People, who have read the first edition of this book, would probably agree that it is a relatively slim and handy book. However when I received the second edition of Commercial Real Estate Investment, I was surprised. Because the number of pages of this second edition is nearly tripled comparing with its previous version. To find out how different is this second edition to the first one and what are the new materials, I opened the book.
In this second edition, there are 413 pages in total. They are divided into the following four parts, and each part contains two or three chapters:
Part 1 – Introduction to the Market.
Part 2 – The Investment Process.
Part 3 – Investment Vehicles.
Part 4 – International Real Estate Investment.
Although some of the contents remain the same in this second edition, personally I think there are three main differences. These differences are not surprised, but necessary. Because since the publication of the first edition in 2000, the property industry has experienced tremendous changes.
The first and most obvious difference in Baum (2009) is that some of the data and figures have been updated. Since this book is published at the time when the property market is suffering from the current financial turmoil. Baum (2009) uses latest data to explain the market performance.
Second, in the last two decades, the globalisation process has been accelerated and investors have been seeking more overseas investment opportunities in the general capital market as well as the property market. To in line with this globalisation process, Baum (2009) replaces a section on “emerging markets” with “international real estate investment”. Although the discussion has been focused on indirect property investment, Baum (2009) discusses about the opportunities and problems of investing in the global property market.
Third, Baum (2009) introduces “Part 3 – Investment Vehicles” in the second edition. This is because large lot sizes of property have reduced the liquidity of the property market as well as the accessibility of investors. Therefore, new ways of entering the property market, such as REITs and property derivatives, have been introduced since the mid 1990s. As a result, Baum (2009) introduces three new chapters and discusses various property investment vehicles.
Overall and as stated in the preface to the second edition of this book, “if the first edition of this book was a set of sketches, this new edition is more ambitious. This time, I hope we have produced a coherent and continuous book, which successfully brings together theory and practice” Baum (2009, xvii). This is a good book for property practitioners, and it provides such unique and detailed illustrations of commercial real estate investment.
