Renowned real estate economist Professor Dirk Brounen has been appointed with immediate effect as the holder, at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He holds the newly established real estate chair, as a partnership between PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and RSM.
Professor Brounen comments: "Through this unique scientific-industrial partnership, RSM and PwC intend to gain valuable new insights within today's property market where it concerns successful and sustainable entrepreneurship." A concerted effort will be devoted over the coming years to an ambitious research agenda dictated by probing factual investigation of the vested interests of the property industry both financially, economically and in fiscal and social terms. Professor Brounen and his four-member property investigator team will carry out surveys on themes including prevailing price risks in the housing market, new tax structures operated by property funds and the moving forces underpinning the office market cycle.
Through the present initiative, PwC is emphasising its devotion to knowledge and innovation within the world of property. Explains Eric Hartkamp as the Head of PwC's Real Estate Sector: "The property sector is in a state of flux. Knowledge of the latest developments is key to the continued ability to assess property issues from a variety of angles. Our partnership with Professor Brounen and his team will enable us to vet our extensive practical experience against theoretical research."
The scientific community and PwC will devote joint attention over the coming years to surveys on themes such as the impact in terms of return of tax structures, the risk of property investments and the growing importance of health care property. "This new partnership fills us with pride," says RSM dean George Yip. "The integration of theory and practice is something we, as a business school, devote every conceivable effort to. The present pooling of resources in the property field will enable us to generate valuable new ideas."
The Rotterdam-based research team is hopeful that its ambitious dual research agenda will enable it to distinguish itself in due course: in addition to addressing financial and economic themes, each year the team will also focus attention on research into the role of property at community level. Elaborates Professor Brounen: "We do not, for example, intend to turn a blind eye to the negative headlines that have haunted the property market for years. Rather, we intend to carry out an objective survey of problems and wrongdoings on the basis of a social research agenda, as it is most definitely constructive solutions that we are looking for." The outcome of the surveys will be shared with the sector at publicly accessible symposiums, as well as through publications in the media.
Source: Erasmus University
