Real Estate Development FinancingCornell Course

With population growth and a finite amount of space on this planet comes a natural expansion of the land we use for human activity, and real estate development is the immediate consequence of this ever-growing human footprint. Most of the time, real estate development is a business in and of itself, with each development decision requiring meticulous economic analysis.

In this course, you will start by assessing the real estate process as a whole, which will inform your understanding of why properties are located where they are. You will then examine the financing process that facilitates real estate development. To apply your knowledge, you will build a model from the ground up that includes the sequence of various equity and construction loan draws, including how to reallocate the proceeds. The course concludes with an evaluation of the optimal use of a vacant lot in New York City. You will apply what you have studied throughout this course to make a recommendation with respect to the appropriate land value and its best use given the financing structure in place, providing you with experience and best practices to apply to your role.

In this course, the professor uses Microsoft Excel for Windows for all videos and exercises which is different from Microsoft Excel for iOS. If you are a Mac user, we strongly encourage you to download Parallels or an equivalent virtual machine that is compatible with Microsoft Excel in the Windows environment.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Discounted Cash Flows in Real Estate
• Unlevered Real Estate Acquisitions
• Real Estate Debt Financing and Scenario Analysis