Each week, Daniels is featuring a researcher who conducts meaningful research that impacts their field and the wider community. Learn more about their work in Q&As with Melissa Archpru Akaka, associate dean for faculty research. Email Melissa to nominate yourself or a colleague for a future Q&A.
Vivek Sah is the director of the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction
Management. Since 2022, Sah has led the Burns School in all aspects of its operations, including managing the undergraduate and graduate programs in the built environment, fundraising, industry outreach, conducting innovative policy-oriented research, and forging strategic partnerships on campus, across the nation and around the world. He received his PhD in business administration with a focus in real estate finance and investments from Georgia State University in 2009. Sah also has an MBA in finance and holds an undergraduate degree in engineering.
Vivek Sah
What do you study and why?
When I started my career in 2009 as a professor, a lot of my focus was on capital markets, the intersection of finance and publicly traded real estate securities. My dissertation was on the behavioral intersection of real estate decision making, specifically using prospect theory. I focused on how real estate investment managers make decisions based on risk and reward, and using heuristics.
When I started my career in 2009 as a professor, a lot of my focus was on capital markets, the intersection of finance and publicly traded real estate securities. My dissertation was on the behavioral intersection of real estate decision making, specifically using prospect theory. I focused on how real estate investment managers make decisions based on risk and reward, and using heuristics.
I shifted my focus to housing around 2014, specifically on mortgages, housing finance and the impact of financing decisions on housing prices. I’ve explored various aspects, such as the impact of interest rates and special financing on housing prices, as well as the influence of amenities like schools and zoning regulations. Using spatial econometrics, I examined how the spatial aspect affects pricing, considering factors like distressed properties and their proximity to other houses. I am also interested in industry-focused market reports. This is, in part, what led to the creation of the Denver Metro Area Apartment Report that we’ll be launching from Burns soon.
How do you engage students and/or managers with your research?
For academic research, we primarily use available data on transactions, home characteristics, macroeconomic indicators and more publicly available data. While I’ve involved investment managers in the past for behavioral experiments, most of our work focuses on existing data sources. I’ve also done consulting work. During the pandemic, for instance, I produced five white papers for a private equity firm on market shifts and the impact of the pandemic on real estate assets. On the teaching side, I often bring my current research into the classroom. In my recent real estate investment seminar, I talked with students about advanced analytics being applied in real estate and gave an example about how, when most people buy, they have to get residential appraisals. Recently, instead of doing a physical appraisal we’re seeing people move to an automated valuation model where you just type in the property address and within a minute it will give you the value of the house and everything about it. I gave a demonstration of this in class and we discussed how these models derive the value.
For academic research, we primarily use available data on transactions, home characteristics, macroeconomic indicators and more publicly available data. While I’ve involved investment managers in the past for behavioral experiments, most of our work focuses on existing data sources. I’ve also done consulting work. During the pandemic, for instance, I produced five white papers for a private equity firm on market shifts and the impact of the pandemic on real estate assets. On the teaching side, I often bring my current research into the classroom. In my recent real estate investment seminar, I talked with students about advanced analytics being applied in real estate and gave an example about how, when most people buy, they have to get residential appraisals. Recently, instead of doing a physical appraisal we’re seeing people move to an automated valuation model where you just type in the property address and within a minute it will give you the value of the house and everything about it. I gave a demonstration of this in class and we discussed how these models derive the value.
What are you working on now?
One of my current papers is focused on the impact of short-term rentals on home prices, and how there is some research showing that these rentals take supply out of the market, thus increasing the price of available housing. But we are looking at proximity effect of such properties. It’s similar to looking at the contagion effect of foreclosures. If there is a distressed property or properties close to your home, what effect is that having on your home’s value? How do you incorporate the distance of the distressed property from your own property into pricing metrics? A lot of research has already been done focusing on the supply explanation of such an effect, but we’re focusing now on the nuisance value that arises when you have neighbors on your left and right that are short-term rentals versus those homes with permanent residents.
One of my current papers is focused on the impact of short-term rentals on home prices, and how there is some research showing that these rentals take supply out of the market, thus increasing the price of available housing. But we are looking at proximity effect of such properties. It’s similar to looking at the contagion effect of foreclosures. If there is a distressed property or properties close to your home, what effect is that having on your home’s value? How do you incorporate the distance of the distressed property from your own property into pricing metrics? A lot of research has already been done focusing on the supply explanation of such an effect, but we’re focusing now on the nuisance value that arises when you have neighbors on your left and right that are short-term rentals versus those homes with permanent residents.
How do you see your research impacting businesses, the community and/or society?
Our white papers can help with policy- and decision-making. At Burns, we are launching our apartment report for the Denver metro area that will show price trends for apartments at the ZIP code level. That is very useful information for firms and companies that are building apartments in Denver metro. They can see where there is more supply, less supply, price trends and vacancy trends. We’ll be working on a housing market sentiment index next. We want to make sure that we have market reports that educate the community, because I see that as our responsibility.
Our white papers can help with policy- and decision-making. At Burns, we are launching our apartment report for the Denver metro area that will show price trends for apartments at the ZIP code level. That is very useful information for firms and companies that are building apartments in Denver metro. They can see where there is more supply, less supply, price trends and vacancy trends. We’ll be working on a housing market sentiment index next. We want to make sure that we have market reports that educate the community, because I see that as our responsibility.