Real Estate investment MSc
Key information
Duration: 12 months
Attendance mode: Full-time
Fees: £26,800 (more information)
Location: Bunhill Row
Start of programme: September 2024
Application deadline: Rolling applications
Entry year: Showing course information for 2024
Gain the theoretical understanding and practical skills that industry employers are seeking
Overview
Real Estate investment MSc Who is it for?
The postgraduate degree in Real Estate Investment is your gateway to a successful career across the multidisciplinary real estate profession or the broader investment and finance environment. Choose this course if you’re looking for roles and a career in real estate investment strategy, capital markets and fund management, real estate finance but also in all areas of real estate including professional services.
You are a graduate with the equivalent of a UK upper second degree with a good background in quantitative techniques. You may be looking to boost your real estate career, or just starting out – either way, you already have an interest in real estate and you’re ready to develop strong analytical and practical skills that are in high demand across the real estate profession.
Why choose this course?
- Focus on investment strategy, finance, fund management, risk analysis, financial modelling
- Connect with professionals and employers from London’s thriving real estate industry via seminars, events, guest speakers and the Bayes Real Estate Club
- Comprehensive academic learning for innovative thinking and a thorough, grounded knowledge, ready to apply in industry
- Utilise the exceptional Business School resources to realise your potential for top-quality professional skills.
Course objectives
On the Bayes MSc in Real Estate Investment, you’ll learn at a fast pace and a good understanding of basic quantitative methods, or have work experience within the industry will be helpful. Ahead of enrolling on the programme we work on improving your basic quantitative skills though pre-study material and exercises.
You’ll start with the core skills of valuation, financial modelling, development appraisal, market analysis of core and alternative real estate sectors, statistical applications to the real estate market and investment and acquire knowledge of investment decisions in practice. You’ll then take on advanced methods in financial modelling, portfolio construction and diversification, debt finance and investments, forecasting, and examine in more detail the investment markets created by Real Estate Investment Trusts, unlisted property funds, securitised debt new forms of investment.
You’ll learn in a robust framework of financial and real estate market theory, financial modelling and quantitative methods in investment analysis. You will receive hands-on training on up-to-date industry techniques and practical tools in our extensive computer lab programme.
MSc Real Estate equips you for roles across all types of real estate business and is open to those with previous degrees or work experience in disciplines involving basic quantitative analysis and with career interest in investment and finance.
Teaching staff
Your Course Director will be Professor Sotiris Tsolacos, who is an academic with years of practical experience. Previously he was with Henley Business School and held posts at JLL and Property Portfolio Research/Costar from 1999 to 2013. He is working closely with property service providers, investment managers and private equity firms on a range of topical real estate themes. He is co-author of the standard textbooks Applied Quantitative Analysis for Real Estate and Real Estate Modelling and Forecasting. He is the recipient of the European Real Estate Society’s Achievement Award.
Professor Sotiris Tsolacos teaches on the Applied Statistics module, Applied Financial Analysis module, Economics and Market Analysis module and Debt Finance and Investment module.
Other teaching staff and moduels they teach on
Professor David Blake is Head of The Pensions Institute and an investment expert.
- Investment Markets module.
Christopher Bourn has more than 25 years' real estate experience, which includes private equity, investment banks and property company investor developers, with coverage in the UK and Pan European markets.
- Appraisal and Financial Modelling
- ARGUS software training
- Debt Finance and Investments
Stephen Lee is an internationally recognised academic, who sits on the boards of the European Real Estate Society and the International Real Estate Society. He has published over 100 papers.
- Appraisal and Financial Modellng
- Portfolios and Asset Allocation
Alex is Course Director for the MSc Real Estate programme and the Director of the Real Estate Research Centre at Bayes. He has previously held senior roles with Macquarie, Apax Partners, CSFB and BZW. He is currently Chairman of the Research Committee of the European Public Real Estate Association and runs a consultancy business advising institutions on their listed real estate strategies. He has authored numerous industry publications and academic papers. Alex is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
- Investment Vehicles
Accreditation details
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accredits the course, enabling graduates to enter the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC).
The Investment Property Forum (IPF) in the UK recognises the programme as a gateway to the real estate investment field. The successful completion of the programme provides fast-track membership, providing that the candidate has two years of relevant professional experience. As a student on the programme, you can take the IPF Student membership for free for the duration of your studies to access IPF’s extensive seminar programme, research reports and the online Resource Library.
Course content
Overall the MSc Real Estate Investment could be labelled as a degree in finance which is focussed on real estate. Since the topics and methods you study are of interest to all real estate businesses, including the mainstream employers like chartered surveyors, the MSc Real Estate Investment may give you a wider choice of the role you play. However, it does not pre-determine what sort of firm you work for.
Term 1 gives you a grounding in the core skills of the real estate professional. You cover basic appraisal methods applied to valuation, development and financing of investments, financial modelling plus an applied statistics module that illustrates appropriate techniques with real estate data. This knowledge is put in a wider context through a module on economics and market analysis and an investment markets module which ranges across all asset classes including alternative real estate markets.
Term 2 is more about applications of those core skills and principles. You look in more detail at the financial instruments and techniques to analyse the securitised equity and debt investment markets, private debt market, portfolio risk, property futures and new forms of real estate investment such as tokenisation. In Investment Vehicles you cover the different forms of indirect real estate – REITs and property funds: core, opportunistic, value add. In Debt Finance and Investment, you take in mortgage lending, risk analysis for lenders, calculation of IRRs given default, mezzanine finance, mortgage-backed securities, fund performance analysis when debt is used.
Portfolio and Asset Allocation deals with the role of real estate in investment portfolios and the mix of assets within real estate portfolios. You will make further use of real estate databases and performance series as part of the practical applications in this module. Applied Financial Analysis furthers your analytical skills and equips you with more tools to address real world and topical issues in real estate investment and risk analysis. Examples include forecasting, risk analysis through simulations and use of an appraisal software (ARGUS), risk adjustment metrics and waterfall structures. The practical knowledge in Term 2 is enhanced by an extensive programme of dedicated lab classes.
Course structure
Programme content is subject to change. We regularly review our module offering and amend to keep up to date and relevant.
Induction weeks
All of our MSc courses start with two compulsory induction weeks which include relevant refresher courses, an introduction to the careers services and the annual careers fair.
Term 1
Investment Markets
Investors measure the performance of real estate and decide how much to invest in it against other asset classes. This module sets that context, covering market structures, pricing and performance measurement across equities, bonds and derivative markets. The module extends to analyse alternative real estate markets including infrastructure and applications to real life investing.
Applied Statistics
Across all modules in this course you will need good skills in data analysis and an understanding of the statistical methods used in performance analysis, portfolio modelling and risk analysis. This module covers those general techniques leading to assess relationships empirically and build models to forecast take up, rents and development. With emphasis on lab sessions your practical skills are enhanced.
Appraisal and Financial Modelling
We begin with the foundations of financial principles and mathematics which apply across all asset classes. You then learn how those techniques are used in cash flow modelling, valuation and investment decisions for real estate investments and developments, both in the UK and around the world. Since real estate is often financed with debt, you will apply financial modelling to understand how senior, junior, equity and mezzanine debt affect returns and risks.
Economics and Market Analysis
A course in economics is standard for all Business School students. Here you will learn not only those general economic principles – business cycles, inflation, interest rates, government and central bank policies - but also how they apply to real estate: drivers of demand for real estate and supply of space, rent determination and property yield movements. The module also covers the urban hierarchy, location, agglomerations and government intervention in the real estate market.
Term 2
Portfolios and Asset Allocation
Two of the biggest questions in real estate are show investors decide how much to invest, and then how they spread their portfolios across markets to deliver target returns and risks. You will learn in depth the performance measurement and portfolio construction techniques which drive those decisions, and how to apply them to portfolios spread across countries, sectors and regions. This module builds on the understanding of drivers of real estate returns from different types of investment vehicle covered in other Term 2 modules.
Investment Vehicles
Investors buy into real estate in a variety of forms – by buying buildings directly, through fund managers’ vehicles like Property Unit Trusts or Private Equity Funds, or buy buying shares in listed companies like Real Estate Investment Trusts. In this module you will cover the structures of these different vehicles, how they are modelled and priced, with the costs, returns, risks and liquidity they offer to investors.
Applied Financial Analysis
The objective of the module is to address topical issues in real estate investment. You will learn techniques to forecast real estate markets and assess forecast uncertainty. The module covers risk adjusted metrics and investment instruments including property derivatives and tokenisation. The applied nature of the module is completed with an examination of waterfall structures and hands on training on the appraisal software ARGUS and simulations to assess investment risks.
Debt Finance and Investments
Debt finance in real estate is a critical factor for investors and for lenders – indeed as the Global Financial Crisis showed, for the financial system as a whole. This module looks at real estate debt from all those angles, exploring with you the impacts of debt on investor returns, the types of debt offered by lenders and the underwriting criteria they use and the features of securitised debt - CMBS and convertible bonds. Extensive use of Excel is made to illustrate the impact of leverage on performance, loan payments, calculate lender risks and default adjusted lender IRRs and to structure a CMBS deal.
Term 3
In term three you'll study a Business Research Project alongside elective modules of your choice.
Business Research Project
The last block of your course, the Business Research Project (BRP), is the one you design and build for yourself. It takes the form of a report of around 8,000 words submitted in August. We see the BRP as your opportunity to have a showpiece which shows potential employers what you know, what you can do, your ability to produce good-quality individual work.
BRP's come in the full range of forms. To give a few examples:
Some are about studying trends and review prospects across all real estate markets and making investment recommendations- Others examine the performance of investment vehicles and strategies
- Or look at topical questions (like the impact of e-tailing on real estate, sustainability and building values)
- Or investigate specific development projects and conversions involving in-depth feasibility analysis, different forms of financing and investor advice
- and least but not last, the impact of fast moving technology on real estate.
BRPs have the potential to be published in academic journals or industry magazines. Further, the Investment Property Forum provides an annual prize of £500 for the best dissertation from this programme on a real estate investment topic.
Term 3 Electives
In term three, you also pick a set of three elective topics from around six modules specific to real estate plus a range run by other Bayes Masters programmes – some of them taught on trips to locations outside the UK. So you can focus on:
- Added core real estate topics like building management, sustainability, residential markets.
- Or on the investment aspects of the industry like REITs, real estate funds and portfolio construction.
- Or pick up on more general topics such as private equity and project management taught by experts from other Bayes programmes.
Electives offered in 2023
- Ethics, Society and the Finance Sector
- Family Business
- Hedge Funds
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity Investment
- Building Project Management and Procurement
- Residential Investment
- Sustainability in Real Estate.
International electives
- International Real Estate Markets (taught in Dubai, UAE)
- Project Finance and Infrastructure Investment (taught in Madrid, Spain).
Please note that electives are subject to change and availability.
Download course specification:
Real Estate investment MSc [PDF]Assessment methods
Term dates
Term dates 2024/25
- Induction: 9th September 2024 - 20th September 2024
- Term one: 23rd September 2024 - 6th December 2024
- Term one exams: 6th January 2025 - 17th January 2025
- Term two: 20th January 2025 - 4th April 2025
- Term two exams: 21st April 2025 - 2nd May 2025
- Term three - international electives: 5th May 2025 - 16th May 2025
- Term three: 19th May 2025 - 4th July 2025
- Term three exams: 7th July 2025 - 18th July 2025
- Resits: 11th August 2025 - 22nd August 2025
- Additional resit week - tests only: 25th August 2025 - 29th August 2025.
Timetables
Course timetables are normally available from July and can be accessed from our timetabling pages. These pages also provide timetables for the current academic year, though this information should be viewed as indicative and details may vary from year to year.
Please note that all academic timetables are subject to change.
Fees & funding
UK/Home/International fee
September 2024 entry
£26,800
MSc
Tuition fees are subject to annual change.
Deposit: £2,000 (usually paid within 1 month of receiving offer and non-refundable unless conditions of offer are not met).
First installment: Half fees less deposit (payable during on-line registration which should be completed at least 5 days before the start of the induction period).
Second installment: Half fees (paid in January following start of course).
Scholarships & bursaries
Scholarships, sponsorships, loans and other funding could support your education at Bayes Business School.
Learn about the cost of living as a Bayes student in London.
Scholarships
We have a range of scholarships for Master's degrees at Bayes Business Scool. Most scholarship applications for 2024/25 year of entry will open in January 2024.
View our scholarships and fundingOther funding opportunities
Scholarships are very competitive, you may wish to look other options for funding, including the government PG Loan.
View other funding optionsSponsorship
Students on the course who are sponsored in full or in part by their employer will need to complete a sponsorship form as part of the application process.
View our sponsorship guidanceCareers
With our master’s in Real Estate Investment you can choose from a wide spread of firms and roles. You will be well suited to analyst, strategy or research positions in major fund management houses and investment banks, or smaller private-equity type real estate funds, rating agencies and specialist research firms. Or you could go on to professional qualifications, joining the graduate entry schemes of chartered surveyors in the UK or abroad or stepping outside real estate, such as the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute.
The real estate specialists at Bayes Careers Service use their industry contacts to arrange recruitment visits from the largest real estate employers throughout your course, and send regular job alerts. You’ll also get support and advice from them, and through our Bayes graduate mentoring scheme.
Class of 2022
Recent graduates have secured positions such as:
- Investment Analyst
- International Capital Markets Analyst
- Real Estate Structured Finance Analyst
- Graduate Surveyor
- Property Services Project Assistant
- Analyst Real Estate Capital Partners
(Data provided from alumni who completed the annual destination data survey for 2021/22)
Download our latest MSc Employment Report
Recent employers
Alumni stories
Entry requirements
- A UK upper second class degree or above, or the equivalent from an overseas institution.
- Applicants for MSc Real Estate Investment will be required to have a broader background in quantitative techniques and finance
- Work experience is not a requirement for this course
English language requirements
If you have been studying in the UK for the last three years it is unlikely that you will have to take an English language test.
If you have studied in the UK at degree level for less than three years (e.g. 3+1, 2+1, 2+2, etc.) you will be required to provide the results of an approved English language test and possibly resit the test to meet our academic entry requirements.
Full list of approved English language tests/qualifications and minimum requirements.
Apply
Please see our Application Guide for details of the documents you will need to supply as part of your application, and other useful information.
We cannot comment on individual eligibility before you apply. We can only make a decision on your application once it is fully complete, with all requested information received.
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