Real Estate

Core modules:

Commercial Real Estate Practice

This module will provide an introduction to commercial real estate practice, professionalism and ethics. It will cover foundational knowledge on a variety of core and contemporary issues including market composition, sustainability, emerging asset classes such as operational real estate, and prop tech and innovation. The module will also introduce students to the core professional skills, ethical activities and ethical standards underpinning professional surveying practice. Through this module, students will gain a deeper understanding of the basic characteristics and competencies of professional surveying practice and will be able to demonstrate the ability to apply these professional skills in a range of settings. The module will be taught with a mix of lectures, workshops and seminars, drawing on guest speakers and industry practitioners where applicable. Students will work towards completing assessments featuring group work, presentations and reflective writing, and developing skills in professional conduct.

15 credits

Applied Real Estate Valuation

Students studying this module will be introduced to the five methods of valuation that form the basis for working in the surveying profession. Initially basic financial maths will be introduced and applied using client-related scenarios, subsequently using these building blocks within the five methods of valuation. Lectures will provide introductory examples and students will be able to practice using weekly problem-solving tasks and tutorials/help-sessions. Linked to the lectures, professional employability skills will be further developed through the coursework that focuses on providing advice to a client through the production of a valuation report and accompanying appendices, demonstrating adherence to professional standards.

15 credits

Real Estate Economics

This course is concerned with the economic analysis of real estate markets. It examines the economic characteristics of property and the way in which these impact on the structure and operation of the property market. It also examines the functional divisions within the property market: use, investment and development and their interactions; and the role of property in the local, regional and national economy.

15 credits

Real Estate Investment

This module provides an introduction to the principles of real estate investment. To do this, it focuses on the principles and theories of investment; real estate as an asset class; and the role of real estate within a portfolio context. The key theories that shape the investment universe are introduced and then applied, using real estate data, to solve a simulated portfolio management task.

15 credits

Employability and Professional Skills

This module aims to provide a range of supporting skills for home and international students, which will help you get the most out of your learning in Sheffield, and to prepare you for professional employment and career development at the end of your studies. The module has two elements: 1. Cultures of Learning and Professional Skills - understanding how we teach at Sheffield, how to get the most out of your study and how to develop key generic professional/soft skills 2. Employability Skills - preparing you for careers within planning, design, real estate, GIS and related professional areas.

Core modules:

Investment Valuation

This module builds on the principles of valuation introduced in the Autumn Semester and enables students to develop in-depth specialist knowledge of the investment method of valuation. It therefore focuses on the valuation of commercial real estate investments (office, retail and industrial property), both on a freehold and leasehold basis, for a variety of investment purposes. You will learn to deal with a variety of valuation scenarios by developing and using spreadsheets and provides a further opportunity to prepare a professional valuation report for a client.

15 credits

Law of Business Leases

The aim of the module is to introduce and explore pertinent aspects of the legal system relating to commercial and business leases. The module covers areas essential to the work of the surveyor involved in managing assets and the built environment. It thus enables students to develop abilities in offering professionally defensible legal surveying advice.

15 credits

Optional modules - two from:

PropTech and Real Estate Innovations (PGT)

This module introduces innovations in real estate with an emphasis on PropTech tools and platforms. It provides students with an understanding of the evolution of real estate digital systems and platforms through computing, internet, cloud, IoT, blockchain, virtual reality, AI, drones etc. The module will develop students' foundational knowledge and understanding of the theory and application of data science and analytics and how these can be applied to a variety of real estate operations and practice areas. The module will also enable students to appreciate and develop other soft skills such as creativity, communication, strategic thinking, ethics, entrepreneurship, and problem solving which have underpinned PropTech and other contemporary real estate innovations. The module will be delivered through a combination of problem-oriented, collaborative and project-based learning approaches and students will be encouraged to critically analyse existing real estate operations and practice enablers. The ultimate aim of the module is to enable students to develop innovative systems to further enhance the economic, physical, environmental and social efficiency of real estate operations and practice. Students will gain perspectives on different digital tools in commercial, residential and operational real estate and across the core real estate practice areas and sectors such as land management, development, construction, finance, investment, valuation, portfolio management, asset and property management, agency and brokerage. Students will also gain insight on other real estate innovative systems such as flexible, shared and third spaces, and the role of technology as enablers of these advancements.

15 credits

The Urban Climate Emergency (PGT)

Climate change is one of the most significant and urgent challenges of the 21st century. Cities generate over 70% of the world's CO2 and consume 60% of global energy, they will therefore play an important part in mitigating the extent of climate change and in adapting to the effects of the climate crisis and its impacts on societies and the global environment. This unit will explore the drivers of climate change and their implications for urban systems, critically considering how urban professionals can respond to these challenges in ways that promote just and sustainable transitions.

15 credits

Urban Regeneration (PGT)

Urban regeneration is common practice in the governance of urban change worldwide. Proponents make positive claims about its impacts on the urban economy, society and landscape, critics point to its negative outcomes. Drawing on Global experiences, we will consider the role of the state and other actors in the formulation and implementation of urban regeneration policy in its multi-scalar governance context, and the extent to which communities are engaged in and benefit from these processes. Through critical review of 'real world' cases, we identify the tensions, vulnerabilities and varied impacts of such approaches and consider alternative governance and policy responses.

15 credits

Transport Planning

This module will provide students with an introduction to transport planning and policy. The module develops students' ability to think critically about the framing of transport policy using UK transport planning as an example. It will focus on how planners in localities give shape to effective transport strategies, which balance a range of environmental, social and economic objectives.

15 credits

Issues in Housing

The aims of the module are twofold: to build both on substantive knowledge, theory and skills about housing gained in earlier parts of both the UG and PG courses, with an emphasis on policy analysis; and to look more closely at the links between housing and planning (in its widest sense) at the local and regional level.

15 credits

International Real Estate Market Analysis

This module will provide a comprehensive introduction to key concepts and approaches to the analysis of international real estate markets. This module makes a simple operational distinction between mature, emergent and transitional markets as a first step towards a systematic framework for analysis. It gives an introduction to specific real estate markets and the ways in which they function, and offers generalizable conclusions about the wider operation of global real estate markets. Students will develop knowledge and understanding of global political economy as a context for interpreting real estate markets.

15 credits

GIS for Built Environment Professionals

This module aims to introduce key Geographical Information Systems (GIS) principles and techniques to students in fields where GIS is becoming an increasingly relevant tool. The focus is on enabling students to develop an understanding of the potential of GIS and some fundamental GIS skills, through a series of workshops using a range of common software. Assessment is through a written report incorporating visualisations and analysis.

15 credits

Planning Law

The course is intended to develop students' expertise in the legal framework for the planning system and to set that legal framework within the wider context of law in the United Kingdom. It considers the origins of planning law and seeks to provide explanations for the powers that the law confers on decision makers. The course focuses particularly on the development control aspects of planning law and looks at the rights and duties of applicants, local authorities and the Secretary of State in making and determining planning applications. It considers the criteria for decision making and the possibilities for the redress of grievance. It considers planning law in the light of wider discussions about human rights and planning gain.

15 credits

Real Estate Planning and Development Project

The module explores the interrelationship between real estate development and spatial planning. It examines the real estate development process, its various stages and activities, the roles and objectives of the actors involved in the process and the main aspects of development appraisal. Students will work towards producing an assessment of the planning potential and viability considerations for a real-world development site in an integrated way that fully accounts for the relevant institutional and legal frameworks. The module therefore includes coverage of: market research, planning appraisal, financial appraisal (including financial appraisal using residual and cash-flow methods), sustainability considerations, sources and methods of development finance, sources and management of risk and uncertainty; and the influence of the planning system on real estate development and investment.

15 credits

Health, Wellbeing and the City

This module explores the urban environment as a determinant of health and well-being and examines how planning and urban design can contribute to improvements in health. Beginning with an exploration of the historic relationship between planning and public health, the module focuses on how the urban environments support or undermine health in relation to mental health, ageing, obesity, air quality and noise pollution. The module also introduces the notion of health impact assessment and further reflects on the contribution of planning to environmental justice and the reduction of inequalities in health.

15 credits

Core module:

Dissertation

This is a core module which allows students to develop and manage an individual research project. The module aims to help students to develop and apply research skills and an appreciation of the issues involved in managing a research project; to develop an understanding of the role of research in relation to theoretical and practical dimensions of the chosen discipline; and to further and deepen knowledge in their chosen field of planning, real estate, urban design, development, or related interests.

60 credits