Real Estate

Cornerstone Research combines industry knowledge with analytical expertise in economics and finance to address complex issues that arise in real estate–related matters.

Real Estate Capabilities

Real Estate Transactions

Cornerstone Research works with industry experts who have practical experience in all aspects of commercial and residential real estate development, including land acquisition, financing, entitlements, zoning issues, marketing, and working with architects and other professionals. These matters often involve assessing the typicality or reasonableness of development related activities. In addition, we have worked on many cases involving sales of land and properties, leases, and more complex transactions.

Commercial Real Estate and CMBS

Cornerstone Research provides consulting services and economic analysis for complex litigation matters related to commercial real estate. We leverage our deep experience of commercial real estate markets, structured finance, and valuation to support clients and testifying experts in commercial real estate matters. We work on matters spanning the spectrum of commercial real estate contract disputes, analyses of lending markets, commercial real estate valuation, and commercial mortgage-backed securities matters.

Real Estate Technology Companies

Cornerstone Research works on cases related to a wide range of internet-enabled real estate companies and services, such as listings, market information, rentals, and other areas.

Appraisals and Automated Valuation Models (AVMs)

Experts who can opine on appraisals or provide well-supported asset valuations are critical—especially in cases where property values must be calculated at a specific point in time. We have worked with clients and appraisal and AVM experts to prepare for deposition and trial in cases arising out of the credit crisis, as well as many other contexts.

Securities, Investments, and Financial Institutions

We address issues related to disclosure; equity and debt financing; and investment decisions. For example, in credit-crisis litigation, we have assessed the valuation and performance of mortgage-backed securities (MBS), collateralized debt obligations (CDO), and other securitized instruments.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

We have consulted on numerous cases involving real estate investment trusts (REITs), including putative class actions and merger-related matters. In these cases, we have supported experts who analyze valuations, REIT financial statements and performance, and industry trends. We have also analyzed corporate governance issues specific to REITs.

Damages Analysis

We perform a wide range of complex economic damages analyses in real estate litigation. For example, we provide rent and asset valuations using discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis and option theory. In cases alleging construction defects, we build economic models of but-for scenarios in which the alleged breach did not take place. We also have significant experience analyzing the impact of macroeconomic and other factors on hotel occupancy rates, expenses, and profitability.

Forensic Analysis

Real estate transactions frequently involve multiple entities that may or may not be related. In these instances, it can be necessary to analyze corporate structures and the movements of funds between these entities. Our expertise allows us to sift through large amounts of financial data and corporate communications to identify trends, anomalies, and fraudulent transactions.