Brent W. Ambrose
Professor of Real Estate, Jason and Julie Borrelli Faculty Chair in Real Estate, Director of Ph.D. Program, Director of Institute for Real Estate Studies
Department Risk Management
Office Address 381 Business Building
Phone Number
814-867-0066
Email Address
bwa10@psu.edu
Brent W. Ambrose

Professor of Real Estate, Jason and Julie Borrelli Faculty Chair in Real Estate, Director of Ph.D. Program, Director of Institute for Real Estate Studies
Department Risk Management
Office Address 381 Business Building
Phone Number
814-867-0066
Email Address
bwa10@psu.edu
Dr. Ambrose is the Jason and Julie Borrelli Faculty Chair in Real Estate and Director of the Institute for Real Estate Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining Penn State University, Dr. Ambrose was the Director of the Center for Real Estate Studies and Professor of Finance at the University of Kentucky where he held the Kentucky Real Estate Professorship. In addition, Dr. Ambrose was an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he directed the UWM real estate program and from 1997 to 1998 he was a Visiting Associate Professor and Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. In 2010, Dr. Ambrose was elected President of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association (AREUEA) and served as the Executive Vice President of AREUEA from 1996 to 2003. In 2003, he was elected a Fellow of the Weimer School of Advanced Studies in Real Estate and Land Economics at the Homer Hoyt Advanced Studies Institute. In 2004, he was elected a Fellow of the Real Estate Research Institute and in 2006 he was appointed a Fellow of the FDIC Center for Financial Research. Currently, Dr. Ambrose is co-editor of Real Estate Economics and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, the Journal of Real Estate Research, and the International Real Estate Review, and is a member of the board of directors for the Real Estate Research Institute and the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.
Dr. Ambrose specializes in real estate finance, corporate finance, and fixed income security analysis. His research interests include issues related to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), loss mitigation programs associated with mortgage default and foreclosure, Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), fixed-income securities, and consumer credit contracts. Dr. Ambrose has consulted with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Congressional Budget Office on several occasions regarding issues concerning FHA mortgage default and foreclosure, economically targeted assets, privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the GSEs affordable housing goals. Dr. Ambrose has published extensively in the fields of real estate and finance. His work appears in The Journal of Finance, the Review of Financial Studies, the Review of Economics and Statistics, The Journal of Money Credit and Banking, The Journal of Financial Intermediation, The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Financial Services Research, Financial Management, Financial Analysts Journal, Real Estate Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Journal of Real Estate Research, Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Housing Economics, Journal of Housing Research, The Wharton Real Estate Review, and Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research. In addition, Dr. Ambrose is co-editor of Household Credit Usage: Personal Debt and Mortgages, published by Palgrave/MacMillian. Dr. Ambrose holds a Ph.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Georgia and a B.S. in Business from Wake Forest University.
Expertise
Real Estate Finance.
Education
Ph D, Real Estate (Finance), The University of Georgia, 1989
MBA, Real Estate (Corporate Finance and Investments), The University of Georgia, 1987
BS, Business (History), Wake Forest University, 1986
Courses Taught
FIN 470 – R Est and Cap Mkts (3)
Analysis of publicly-traded real estate of both the equity, (REITs) and debt (MBSs) sides. The course also provides international perspectives. FIN 470 / RM 470 Real Estate and Capital Markets (3) The objectives of this course are to expose the student and explore the issues associated with the analysis of "public" ("Wall Street") real estate, including both equities (such as Real Estate Investment Trusts or REITs) and debt vehicles (such as Mortgage-Backed Securities or MBSs). In addition, the course will focus on the increasingly globalization of real estate capital markets as the real estate sector becomes integrated into the global financial system. The differences between private and public real estate analysis will also be explored, including the suitability of traditional asset pricing models for real estate analysis. Topics include the growing impact of institutional real estate forces on the real estate sector, the use of modern financial economics methods to real estate including the concept of market efficiency, modern portfolio theory applications, market measures of risk and return, the use of option-based models, and other advances. The rise of Wall Street's interest in real estate securities is an important institutional development and serves as the underlying background for the analysis of MBSs using fixed-income security techniques. As globalization has spread, the real estate sector has moved with these changes and prospects for a global real estate market are examined and evaluated. This course serves as a compliment to FIN 460, which emphasizes traditional financial analyses of individual real estate projects. In FIN 470, real estate securities are viewed as a natural extension towards the complete integration of real estate and capital markets. In this sense, these courses will enable traditional and modern analyses of the real estate sector for years to come.
REST 570 – Institutional REST Investment (2)
This course covers the convergence of real estate and the capital markets. It is designed to expose students to the structure, analysis, and valuation of a variety of real estate securities including: residential mortgage backed securities (MBS), collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS), and real estate investment trusts (REITs). The course also focuses on the role of real estate as a specific asset class in modern portfolio theory. After successfully completing this course, students will have a practical foundation for applying rigorous empirical methods in research to topics related to project level valuation and investment, the role of debt (capital structure), analysis of mortgages, private and public equity investment in real estate, and the role of real estate in portfolio allocation models.
RM 470 – R Est and Cap Mkts (3)
Analysis of publicly-traded real estate of both the equity, (REITs) and debt (MBSs) sides. The course also provides international perspectives. FIN 470 / RM 470 Real Estate and Capital Markets (3) The objectives of this course are to expose the student and explore the issues associated with the analysis of "public" ("Wall Street") real estate, including both equities (such as Real Estate Investment Trusts or REITs) and debt vehicles (such as Mortgage-Backed Securities or MBSs). In addition, the course will focus on the increasingly globalization of real estate capital markets as the real estate sector becomes integrated into the global financial system. The differences between private and public real estate analysis will also be explored, including the suitability of traditional asset pricing models for real estate analysis. Topics include the growing impact of institutional real estate forces on the real estate sector, the use of modern financial economics methods to real estate including the concept of market efficiency, modern portfolio theory applications, market measures of risk and return, the use of option-based models, and other advances. The rise of Wall Street's interest in real estate securities is an important institutional development and serves as the underlying background for the analysis of MBSs using fixed-income security techniques. As globalization has spread, the real estate sector has moved with these changes and prospects for a global real estate market are examined and evaluated. This course serves as a compliment to FIN 460, which emphasizes traditional financial analyses of individual real estate projects. In FIN 470, real estate securities are viewed as a natural extension towards the complete integration of real estate and capital markets. In this sense, these courses will enable traditional and modern analyses of the real estate sector for years to come.
RM 494H – Research Project (Variable)
Supervised honor student research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.
REST 590 – COLLOQUIUM (1)
Continuing seminars that consist of a series of individual lectures by faculty, students, or outside speakers.
REST 596 – Individual Studies (Variable)
Creative projects, including nonthesis research, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall ouside the scope of formal courses.
FIN 597 – Special Topics (1.5)
Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject which may be offered infrequently; several different topics may be taught in one year or term.
REST 597 – Special Topics (Variable)
Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject which may be offered infrequently; several different topics may be taught in one year or term.
R EST 596 – Individual Studies (3)
Creative projects, including nonthesis research, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall ouside the scope of formal courses.
R M 496 – Independent Studies (2)
Creative Projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
RM 496 – Indep Studies (1)
Creative Projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
FIN 494H – Research Projects (3)
Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.
R EST 597A – Special Topics in Real Estate (3)
This course will survey readings in the modern theory of real estate and finance.
R M 494H – Honors Research Project (3)
Supervised honor student research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.
R EST 570 – Institutional Real Estate Investment (2)
A survey of the latest developments of real estate as an institutional investment.
B A 596 – Individual Studies (variable)
Creative projects, including nonthesis research, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
R EST 597B – Real Estate Research (2)
This will be an advanced course in Real Estate for Ph D students.
R EST 420 – Analysis of Real Estate Markets (3)
Historical performance, land use issues, market valuation, real estate development, public policy issues.
Selected Publications
2009 Best Paper Award at the Structural Issues Facing Real Estate Investment Trusts Conference, Baruch College, New York, NY.
2008 Edwin Mills Award for Best Paper in Real Estate Economics.
Research Impact and Media Mentions
Editorships
Served as Managing Editor (2015, 2016, 2020)