MSc Real Estate Economics and Finance

Students will acquire significant theoretical and technical knowledge to equip them to understand urban economic processes, price determination in land and real property markets, and their interrelation with investment markets, investment analysis and portfolio choice and the impact (including on land and property prices) of regulations, transport, public policy and socio-economic change.

This course treats real estate and real estate finance as a particular application of a general body of knowledge, unlike professional courses currently available in Britain and Europe.

Real estate is approached by means of a rigorous exposition of relevant analytical and quantitative tools rather than introducing theory as a supplement to the practice of real estate professionals. For instance, the half course in Real Property Market Practice does not set out to teach what practitioners do for its own sake. It examines that practice more to help understand how real estate professionals, as market intermediaries using their habitual tools, may influence market outcomes and portfolio choice.

Please note that due to the high demand for places on the MSc REEF programme, those accepted will not normally be granted a programme transfer.

Overview

In addition to our cutting edge academic programme, the Real Estate Economics and Finance MSc offers an industry-leading Professional Development Programme. We organise numerous networking events with high profile figures for the real estate industry, including asset managers, investment funds, investment and lending banks developers and consultants. Our dedicated careers advisor offers CV and interview workshops and our active network of alumni actively supports current students via a mentorship scheme.  

Events

This is your chance to meet professionals working in the property and real estate sector at different stages in their careers. There will be the opportunity to meet and talk with real estate finance professionals, finance analysts, surveyors, commercial analysts, PE specialists and more. 

Alumni events

Typically in the summer and in the winter. We have an active network of alumni who meet on a regular basis and support current students in their professional development.

Careers events

Many of the global players in the real estate industry come to LSE to meet our REEF students during the hiring season in the autumn.

Recent organisations at our careers events include: Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, Eastdil, Deutsche Finance, Optimum Asset Management and Landlease.

REEF Advisory Board event

In addition to careers events we also offer an exclusive event organised by the advisory board of our programme.

This is an opportunity to network with senior professionals who come to LSE to meet our students on invitation of the members of the advisory board.

Real Estate Club events

This student-led club operates with the support of academic staff and organises events relevant to the professional interests of its members. These include workshops and seminars on topics determined by the club’s committee.

Professional mentoring

REEF students have access to a specialised network of high-profile professionals. We match students who wish to participate in this program with a professional working in their field of interest. We have a network of alumni and friends of the programme stretching across numerous countries and specialisations within the broadly defined area of real estate. Mentors advise on career choices, professional development and help with the job market. 

Coaching

A dedicated member of LSE’s careers office provides individual support for real estate related careers. The office also works with groups and has very useful resources for improving interview and networking skills. 

LSE LIFE

LSE LIFE is a place where you can come to learn more about yourself, your studies and your goals. MSc REEF students can come to LSE LIFE to develop academic, communication, numeracy and research skills, get advice on personal effectiveness and in making life choices, and gain insights into graduate recruitment and career paths, all housed in a purpose-built space on the ground floor of the LSE Library.

Software and methods training

Careers in real estate economics and finance require different analytical skills, methods training and proficiency in software. In addition to the compulsory teaching we offer complementary training in:

• Excel / cash flow analysis
• GIS (what it is and what it can be used for)
• Stata (what it is and how it can be used for)
• Data session (Library training in real estate data and why it is important)

Professional partnerships

Investment Property Forum Recognises LSE's MSc REEF

The Investment Property Forum, IPF, includes the MSc Real Estate Economics and Finance programme on their selected list of postgraduate courses that the Forum considers to provide the relevant skills necessary for those operating in the property investment market. This recognition comes with a number of benefits for our Masters graduates, who will be offered fast-track membership to the Forum. 

Partnership between MSc REEF and RICS

MSc REEF entered into a partnership agreement with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 2002. Graduates from 2002 onwards receive RICS recognition. Past graduates can apply to RICS for personal membership. 

Recognition of student success by professionals

Our students and their work are highly valued by different professional bodies and this is reflected in several prizes sponsored by different industry insututions. We currently award two prizes: the HSBC Global Asset Management Dissertation Prize and the IPF Postgraduate Dissertation Prize (Investment Property Forum).

Top Course Ranking

Ranked #1 Masters course Worldwide according to Eduniversal Best Masters Ranking. Ranked #1 Real Estate Masters course in Europe.

Top Research Ranking

The European Economics Association ranked the Economic Geography cluster at LSE as the best economics sub-centre in the UK. The Geography and Environment Department has a top RAE research ranking of 5.

MSc REEF graduates enter a wide variety of employment including professional firms, finance, real estate research, consultancy, the public sector and education. Below is a list of employers that have hired REEF graduates at least twice in recent years. 

AEW Europe

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Bank of China

CBRE 

Colliers CRE

Curzon Global Partners

Cushaman & Wakefield

Deloitte

Deutsche Bank

DTZ

Ernst & Young

Goldman Sachs

HSBC

ICBC

John Burns Real Estate Consulting

Jones Lang LaSalle

JP Morgan

Morgan Stanley

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Royal Bank of Scotland Group

Savills

Tishman Speyer

Trinova Real Estate

UBS

Investment Property Forum (IPF)

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Investment Property Databank (IPD)

UK Data Archive

London Data Store

EDiNA

Land Registry - Price Paid data

Nomis - official labour market statistics

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research

Mouseprice.com

The Advisory Board was established in 2009 to help forge sustainable links between LSE’s academic output and the real estate industry. The board supports the MSc REEF programme, including reviewing and advising on the course objectives, with the aim of ensuring that its teaching is as relevant as possible to the real estate industry.

Neil Cable is Head of European Real Estate at Fidelity International.

Linus Forsberg has 17 years of experience from the European real estate industry, including fund management, investment agency and financing. At Trinova, Linus is responsible for investor relations and equity raising. 

Burak Kaplanoglu has worked as Programme Management Consultant at major capital projects for events such as the Athletes Village (London 2012 Olympics), Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 and Dubai Expo 2020 for industry leader engineering/programme management firms. Now, Burak is part of PwC Risk Assurance Solutions.

Eric Linden is a Fund Manager at Rockspring.

John Lutzius is the Managing Director of Green Street’s London office, which he co-founded in March 2008. Prior roles during his 25-year career with Green Street include Chief Executive Officer, President, and Senior Research Analyst. 

Guy Morrell is head of the Real Estate Investment team at HSBC Global Asset Management, which invests globally in property funds and listed property equities. 

Francis Salway was Chief Executive of Land Securities, a FTSE 100 company and the UK’s largest listed property company, between 2004 and 2012. He is currently a non-executive director of Next plc and a non-executive director of the Cadogan Estate.

Ruth Thompson is an Associate in the Portfolio and Asset Management team at Tristan Capital Partners. 

Why did you choose the course/LSE? Choosing LSE was straightforward, as I wanted to follow in the footsteps of prominent global leaders, who have walked down Houghton Street as students. Having identified a gap in expertise needed in the real estate sector of the rapidly urbanising Sub Saharan African cities, I decided to pursue a Masters degree in Real Estate Economics and Finance. I opted for the program as it offered a unique blend of theoretical and practical understanding of the workings of the urban economic processes and its relation with the real estate investment market. The topics are also taught by influential staff whose research and academic papers are highly valued and help shape policy processes. Furthermore, my choice of course and ambition was backed by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, which awarded me a full scholarship to pursue my study.

How has your degree programme prepared you for your future career? I currently work as Investment Executive at the Board of Investment, a policy think tank and the national investment promotion agency, under the aegis of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in Mauritius. My academic pathway has helped me differentiate myself in the workplace. At an early stage of my career, I have been involved in carrying out the feasibility study for the development of high profile governmental projects, for instance a new administrative city, a large-scale business and industrial park as well as inception of smart cities. Using knowledge accumulated during the course, I produce research reports and country analysis used by prospective investors and governmental stakeholders. 

The degree programme, most specifically the Applied Urban Economics and Regional Economics, equipped me with the technical knowledge as well as ability to critically and independently analyse the various aspects of urban planning and development. Furthermore, the Real Property Market Practice course provided me with focused up-to-date industry relevant content delivered first hand by industry professionals, which helped me to quickly integrate the working environment and anticipate the needs of different parties in the industry. 

What was the highlight of your LSE experience? LSE provides a platform for students to interact with leaders from all spheres of social, political and economic sciences through public lectures, mentoring schemes and networking sessions. In particular, I appreciated the mentoring scheme whereby I was matched with a highly experienced managing director of a leading independent research and advisory firm. Through regular meetings, I received interesting insight into the industry, which guided me in producing a highly relevant dissertation. As a testimonial of which, I was awarded the Investment Property Forum Postgraduate Dissertation award as well as the MSc Real Estate Economics and Finance Best Dissertation Prize. The academic staff also highly value the input of students and therefore, as course representative, I was encouraged to participate in the REEF Advisory Board chaired by Francis Salway. 

Sum up your experience in 3 words: Challenging, Enriching, Unique.

Current job title: HSBC Global Graduate Programme.

Why did you choose the course/LSE? Strong interest in real estate and LSE arguably has a very good reputation.

How has your degree programme prepared you for your future career? I was influenced by great lecturers, e.g. Christian Hilber and Olmo Silva. Their ways of approaching a problem really inspire me. Additionally, my programme provides lots of networking opportunities. I personally was assigned a mentor from Goldman Sachs who gave me lots of valuable suggestions.

What was the highlight of your LSE experience? Meet good friends across the world, meet the right lady for my marriage, and have great fun staying in London.

Sum up your experience in 3 words: Fulfilling, Challenging, Interesting.   

Current job title: Intern analyst at real estate research department, Huatai Securities.

Why did you choose the course/LSE? I chose LSE for the chance to study advanced real estate economics and get exposed to a world-class faculty and brilliant fellows.

How has your degree programme prepared you for your future career? My degree programme not only offers me rigorous academic training, but also gives me the opportunities to communicate with specialists from industry and academia. This experience has proven to be very valuable in my work in financial institutions, where I often deal with economic research  and communicate with specialists of different backgrounds. 

What was the highlight of your LSE experience? When I worked with my classmates on one project in GY462, we communicated frequently with each other and had the opportunity to apply academic theory to solve real-world problems. The feedback from our lecturer was also very inspiring.

Sum up your experience in 3 words: Inspiring, Valuable, Diverse.

My firm (John Burns Real Estate Consulting) provides independent research/consulting services focused on residential real estate in the United States. I am the Director of Research and oversee all home building, building products, multifamily and single-family rental research. My firm’s work as well as my own personal work is regularly quoted in major outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and CNBC. Previous roles include Morgan Stanley in New York (equity research covering homebuilders), as well as the Milken Institute in Santa Monica, CA (economic think tank). I completed my MSc in Real Estate Economics and Finance from LSE in 2009. 

My studies at LSE were the perfect stepping stone for furthering my career as an expert in US residential real estate. The courses completely focused on real estate and broader economic drivers/principals, the ideal environment for anybody wishing to pursue a career in the field of real estate. In addition to the fantastic courses and professors, I found the eclectic and diverse student body to be extremely engaging and open to debate. Having London at your doorstep also doesn’t hurt (still my favorite city) and I miss it dearly.