REAL ESTATE MARKET ANALYSIS AND DEVELOPMENT PLANNING: GRAND CAYMAN

T3419

January 3 - 26, 2008

ITINERARY

11/17 Orientation at the University of St. Thomas
01/03 Twin Cities Departure
01/26 Grand Cayman/Twin Cities

PRICE

$4,695*

This course incorporates many academic disciplines (engineering, architecture, history, political science, law, economics, international finance, tourism and environmental science to name a few) to understand the physical and international market conditions which make this isolated island such a focal point for North American, Pacific and European vacationers. The government of the Cayman Islands, specifically the Ministry of Planning and Development, is eager to have a university class study its long-term real estate development plans from an outside perspective of the market forces driving development on the main island, Grand Cayman. As such, this course will be a hands-on field study of the entire island’s land use planning process.

The course will be conducted throughout Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman is the largest of three islands comprising The Cayman Islands, a British Protectorate, but it is a relatively small island that can be traversed from end-to-end in less than 60 minutes. Given the island’s isolation in the Caribbean, a comprehensive development plan is quite compelling in that nobody can “leapfrog” the goals and objectives of the comprehensive plan and develop fringe areas. Therefore, the market analysis and development-pattern processes studied will be in a somewhat controlled environment. Together, these unique characteristics will allow students the opportunity to investigate directly—and in isolation—the effects that zoning, transportation systems, resource planning, employment objectives and recreation economies without having to account for “white noise” from immediately adjacent planning districts—a condition that other areas, such as the Twin Cities metropolitan marketplace, must try to estimate and to accommodate in their planning efforts.

COMPREHENSIVE FEES

Transportation and course arrangements as indicated, hotel accommodations in twin and triple rooms, continental breakfast daily (subject to change).

PREREQUISITES

FINC 200, Real Estate Principles, or professional licensure (State licensing in real estate brokerage, real estate appraisal, or law); or MKTG 300; or their equivalents; or any course which involves community planning or development, urban or regional economics, urban geography; or consent of the instructor. A copy of your transcript must be provided upon application.

REQUIRED READINGS

There is one required text, mainly for reference. Other reading materials and Ministry of Planning and Development documents will be presented to students while on field trips. There will also be a packet of readings that we will use at various points during the course.

Market Analysis for Real Estate: Concepts and Applications in Valuation and Highest and Best Use Stephen F. Fanning.

EVALUATION
1. Attendance: 10%
2. Participation in group discussions: 20%
3. Journal: 30%
4. Project paper/presentation: 20%
5. Written work: 20%

GRADING

Letter grade.

*Each home institution may have supplementary fees in addition to the price listed.

INSTRUCTORS

Thomas W. Hamilton, Ph.D., University of St. Thomas (651) 962-5551, twhamilton@stthomas.edu

Dale Thompson, Ph.D., University of St. Thomas (651) 962-5195, dbthompson@stthomas.edu

Dr. Hamilton's doctoral training is from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Real Estate and Urban Land Economics and his undergraduate training is in Natural Resources and Land Use Analysis. The financial/economic marketplace is a significant driving force in the local economy as well giving a source of stability to the island’s economy should the recreational economy depress due to physical destruction (hurricanes) or new competition (Belize). In January 2007, he led the UMAIE course "Real Estate Development in Italy: From Romulus to Real Time".

Professor Thompson is a scholar in law & economics, with a focus in environmental policies. He has traveled throughout the world, including studying at Oxford University. He is in his second year of teaching at Saint Thomas, after teaching previously at law schools such as William Mitchell and Roger Williams University, and teaching economics at the University of Virginia and Washington University in Saint Louis.