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This paper examines the current uncertainty within real estate markets through the quotes of Dr. James A. Graaskamp, a real estate educator and researcher. Graaskamp focused his teachings on real estate investment through the lens of risk management and risk mitigation. Using the current COVID 19 pandemic crisis as the backdrop, the author examines how we might learn from Graaskamp to look differently at real estate investments during these uncertain times when an external shock shakes a market, causing transactions to stall and sometimes freeze. In addition, she explores how we might learn from today's situation and make long-term changes to our built environment to have a better understanding of the risks associated with the current but also future pandemics and other uncertainties including natural disasters or climate change. The quotes were gathered by Jim Curtis, a student, friend and colleague of Dr. Graaskamp from the late 1970s until his death in 1988. Through these quotes, the author explores the many facets of the complex nature of the real estate asset class particularly during these very uncertain times created by the global pandemic.

This is a thought piece on the current uncertainty surrounding real estate markets around the globe caused by the COVID 19 pandemic. The author of this essay was also a student, friend and mentee of Jim Graaskamp's, so it is an oral history of her experiences with this well-known and iconic real estate educator and scholar.

As a discussion piece, this is not a traditional research project with empirical findings. It is an exploration of the current uncertain times caused by the COVID 19 pandemic and its impact on real estate markets. The author examines how the increased risk is currently, and will also continue to, significantly influence the fields of property investment and finance.

The James A. Graaskamp Collection on Teaching Materials compiled by the Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association is not a widely recognized resource for real estate scholars and practitioners yet the two CDs contain a wealth of information and knowledge from an intelligent real estate expert. Used as the base for the discussion, this paper sheds light on the teachings and writings of Dr. Graaskamp. It illustrates the usefulness of the materials for other researchers and educators. In particular, it highlights Graaskamp focus on risk management and mitigation which he strongly believed were essential skills to understanding the complicated nature of a real estate investment and for making good investment decisions, particularly when markets are full of uncertainty as is the case during these current times of the global COVID 19 pandemic.

As one of only a handful of living and still practicing doctoral students of Professor Graaskamp, the author has a unique perspective and lens to attempt to interpret the quotes of this real estate expert. He was a leader in real estate education, particularly as it pertains to real estate valuation, feasibility and investment, and this essay draws out some of his more important lessons from his pithy and often humorous quotes.

Notes the real estate development process involves three major groups – a consumer group, a production group and a public infrastructure group. Comments that a major limitation shared by all groups is that each has a cash cycle enterprise which must remain solvent to survive. Concludes that the best risk management device for the producer group is through research so that the development product fits as closely as possible the needs of the tenant or purchaser, the values of the politically active collective consumers and the land use or the ethic of the society.

This article identifies the concept of market value as a standardizing concept that coordinates the actions of market participants in relatively inefficient real estate markets. The paper also identifies different levels of discourse that reflect the organizational/institutional complexity of the real estate appraisal profession. The standardizing effect of market value includes a cognitive and fiduciary component. Using this framework, the paper traces the influence of Richard T. Ely’s institutional economics – and its legacy in the form of the research program of Urban Land Economics at the University of Wisconsin – on the formation and development of the standards of appraisal and ethical practice. This complexity is traced historically from the early part of the 19th century to the formation of the professional organizations and the establishment of their standards, and also through a series of reform efforts in the 1960s and 1980s that were articulated in the academic community. The paper illustrates the manner in which Institutional Economics has been influential in the continuing development of the real estate appraisal profession and suggests reasons for its continuing relevance.

Discusses the issues confronting the appraisal industry in the USA at the original date of publication (1986). Notes that there was an observable lack of effort by the relevant professional appraisal groups in the USA to provide a continuous and vigorous review of methodology to meet the new challenges of the market‐place. Suggests that it is apparent that improvements in techniques will occur when social institutions become self‐conscious about the adequacy of the procedure, and where the benefits of improvements are perceived to be greater than the cost of implementation.

Applies, modifies and extends the basic taxonomy Professor Graaskamp developed for feasibility studies to present a framework for understanding how market analysis and feasibility research are carried out. Situations are modified and the relevant actors and feasibility problems applicable to each situation are identified and discussed. Finally makes explicit the role of the developer in the context of the development process and the nature of feasibility analysis that is the most appropriate for developers as clients.

Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA) are terms the military have coined to describe the environment they often operate in. This paper examines how this decision-making framework can be used to better inform real estate investment and development. In celebration of this journal's 40th anniversary, we also explore how VUCA can be related to and expand on the teachings of Dr. James A. Graaskamp who published his seminal piece on the Fundamentals of Real Estate Development (1981) the same year. In that piece, he highlights the importance of paying attention to the human factor, the consumers of real estate.

This is a thought piece on an alternative decision-making framework that can help capture the dynamic environment that commercial real estate investors and developers are currently working in. VUCA captures the difficulty of predicting the future in a world of accelerating, unpredictable change. This is particularly important in today's rapidly changing world caused not only by the current COVID-19 pandemic but also the exponential growth of the proptech industry as well as the increasing risks and opportunities associated with climate change that continues to impact the built environment.

This is not a traditional research project with empirical findings. We are presenting an alternative framework for thinking about making investment decisions in these current volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times today and in the future. In addition, the importance of multidisciplinary training and the human factor are stressed.

There are no limitations to this research as it is the ideas of the authors. Implications are to help real estate investors, developers and educators better understand the environment that they are working in.

VUCA captures better the dynamic nature of real estate investments compared to traditional analysis. It helps one better analyze the risks and returns but also to acknowledge that there is a lot you cannot predict and there are many exogenous variables that can, at times, completely change the rules of the game. Flexibility and adaptability are essential tools for working in a VUCA environment. In addition, the human factor plays an increasingly important role and real estate investors and developers that clearly understand this and focus on the consumer will likely be more successful.

We believe that this is the first time that VUCA has been used in the real estate academic literature.

Discusses the valuation and forecasting methods principally used in the USA to determine the worth and market value of a real estate asset. Notes that the decision to buy or sell a real estate asset will be influenced by the pricing techniques of the real estate broker, the appraisal methodology of the appraiser and the internal analysis of the investor. Concludes that the process of real estate appraisal is intrinsically linked to the cultural and statutory process of the subject market.

The purpose of this study is to solve five key brownfield valuation problems.

This aim is achieved by using doctoral research on integrating the scientific process into the appraisal process. The first objective is demonstrating why four of the problems require solutions prior to solving the first problem, a valuation procedure for formerly used sites. A second objective is to use empirical data from appraisals to reveal why existing methodology is not reliable – because it does not solve the four problems.

The resulting findings are that a developmental model that incorporates the Triad approach to quantifying environmental uncertainty, initially used in the USA, simulates a process used by buyers to establish the price paid for brownfields with contaminated land.

The practical implication that results from this research is that valuers need to emulate the buyer's process when valuing this property type. Prescriptive procedures for valuation requiring the use of scientific methods, as used in the Triad process, need to be set forth to quantify the atypical uncertainties in valuing this property type. The results of this research should be of significant interest to all stakeholders that are involved in brownfield redevelopment, so that they can insure that their needs will be met by improved feasibility analysis.

This research is unique in that it is the first empirical test of the reliability of the valuation of brownfields that need to undergo a time‐consuming and often expensive soil remediation process.

Examines the underlying basis of the valuation process at a time when the world property markets are experiencing the effects of the global recession. Refers to professional criticism in the USA, the UK and Australasia. Advocates a return to first principles in all appraisals and valuations, the value being determined between the supply and demand criteria in any particular market.