Research plays a key role in businesses involved in the global property market. Effective property researchers provide advice and analysis that informs and provides actionable advice to decision makers which shapes strategies and the bottom line.
The SPR Committee is pleased to welcome the 2024 edition of “Property Research in the Real World: Practical Applications” which will take place 4-5 September at Bayes Business School, London.
The two-day course is aimed at providing a broad understanding of how the application of research techniques and real estate data (and its pitfalls) supports decision making processes. Participants will learn how to frame research questions; understand key metrics, variables and data sources; learn how to identify key trends, market drivers and risks; and understand the research considerations in the investment process.
Split into a number of short modules, complemented with a group activity to provide participants with hands-on experience of how research can be used to support key decision, and a site visit at 40 Leadenhall, topics covered will include:
- Property research – what is it; how does it help decision makers; where can a career lead to.
- Real estate property markets & the economic cycle – how do real estate markets work; key metrics and using research to identify trends – what do researchers need to consider?
- Data in action – challenges & pitfalls for researchers; overcoming the challenges of different definitions and biases; how different tools and techniques can influence how we interpret data; tips for analysing markets with limited data
- Valuations – what are they and what to watch out for;
- Understanding the investment process – what is involved; how does research support the process?
- AI & emerging trends in real estate – what do these mean for the future of real estate and researchers?
Who will deliver the modules: Experienced, leading industry researchers and academic experts, including:
- Andrew Smith, CIO at Hearthstone Investments & former Global Head of Real Estate, abrdn
- Professor Sotiris Tsolacos, Director MSc Real Estate Investment, Bayes Business School
- Simon Marx, Head of Research, Lothbury
- Malcolm Frodsham, Founder, Real Strategies; former Head of Research & Strategy, Legal & General Property
- Sabina Reeves, Chief Economist & Head of Insights & Intelligence, CBRE IM
- Professor Yolande Barnes, The Bartlett Real Estate Institute & former Head of World Research, Savills
- Dr Nikodem Szumilo, Associate Professor at University College London and Director at the Bartlett Real Estate Institute
Who should attend: The SPR Property Research Course is aimed at property researchers with 1-2 years industry experience.
Fee: The cost to attend the two-day course is £350. This includes morning and afternoon tea, along with lunch on each day as well as a site visit and an evening drinks reception at the end of the first day.
To register, please contact Becci Williamson at [email protected] or register via the link below.
Thank you to Bayes Business School for hosting this event.
Presenters
Yolande Barnes, Professor of Real Estate, Bartlett Real Estate Institute
Yolande has studied and commented on UK real estate markets for over 30 years and on world cities and global real estate trends for the last 11 years. Yolande’s particular specialities in the past have been residential markets, regeneration, land, urbanism and mixed use neighbourhoods.
Her new remit as Professor of Real Estate at the Bartlett Real Estate Institute at UCL is to explore and understand how real estate contributes to all types of value: social, environmental and economic. She does this looking at all sectors and across the globe, drawing on the best research and findings that the whole of UCL has to offer, writing readable and understandable, practically orientated useful articles and publications for the industry and offering executive and short courses as well as bespoke research services.
Malcolm Frodsham, Director and Founder, Real Estate Strategies
Malcolm has 20 years of experience in real estate data, modelling and risk management techniques. He founded Real Estate Strategies in 2013, an independent management owned business that provides high quality forecasts, research and strategic consulting on the European real estate market. Prior to Real Estate Strategies, Malcolm was Director of Research at IPD and prior to that Head of Research and Strategy at Legal & General Property.
Simon Marx, Head of Research, Lothbury
As Head of Research, Simon is responsible for framing the outlook for the economy, as well as the real estate occupier and capital markets. He leads the development of innovative tools based on modern analytical techniques and technologies. Working alongside the senior directors, Simon helps develop fund and corporate strategies, and working closely with the Investor Relations team to attract new capital from all parts of the world.
Simon has a wealth of experience, having spent 23 years in the industry in various research and strategy leadership roles at companies as diverse as CBRE, Close Investments, CoStar, Experian and Ernst & Young. For the eleven years prior to joining Lothbury, he was Managing Director of European Research & Strategy at LaSalle Investment Management. His primary functions were to monitor the European property markets, define fund strategies, identify acquisition opportunities and bring new sources of global capital to Europe.
Simon is a visiting research fellow at both Henley Business School and Bayes Business School, and also an Industry Advisory Board Member for the Real Estate Group at the latter. He is a member of the AREF Research Committee, a former Chair of the Investment Property Forum’s Research Steering Group, and former member of the Society of Property Researchers Committee. Simon has an undergraduate degree in languages and a masters degree in real estate investment & finance.
Sabina Reeves, Chief Economist and Head of Research, CBRE IM
Sabina Reeves is Global Chief Economist and Global Head of Real Assets Research for CBRE Investment Management. She is responsible for the firm's 30-member real assets research team and has a specific role in selecting the economic scenarios and macro risk assessments that power the firm's proprietary real assets forecasts. In addition, Sabina has executive responsibility for the firm's 20-member Analytics and Risk Measurement team.
Sabina is a member of CBRE Investment Management's Executive Committee, and all investment Committees.
Previously, Sabina served as Head of Research for the firm's EMEA region and the global quantitative team. She started in the industry in 2001 and joined CBRE IM in 2008. She was previously Chief Economist at IPD. Prior to IPD she worked for Capital Economics, where she developed its UK residential and commercial markets and forecasting service. Sabina studied economics at Lincoln College, Oxford University. She is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Sabina has previously been an external Examiner for the Real Estate Faculty at the University of Reading and is currently an Associate Fellow at the Said Business School, University of Oxford.
Andrew Smith, CIO, Hearthstone Investments
Following a degree at the University of Birmingham, Andrew’s property career began in 1986 at Pearl Assurance plc in the UK, where he established one of the industry’s first institutional property research teams. The business subsequently became part of Henderson Global Investors, where he remained until joining Aberdeen Asset Management in 2002 as Head of Investment Strategy.
At Aberdeen Andrew fulfilled a variety of fund management roles, ultimately serving as Global Head of Property, with overall responsibility for the company's international investment business. He is currently Chief Investment Officer at Hearthstone Investments, a residential specialist investment manager.
He has served on a variety of industry steering groups for organisations such as INREV, the Investment Property Forum, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Society of Property Researchers, the National Retail Planning Forum, the Bank of England Property Forum and the Investment Property Databank. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Property Investment and Finance, and is a regular contributor to conferences and seminars internationally.
Nikodem Szumilo, Associate Professor at University College London and Director at the Bartlett Real Estate Institute
Nikodem is an Associate Professor at University College London and the Director at the Bartlett Real Estate Institute. He moved to UCL from the London School of Economics where he worked after getting a PhD from Cambridge University. He is also an academic visitor to the Bank Of England, a Research Affiliate of the UCL Centre for Finance and a director of VARi Knowledge Partners. His work has been featured in leading academic journals (such as Economic Journal, Review of Finance or Real Estate Economics) and non-academic outlets (such as the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, World Economic Forum - Strategic Intelligence, the Guardian or Bloomberg Businessweek). His research focuses on applied urban economics and finance and consulting and advisory projects include forecasting, nowcasting and market analysis - increasingly focused on operational AI.
Prof. Sotiris Tsolacos, Programme Director of the MSc Real Investment Programme, Bayes Business School
Prof. Sotiris Tsolacos is the Programme Director of the MSc Real Investment Programme at Bayes Business School. Previously he was the Chair of Real Estate Finance at Henley Business School. Prior to his academic appointments, he served as Director of European Research at Property & Portfolio Research where he led the company’s European business and held positions in JLL. He is working both with fellow academics and practitioners on a range of projects with particular emphasis on forecasting, early signals and relative performance. He holds a PhD in Economics from Reading University and is the co-author of two books on the application of statistical analysis to real estate.