Real Estate Finance Textbook Reviews

Edition 5.2 of the text, as expanded and reconfigured, serves as a more comprehensive source where information flows more logically than ever before. I say congratulations, this may well be the best textbook ever written concerning the subject of Real Estate Finance and Investment Analysis.

I have been using Peter’s and Bruce’s book for several years and they do an excellent job of combining the theory and practice of real estate finance and investments.  I use it in my university graduate class and in our analyst training program at USAA Real Estate.  The book is well written and the support materials are excellent.  I appreciate the practical approach to presenting the material and the emphasis on judgment and experience to go with the numbers.

I strongly recommend the Linneman Kirsch Commercial Real Estate text for upper-level undergraduates, MBA students and management training.  It is exceptionally well written and includes examples that parallel the text well.  For students to get the most out of the course, I recommend Financial Accounting and Corporate Finance and Statistics as prerequisites.  For professors using Argus, Linneman-Kirsch is a great companion.

I love the book and plan to use it in my classes. It is worth the time spent prepping new course material. Finally, a book that is practical in real life.

Linneman's new text provides the best investment analysis of real estate that I have seen. The book is comprehensive, clearly written, and the examples are both relevant and well presented. For students, professors, and young professionals desiring a thorough grounding in real estate finance and investment analysis, this text will provide a compelling and satisfying answer.

This book offers students a rare glimpse into the tools and decision making of real estate finance. Its straightforward exposition allows one to grasp the challenges facing real estate investors, and provides them with an excellent foundation upon which to build their careers. This book will be required reading for new real estate professionals for many years to come.

Linneman’s text stimulates real analysis, as opposed to just number-crunching. It takes students above and beyond the mechanics of entering data into a spreadsheet and challenges them to think logically and economically about the unique aspects of the commercial real estate market. The combination of the text, the supplemental material and the pre-requisite sections provides a complete package for students at all levels.

I’ve now had an opportunity to use Peter’s textbook for teaching graduate level courses in Real Estate Private Equity and Real Estate Structured Finance. In both cases, the book served as an excellent primer on general real estate concepts, in addition to providing in depth analysis of such topics as asset valuation, deal structuring and real estate capital market considerations. The supplemental articles provided great context for discussing the lessons of class, giving the students a much more complete perspective on our industry and its unique challenges.

Although I was hesitant changing textbooks, after much study and discussion with professors who had used previous versions of the Linneman book, I decided to take the plunge and rework my course. Looking back, I am so pleased with my decision as the 5th Edition Linneman-Kirsch textbook is not only topical but good at making simple, what can easily become complex. The on-line support materials, excel sheets and exam questions are great as well. The course in turn has become more rigorous but the students are better positioned to succeed. And while I can't give Linneman-Kirsch all the credit, more students than ever before have said that my real estate investments class is the best class they have taken in college and that it has changed their lives.