Real Estate in South Asia

This book provides insights into commercial and residential real estate markets in one of the world’s fastest growing regions: South Asia. Despite being the growth leader of the future, South Asia is among the "least integrated" regions with a large need for real-estate-specific information and knowledge. Scholars and industry practitioners from a variety of backgrounds come together to provide pan-regional and country-specific insights into―amongst others―institutional, economic and real estate market characteristics, real-estate-specific legislation, real estate financing, development and urban planning practices in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A particular focus of the book is on topics such as the provision of affordable housing, sustainability, innovative office concepts such as co-working and the development of real estate investment trust (REIT) markets in South Asia.

This book integrates knowledge on real estate markets in and across South Asian countries by means of country profiles and case studies to provide industry professionals, policy makers and scholars with a fundamental understanding of characteristics, opportunities and challenges in the region. The book is intended for readers with interests in real estate development, finance and investment, urban planning and housing in South Asia. It is also suitable as a reference textbook for undergraduate and graduate students in programs focusing on real estate, economic development, urban planning and public policy in South Asia and other emerging countries.

Prashant Das, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Real Estate Finance and the acting director of the Real Estate and Finance Institute at École hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland. Prashant has delivered Master's, executive and undergraduate-level courses in Switzerland, the USA, China, India and Romania. Earlier, he served in managerial and engineering roles with several firms/organizations, including HCL Infosystems and Tata Consultancy Services. Prashant has earned seven internationally competitive best research paper awards and a teaching excellence award.

Ramya Aroul is an assistant professor of finance at Texas A&M University–Commerce, USA. She holds a Ph.D. specializing in Finance and Real Estate and an MS in Real Estate from the University of Texas at Arlington. Her work has been published in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics and the Journal of Real Estate Research and has been presented at national and international conferences like those of the Financial Management Association, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association and Eastern Finance Association.

Julia Freybote is an assistant professor of finance at Portland State University, USA, and an extraordinary associate professor in the Department of Business Management at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. She holds a Ph.D. in Real Estate and a Master of Science in Real Estate (MSRE) from Georgia State University, USA, as well as a Diplom-Kauffrau degree from EBS Universität in Germany. Her research interests include real estate finance and investment, behavioural real estate and sustainability and sustainable urban development in the context of real estate asset pricing. She has taught graduate and undergraduate real estate courses in the USA and South Africa.