ABSTRACT
The RE industry is diverse and complex. It includes the more tangible aspects such as housing as well as the less visible components such as RE Investment Trusts (REITs) and other types of securitisation (Capozza and Seguin, 2003). As a result of the diversity of the RE sector, it is often important to disaggregate the various sectors in order to effectively map out their respective contribution to economic development. Even when RE is conceptualized broadly as land and/or the buildings attached to the land, there are several cleavages such as commercial, industrial, offices, leisure and residential RE including student housing. Conventional studies have often treated RE as a homogenous subject (Glossop, 2008). In as much as this may be convenient, it comes with its inherent risk of failing to explore the unique contribution of the various sub categories of RE.
