Social Stratification by Joseph Lopreato

Social Stratification by Joseph Lopreato

This book introduces three innovative concepts and associated financial instruments with the potential to revolutionize real estate finance.

The factorisation of commercial real estate with factor-based real estate derivatives is the first concept analysed in this book. Methodological issues pertaining to factors in real estate risk analysis are covered in detail with in-depth academic reference. The book then analyses the digitalisation of commercial real estate. The environment in which buildings operate is changing fast. Cities which used to be made up of inanimate architectural structures are growing digital skins and becoming smarter. Smart technologies applied to the built environment are fundamentally changing buildings' role in cities and their interactions with their occupants. The book introduces the concept of smart space and analyses the emergence of 'digital rights', or property rights for smart buildings in smart environments. It proposes　concepts and methods for identifying, pricing and trading these new property rights which will dominate commercial real estate in the future. Finally, the tokenisation of commercial real estate is explored. Sometimes described as an alternative to securitisation, tokenisation is a new tool in financial engineering applied to real assets. The book suggests two innovative applications of tokenisation: private commercial real estate index tokenisation as well as data tokens for smart buildings.

With factorisation, digitalisation and tokenisation, commercial real estate is at the forefront of innovations. Real estate's unique characteristics stemming from its physicality trigger new ways of thinking which might have a profound impact on other asset classes, by paving the way for micro markets. Factor-based property derivatives, digital rights and tokens embody how commercial real estate can push the boundaries of modern capitalism and, in doing so, move at the centre of tomorrow's smart economies. This book is essential reading for all real estate, finance and smart technology researchers and interested professionals.

Joseph Lopreato is a former professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of several books, including Human Nature and Biocultural Evolution, Peasants No More, and, with L. E. Hazelrigg, Class Conflict and Mobility.