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Borrelli Institute Research and Resources
The Borrelli Institute for Real Estate Studies (BIRES) advances high-impact real estate research by bridging academic scholarship with practical market intelligence. Our research hub connects faculty, students, and industry leaders to analyze trends, develop proprietary market tools, and inform economic policy.
Penn State/ACY Alternative Inflation Index
Developed by researchers at the Borrelli Institute, the Penn State/ACY Alternative Inflation Index replaces lagged government rental data with real-time, quality-adjusted market rents—delivering a more responsive metric for policymakers, financial analysts, and economists.
Each month, we update the new Penn State/ACY Alternative Inflation Index and compare it to the most recent CPI and PCE inflation measures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. View the latest index and the related information.
Repeat Rent Indexes
Developed by Penn State Smeal faculty, the Repeat-Rent Index (RRI) pioneered a weighted repeat-rent methodology to measure cross-sectional housing market trends across U.S. cities. While no longer actively updated or published, this historical dataset provided vital insight into local rent dynamics following the 2007 housing crash and served as the direct methodological foundation for today's Marginal Rent Index and Alternative Inflation Index.
Research Partnerships
Collaborative research networks and interdisciplinary initiatives connecting academic scholars with industry practitioners.
The National University of Singapore - Institute of Real Estate Studies
The National University of Singapore (NUS) Institute of Real Estate Studies (IRES) was established as a University-level research institute dedicated to advancing multidisciplinary research in real estate and related fields. The NUS is a leading global university centered in Asia and IRES works toward becoming a leading global knowledge centre on Asian real estate, through the promotion of research excellence, international partnerships and industry collaborations.Not only is real estate today a crucial link in global capital market and risk management, it is also a critical resource in Asia’s high-density rapid urbanisation and Asia’s rise as a global economic centre. The Institute promotes multidisciplinary collaboration and high-impact research on broad real estate issues in relation to finance, economics, urban development, wealth accumulation, demography, environmental sustainability and public policies. IRES explores pertinent real estate issues from a holistic perspective that is distinctively Asian, drawing upon the multi-disciplinary resources of NUS and accessing its worldwide linkages with prominent overseas institutions. Through its research focus and close collaboration with industry partners, IRES seeks to enhance industry best practices, capabilities and governance contributing to sustainable community development, economic progress and social well-being.
Borrelli Institute Research Working Papers
Location Density, Systematic Risk, and Cap Rates: Evidence from REITs
Posted: 11 Jun 2021 Last Revised: 13 Jun 2021
Gregg S. Fisher, Eva Steiner, Sheridan Titman and Ashvin Viswanathan
Quent Capital, Penn State Smeal College of Business, University of Texas at Austin - Department of Finance and People's United Advisors
Firm Location and the Value-Growth Premium
Posted: 08 Jun 2021 Last Revised: 17 Jun 2021
Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania State University and Pennsylvania State University
Eviction Risk of Rental Housing: Does it Matter How Your Landlord Finances the Property?
FRB of Philadelphia Working Paper No. 21-05
Posted: 14 May 2021
Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
REIT Capital Structure Choices: When Does Preparation Matter?
Posted: 21 Apr 2021
Desen Lin, Andrey D. Pavlov, Eva Steiner and Susan M. Wachter
Cal State Fullerton, Simon Fraser University (SFU) - Finance Area, Penn State Smeal College of Business and University of Pennsylvania - Wharton School, Department of Real Estate
Information in Financial Contracts: Evidence from CMBS Pooling and Servicing Agreements
Posted: 26 Feb 2021
Brent W. Ambrose, Yiqiang Han, Sanket Korgaonkar and Lily Shen
Pennsylvania State University, Clemson University, University of Virginia and Department of Finance, Clemson University
Amazon Is Coming to Town: Private Information and Housing Market Efficiency
Posted: 04 Feb 2021 Last Revised: 22 Feb 2021
Pennsylvania State University, University of Nevada, Reno and Pennsylvania State University - Smeal College of Business
Do Real Estate Values Boost Corporate Borrowing? Evidence from Contract-Level Data
Posted: 28 Dec 2020
Murillo Campello, Robert A. Connolly, Gaurav Kankanhalli and Eva Steiner
Cornell University - Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Miami Herbert Business School - Department of Finance, University of Pittsburgh - Katz Graduate School of Business and Penn State Smeal College of Business
Eviction Risk of Rental Housing: Does it Matter How Your Landlord Finances the Property?
Posted: 19 Dec 2020
Brent W. Ambrose, Xudong An and Luis A. Lopez
Pennsylvania State University, Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and University of Illinois at Chicago
Do Private Equity Investors Create Value? Evidence from the Hotel Industry
HEC Paris Research Paper No. FIN-2020-1410
Posted: 16 Dec 2020 Last Revised: 22 Dec 2020
HEC Paris - Finance Department and Penn State Smeal College of Business
How Different Is Real Estate? A Story of Factors
Posted: 14 Oct 2020
Smeal College of Business, The Pennsylvania State University
Divergence of House Prices in the United States: 2000 to 2015
Posted: 01 Oct 2020
Liang Peng and Lei Zhang
Smeal College of Business, The Pennsylvania State University and North Dakota State University
Did the Paycheck Protection Program Help Small Businesses? Evidence from Commercial Mortgage-backed Securities
Posted: 16 Aug 2020 Last Revised: 27 May 2021
National University of Singapore, Pennsylvania State University, University of Illinois at Chicago and Pennsylvania State University
Quantitative Easing and Financial Risk Taking: Evidence from Agency Mortgage Reits
FRB of Dallas Working Paper No. 2020
Posted: 08 Jul 2020
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and Penn State Smeal College of Business
Online Appendix -- Does Borrower and Broker Race Affect the Cost of Mortgage Credit?
Review of Financial Studies (Forthcoming)
Posted: 01 Jul 2020
Pennsylvania State University, University of Georgia and University of Illinois at Chicago
Past Experiences and Investment Decisions: Evidence from Real Estate Markets
Posted: 04 Jun 2020
Pennsylvania State University and Department of Finance, Clemson University
Financial Flexibility and Manager–Shareholder Conflict: Evidence from Reits
Real Estate Economics, Vol. 48, Issue 1, pp. 200-239, 2020
Posted: 04 Jun 2020
University of Wisconsin - School of Business - Department of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics and Penn State Smeal College of Business
Estimating Housing Rent Depreciation for Inflation Adjustments
Posted: 27 May 2020 Last Revised: 12 May 2021
University of Illinois at Chicago and Pennsylvania State University - Smeal College of Business
The Bank of Japan’s ETF Purchase during COVID-19
Posted: 08 May 2020 Last Revised: 01 Jun 2021
University of Tokyo - Graduate School of Public Policy and Pennsylvania State University - Smeal College of Business
The Bank of Japan as a Real Estate Tycoon: Large-Scale REIT Purchases
Handbook of Real Estate and Macroeconomics, Forthcoming
Posted: 03 Apr 2020
University of Tokyo - Graduate School of Public Policy and Pennsylvania State University - Smeal College of Business