Spatial diversification, dividend policy, and credit scoring in real estate

Built on the foundation of economic principles, real estate offers many pursuits of academic discovery within the realm of finance. This dissertation examines three areas of real estate finance. In the first chapter, I use the unique real estate characteristics of heterogeneity, immobility, and localized markets to examine the spatial aspects of large-scale commercial real estate portfolios. The results demonstrate a clear need for portfolio managers to diversify properties based upon distances between properties. The second chapter examines another large-scale real estate portfolio, the real estate investment trust, which is held by investors seeking dividend income. Despite the importance of dividend payouts to investors, current real estate literature does not fully explain the dividend policy of REITs. I find that REITs base dividend payouts on contemporaneous earnings, the level of dividends paid last period, and firm volatility. For real estate investors that desire income based upon debt instruments, the last chapter examines the prepayment and default of mortgage instruments using credit scoring. I address the research question of how credit scoring affects mortgage pricing. The findings indicate a need to include credit scores as a state variable in a mortgage option pricing model. Overall, each chapter furthers our understanding of real estate finance

Conservation Status and Residential Transaction Prices: Initial Evidence from Dallas, Texas

The traditional mechanisms of private covenants and public restrictions may not meet the needs of residential property owners who want to preserve a certain neighborhood style. Privately initiated and publicly enforced conservation district regulations can preserve desirable neighborhood characteristics and signal to buyers that neighborhood conformity will likely persist. We analyze residential transaction prices in Dallas, Texas and find premiums associated with residential properties within and buffering conservation district locations. These results are robust to the spatial autocorrelation common in residential transaction prices.

Club Good Influence on Residential Transaction Prices

We examine residential real estate transactions in a market where an additional property right to a club good may have an influence on prices. We find that for single-family property, the market capitalizes approximately 50% of the full value of the extra property right. For condominiums, the amount reduces to approximately 25%. While these amounts are positive, they clearly are significantly lower than full value

Market competition for high‐density residential land

We investigate the potential competition between multifamily and condominium developers for raw land throughout the U.S. When considering the entire sample period, we find evidence that condominium developers paid, on average, more for land than their multifamily counterparts. Alternatively, when we separate the sample into low versus high‐growth locations and two time subperiods, we observe that the premium is not entirely consistent. The average premiums appear to be largely a result of the high‐growth locations from 2004 to mid‐2008. Indeed, the results demonstrate that condominium developers paid over 60 percent more for land in high‐growth states during the later subperiod. This extraordinary premium calls into question the price formation process in these locations. Santruka Savo darbe nagrinejame potencialia konkurencija tarp daugiabučiu namu ir kooperatiniu namu vystytoju del žemes sklypu visoje JAV teritorijoje. Nagrinedami visa imties laikotarpi, aptinkame irodymu, kad kooperatiniu namu vystytojai už sklypus vidutiniškai mokejo daugiau nei ju kolegos, statantys daugiabučius namus. Kita vertus, suskirsčius imti i letai ir sparčiai besivystančias vietoves bei du laikotarpius, pastebima, kad priemoka ne visiškai pastovi. Regis, priemoku vidurki iš esmes lemia sparčiai besivystančios vietoves ir laikotarpis nuo 2004 m. iki 2008 m. vidurio. Iš tiesu rezultatai rodo, kad per ši laikotarpi kooperatiniu namu vystytojai sparčiai besivystančiose valstijose už sklypus mokejo per 60 proc. daugiau. Tokia neitiketina priemoka verčia abejoti tose vietovese taikomu kainodaros procesu. First Published Online: 18 Oct 201

An Atlas for Schistosoma mansoni Organs and Life-Cycle Stages Using Cell Type-Specific Markers and Confocal Microscopy

Schistosomiasis (bilharzia) is a tropical disease caused by trematode parasites (Schistosoma) that affects hundreds of millions of people in the developing world. Currently only a single drug (praziquantel) is available to treat this disease, highlighting the importance of developing new techniques to study Schistosoma. While molecular advances, including RNA interference and the availability of complete genome sequences for two Schistosoma species, will help to revolutionize studies of these animals, an array of tools for visualizing the consequences of experimental perturbations on tissue integrity and development needs to be made widely available. To this end, we screened a battery of commercially available stains, antibodies and fluorescently labeled lectins, many of which have not been described previously for analyzing schistosomes, for their ability to label various cell and tissue types in the cercarial stage of S. mansoni. This analysis uncovered more than 20 new markers that label most cercarial tissues, including the tegument, the musculature, the protonephridia, the secretory system and the nervous system. Using these markers we present a high-resolution visual depiction of cercarial anatomy. Examining the effectiveness of a subset of these markers in S. mansoni adults and miracidia, we demonstrate the value of these tools for labeling tissues in a variety of life-cycle stages. The methodologies described here will facilitate functional analyses aimed at understanding fundamental biological processes in these parasites

Insights into the Complex Associations Between MHC Class II DRB Polymorphism and Multiple Gastrointestinal Parasite Infestations in the Striped Mouse

Differences in host susceptibility to different parasite types are largely based on the degree of matching between immune genes and parasite antigens. Specifically the variable genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play a major role in the defence of parasites. However, underlying genetic mechanisms in wild populations are still not well understood because there is a lack of studies which deal with multiple parasite infections and their competition within. To gain insights into these complex associations, we implemented the full record of gastrointestinal nematodes from 439 genotyped individuals of the striped mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio. We used two different multivariate approaches to test for associations between MHC class II DRB genotype and multiple nematodes with regard to the main pathogen-driven selection hypotheses maintaining MHC diversity and parasite species-specific co-evolutionary effects. The former includes investigations of a ‘heterozygote advantage’, or its specific form a ‘divergent-allele advantage’ caused by highly dissimilar alleles as well as possible effects of specific MHC-alleles selected by a ‘rare allele advantage’ ( = negative ‘frequency-dependent selection’). A combination of generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) and co-inertia (COIA) analyses made it possible to consider multiple parasite species despite the risk of type I errors on the population and on the individual level. We could not find any evidence for a ‘heterozygote’ advantage but support for ‘divergent-allele’ advantage and infection intensity. In addition, both approaches demonstrated high concordance of positive as well as negative associations between specific MHC alleles and certain parasite species. Furthermore, certain MHC alleles were associated with more than one parasite species, suggesting a many-to-many gene-parasite co-evolution. The most frequent allele Rhpu-DRB*38 revealed a pleiotropic effect, involving three nematode species. Our study demonstrates the co-existence of specialist and generalist MHC alleles in terms of parasite detection which may be an important feature in the maintenance of MHC polymorphism