International articles : the growth of REIT markets in Asia

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) emerged in Asia in 2001, with Japan and Singapore as the market leaders. South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia have also launched REITs. This paper examines these REIT markets. The paper first examines the background of macroeconomic, financial market and real estate market development. The driving forces for REIT development on the supply and demand sides, government initiatives and market obstacles are also discussed. The initial performance of Asia REITs will be reviewed and contrasted with the common stocks in the respective markets. Finally, the future prospects of Asia REITs are assessed

Optimal Timing of Real Estate Investment under an Asymmetric Duopoly

This paper examines the sub-game equilibrium strategies for a duopoly real option model consisting of two firms with asymmetric demand functions. The relative strength of the firms is found to have significant impact on the firms’ equilibrium strategies. Preemptive strategies are critical if difference in strength between the two competing firms is relatively small. Short bursts and recession induced overbuilding are two outcomes in the asymmetric duopoly model. The model, however, predicts that the two phenomena occur in earlier phases of market cycles, rather than in the state of depression. In a depressed market with high volatility, the leader and the follower will both choose the waiting strategies. Construction cascade is, therefore, not an expected phenomenon in a depressed market in the asymmetric duopoly framework. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007Duopoly game, Real options, Preemptive strategies, Asymmetric demands, G12, G13,