Real Estate Concentration Requirements

The following requirements must be fulfilled for the undergraduate concentration in real estate: 15 credits in required and selected courses; at least nine of these must be taken in residence. All concentration courses must be completed with a minimum grade of C-. Concentrations are only available to GWSB students. Students in CCAS, ESIA, and SEAS can minor in real estate.

Required Courses

FINA 4201 Real Estate Investment

3 Credits.
Principles of real estate investment, including valuation, appraisal, financing, and development, in addition to a discussion of the mortgage market and its institutions. Prerequisite: BADM 3501.

FINA 4240/6240  Real Estate Development (Fall)

3 Credits.
Examination of the forces that shape real estate development; market analysis methods and techniques to evaluate project feasibility; the institutional and legal framework within which real estate development occurs and that influences controls, land value, and development potential. Prerequisites: MBAD 6234 or MBAD 6235.

FINA 4242/6242 Real Estate Valuation and Investment

3 Credits.
Valuation of different types of real estate from different viewpoints. Analysis of risks and opportunities in investing in real estate. How differences in valuation methodology and levels of financing affect the value analysis of real estate. Prerequisites: FINA 4201 or the permission of the department chair.

Elective Courses (must take two from the following:)

AH 2154/AMST 2520 American Architecture I

3 Credits.
Stylistic properties, form and type characteristics, technological developments, and urbanistic patterns as a means of interpreting historic meaning; analysis of buildings both as artifacts and as signifiers of social, cultural, and economic tendencies. 1600 to1860. (Same as AMST 2520, CAH 2154)

ECON 2157 Urban and Regional Economics

 3 Credits.
Analysis of the determinants of urban growth and development; firm location; the functioning of urban land and housing markets. Prerequisites: ECON 1011 and ECON 1012.

FINA 4102 Investing in Real Estate Investment Trusts (Fall)

3 Credits.
Practical security analysis techniques and investing approaches employed by professional investment managers and real estate professionals, through the lens of managing the GW Real Estate Student Investment Fund. Restricted to ,. Prerequisites: ACCY 3106, BADM 3501, and FINA 3001.

FINA 4248/6248 Real Estate Development Cases (Spring)

3 Credits.
Case study analysis of large-scale commercial real estate developments to gain comprehension of financial, political, legal, and technical complexities and constraints inherent in the real estate development process. Prerequisite: FINA 6221 or permission of instructor.

FINA 4900 Walkable Urban Development & Place Management (Spring)

3 Credits.

FINA 4900 Affordable Housing Policy & Practice (Fall)

3 Credits.
A broad survey course that examines the origins of US housing policy, from the Great Depression, and the New Deal to the present. How is affordable housing defined? What are the socio-economic characteristics that determine household eligibility? Why is it so difficult to produce affordable housing? Guest speakers from across the affordable housing spectrum are frequent guests to provide extensive industry insight.

FINA 4900 Advanced Real Estate Financial Modeling 

3 Credits.
Through the extensive use of case studies, this course is structured in two sections. The first seeks to build upon the concepts and methodologies introduced in FINA 4201, Real Estate Finance. Students are expected to have a foundational understanding of the time value of money (TVM), loan amortization, discounted cash flows, net present value (NPV), and internal rate of return (IRR).
The second section will introduce Argus Enterprise (AE), a state-of-the-art valuation software that has become a standard in the commercial real estate industry. Property investment decisions will focus heavily on discounted cash flow analysis.

GEOG 2140 Cities & Societies

3 Credits.
The design and function of cities in the United States; contemporary, economic, political, and social change. Prerequisite: GEOG 1001.

SUST 2002 The Sustainable City

3 Credits.
This course explores the connection between cities and sustainability. We consider sustainability from a variety of theoretical and practical perspectives and examine some of the most pressing and critical issues that must be addressed to create a sustainable city.

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