Program Overview

Real Estate and Housing Economics (Spatial and Applied Economics)

The Real Estate and Housing Economics specialisation prepares students for a career in real estate, a sector with strong demand for skilled professionals. This programme combines financial, economic, and spatial perspectives to provide a complete understanding of real estate dynamics. It also teaches students how to analyse large (spatial) datasets.

Curriculum

• Overview
• Curriculum
• Future
• Admissions

The specialisation in Real Estate and Housing Economics combines real estate and housing economics with courses in urban and regional economics, which is highly relevant given that the core principle of real estate is that ‘location, location, location’ drives real estate values.

Programme Structure

In Period 1 (Sep–Oct), students take foundational courses in econometrics and microeconomics. These courses equip students with the theoretical and empirical tools needed for advanced economic analysis. In Periods 2 and 4 (Nov–March), students take a set of core courses that focus on the economic dimensions of real estate and housing.

• Housing Economics and Finance explores how housing markets function and the role of finance within them.
• Real Estate Finance and Investment covers investment strategies, property valuation, and financial instruments.
• Regional and Urban Economics examines how spatial factors and urban dynamics influence economic outcomes and property values.
• A recommended technical course is Geographical Information Systems (GIS), which trains students to interpret building-level spatial data and conduct spatial analysis. Throughout the year, students can choose electives that align with their interests — for example, in environmental economics or transport economics. The specialisation places strong emphasis on applied work, (geographical) data analysis, and policy evaluation. In Periods 5 and 6 (Apr–Jun), students write their master's thesis, with close supervision from a lecturer. This is an opportunity to conduct original research on a topic of their choice, often in combination with an internship at an external organisation or research institute.

Start Date

The start date of this programme is September 1st.

Courses

Compulsory

• Econometrics (P1)
• Microeconomics and Welfare (P1)
• Policy brief Real Estate Housing Economics (P3)
• Housing Economics and Finance (P4)
• Real Estate Finance and Investment (P4)
• Thesis (P5-P6)

Electives

• Recommended elective courses
  • Geographical Information Systems (P2)
  • Regional and Urban Economics (P2)
• Other elective courses
  • Economics of Climate Change (P4)
  • Economics of Environmental Policy (P2)
  • Economics of Public Health (P2)
  • Economics of Public Policy (P2)
  • Transport Economics (P2)
  • Airline Economics and Management (P4)
  • Public Finance and Social Insurance (P4)
  • Environmental and Resource Economics (P2)
  • Healthcare Economics and Management (P4)
  • Housing Economics and Finance (P4)
  • Network Economics and Management (P4)
  • Real Estate Finance and Investment (P4)
  • Urban Economic Challenges and Policies (P4)

Programme Description

The programme addresses highly relevant and closely interrelated policy issues in today’s modern society in the field of regional development, urban problems, transport policies, environmental degradation, real estate economics. As such, it is concerned with many aspects of society in which space, distance and networks play a fundamental role.