe Hwee Hong How

The international real estate phenomenon 3

Real estate transactions and transacting 4

Transaction cost concepts 14

A transaction-based approach lends itself to institutional analysis 28

2 Resolving Institutional Uncertainty in International Real Estate Decisions 35
William Seabrooke and Paul Kent

The institutional nature of transactions 35

Real estate transactions 37

A scoping template for 'mapping' the institutional 'landscape' within which a real estate transaction takes shape 55

Conclusion 70

3 An Institutional Analysis of the Subject Matter of Real Estate Transactions 73
Paul Kent

Property rights in institutional analysis 73

Institutional determinants of title to real estate in Hong Kong 76

Institutional determinants of property rights in real estate in the PRC 81

Conclusion 88

Part 2 Evolution of the Institutional Context of International Real Estate 93

4 Local Property Markets and Effective Flexible Market Institutions 96
Michael A. Goldberg

The issues 96

Global forces introduced: an overview 97

Indications of global integration in urban property markets 100

Local, regional and national forces impinging on global cities 102

Globalisation of world city property markets: observations and caveats on volatility 105

Vancouver: an emerging world city facing prototypical issues in the global economy 107

Vancouver’s globalised property market: the cycle of the late 1980s 111

Policy issues and fl exible institutional responses for global cities when they are both determinants and outcomes of globalisation 113

Public attitudes to cope with change 115

Possible national government roles in urban policy in a global setting 119

Growing vulnerability of cities in the connected global environment 122

Conclusions 122

5 Facilitation and Constraint: Institutions of Urban Planning in Hong Kong 130
Bo Sin Tang, Sujeet Sharma, Stanley Chi Wai Yeung

Urban planning and development control 133

Planning, politics and economy 144

Conclusions 148

6 Emerging Institutions in Europe 155
Derek C. Nicholls

Historical context 155

Single market 157

Single continent? 160

Implications for real estate markets 168

7 Institutional Aspects of Real Estate Investment and Project Appraisal 173
Eddie Chi Man Hui and Yat Hung Chiang

Institutional aspects 173

Institutional features of project appraisal 186

Role of international funding agencies: the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank 190

Conclusion 193

Part 3 Institutional Aspects of National Real Estate Markets 197

8 US Pension Funds and Real Estate: Still Crazy After

All These Years 200
Bernard Winograd

In the beginning… 201

The end of innocence 204

The cavalry arrives 205

The pension funds react 211

Where do we go from here? 215

9 Real Estate Markets in the United States 220
Mark J. Eppli and Charles C. Tu

The interrelation between the space and capital markets 223

Space markets in the United States 227

Capital markets in the United States 235

The space market/capital market disconnection 245

Summary 259

10 Real Estate Markets in the United Kingdom 262
Andrew Baum

UK real estate: the asset class 262

The sectors: principal characteristics 266

The vehicles available for property investment 269

Commercial property owners 282

Property fund managers and advisers 284

The role of government 288

Conclusion 290

11 Real Estate Markets in Canada 293
C. Tsuriel Somerville

Government institutions and real estate 295

Property rights 299

Land-use regulation 302

Canadian real estate markets 306

Conclusion 321

12 Real Estate Markets in Japan 325
Yu Ichiro Kawaguchi

The Japanese rental market 326

The market for ownership of real estate assets 329

Capital markets 336

Conclusion 339

13 Real Estate Markets in Mainland China 342
Chang Chun Feng and Stanley Chi Wai Yeung

Market structure 342

The reform of urban land-use policy 343

Reform of the urban housing system 347

Relationship between real estate industry and national economic development 352

Long-term development of the real estate market in China 356

Acknowledgement 361

References and further reading 361

Index 363