Method and formulating an investment strategy for real estate investment

• US 6,564,190 B1
• Filed: 12/30/1999
• Issued: 05/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GE Capital US Holdings, Inc. (General Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Capital Corporation (General Electric Company)
• Inventors: Dubner, Peter H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hess, Douglas
• Assistant Examiner(s): GORT, ELAINE L
• Application Number:
  US09/475,152
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/36
• US Class Current: 705/36.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

The method discloses a rule-based decision process which formulates an investment strategy in terms of short term debt, long term debt, short term equity, and/or long term equity for a variety of property types and geographic markets. The first phase of the method achieves a visual representation of the condition of each of a selected territory'"'"'s major markets, showing market direction and volatility determined on the basis of commercially available market research data which has been adjusted by the investing entity in light of actual local experience in the market. The second phase deals with the implications of the first phase results on four possible alternative investment types, namely, short term debt, long term debt, short term equity, and/or long term equity. This is accomplished by formulating a set of decision rules which enable the individual investors of the investing entity to uniformly evaluate specific types of investment for each property type in a respective market area. The result is again graphically portrayed so that the investing entity can easily formulate an actionable real estate investment strategy expressed in terms of investment types (namely, short term debt, long term debt, short term equity, and/or long term equity), for each market/property pair.

Claims

1. A method for formulating a real estate investment strategy, comprising the steps of:

receiving market data for at least one market/property pair from at least one data source, wherein said market/property pair represents a respective combination of a strategic market area and a property type;

analyzing said received market data so as to develop at least one respective value for each said market/property pair;

determining at least one trend indicator corresponding to each said at least one respective value;

representing said at least one respective value graphically as respective first graphic representations, said respective first graphic representations including graphic symbols selected, ordered, oriented, and positioned on a nine-product risk/reward matrix according to said at least one respective values and said at least one trend indicators;

receiving local market data corresponding to said at least one market/property pair;

adjusting said respective at least one first graphic representations in terms of the received local market data to yield respective locally adjusted first graphic representations;

formulating a set of decision rules, said decision rules being operable for analyzing said respective locally adjusted first graphic representations in terms of short term debt, long term debt, short term equity, and long term equity;

analyzing said respective locally adjusted first graphic representations in terms of said decision rules to yield respective investment rank values; and

representing said respective investment rank values as corresponding respective second graphic representations including graphic symbols selected, ordered, oriented, and positioned on a four-product short term-long term/debt-equity matrix according to said respective investment rank values, wherein said respective second graphic representations form the basis for selecting a real estate investment strategy.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the step of adjusting said respective investment rank values in terms of existing market exposure.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the step of selecting a real estate strategy comprises for each said market/property pair the step of determining whether to pursue an investment type selected from the group of short term debt, long term debt, short term equity, and long term equity investment types.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said property type comprises at least one of a group comprising office, industrial, retail, and domestic property types.

5. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said at least one data source is a commercial market research company.

6. The method as set forth in claim 5, wherein said market data is represented in a known econometric model driven by demographic metrics which enables projections of changes in at least supply/demand and vacancy rate, resulting changes in NOI/capital value, and derived market return driven by demographic metrics.

7. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the step of analyzing further comprises analyzing at least one risk value, return value, and trend of the return value.

8. The method as set forth in claim 7, wherein the at least one risk value is defined as historical volatility of the unlevered returns, as measured by standard deviation, and the at least one return value is defined as expected five year unlevered return.

9. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said graphic symbols comprise an up-arrow, a down-arrow, and a double-headed, sideways-arrow corresponding respectively to an up-trend, a down-trend and an unchanging trend.

10. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein said respective investment rank values each represent a degree of investment interest and said corresponding respective second graphic representations each comprise a gradation of shading selected from a series of shading including a first shading level indicating weak investment focus, a second shading level indicating medium investment focus, and a third shading level indicating strong investment focus.

11. The method as set forth in claim 10, wherein in an upper right corner of said nine-product risk/reward matrix said up-arrow is represented by a first 2×

2 matrix of squares in which left top and bottom matrix squares have said first shading level and the right top and bottom squares have said third shading level,

the sideways-arrow is represented by a second 2×

2 matrix of squares in which all left and right top matrix squares and a left bottom matrix square have said second shading level and a right bottom matrix square has said first shading level,

the downward pointing arrow is represented by a third 2×

2 matrix of squares in which top right and left matrix squares have said second shading level and bottom right and left matrix squares have said first shading level,

wherein in an upper left corner of said nine-product risk/reward matrix said up-arrow is represented by a fourth 2×

2 matrix of squares in which all matrix squares have said third shading level,

the sideways-arrow is represented by a fifth 2×

2 matrix of square in which top left and right squares and a left bottom square have said third shading level, and a right bottom square has said second shading level,

the down-arrow is represented by a sixth 2×

2 matrix of squares in which left and right top squares have said third shading level and said left bottom square has said second shading level and a right bottom square has said first shading level, and

wherein in a lower left corner and a lower right corner of said nine-product risk/reward matrix said up-arrow, said sideways-arrow and said down-arrow are represented by a seventh 2×

2 matrix of squares in which all squares have said third shading level.