Manolis Christofakis

A new evaluation procedure in real estate projects

Purpose - The main purpose of this paper is the formulation of an integrated procedure for the evaluation of real estate investments. Design/methodology/approach - The main methods for evaluation of real estate investments are presented initially. The paper analyses both the academic and the professional points of view of all these methods and compares them to each other, denoting that they could be implemented in the evaluation of real estate projects. Also, it presents the internal and external variables that influence the evaluation. Findings - The primary focus is the calculation of the investors interest (required return) in relation to the risk of the investment. In this framework the most common financial methods that have been used at an academic level in an attempt to estimate the risk-return ratio of an investment are used and relevant proposals based on the available data and practices are made. The use of these components in a real estate investment in the Greek real estate market is tested empirically, giving future trends and prospects. Originality/value - A new integrated procedure for the evaluation of real estate investments is proposed. This methodological approach helps in effective property management and decision making in real estate projects.

Exploring the potential operation of a local tourism production system: The case of Messinia, Greece

The local tourism production system has been used in the literature as a territorial model to analyse a tourism destination and examine the interrelationships among its stakeholders. In this paper, we elaborate on this model by additionally analysing the economic linkages of the local tourism production system activities with local sectors, and seek to examine whether Messinia, a region in south-western Greece, fulfils the conditions for the operation of a local tourism production system. For this purpose, in conjunction with secondary data, 276 questionnaires were used from a business survey conducted via personal interviews at enterprises that are directly or indirectly affected by tourism. The results of the analysis show that our study area fulfils all four criteria set for the operation of such a system, though it does display strengths (high concentration of small- and medium-sized enterprises, strong economic linkages) and weaknesses (marginal specialisation, unsteady social ties). Meanwhile, the operation of a large tourism enterprise in the region does not act competitively but rather as a propulsive activity to the local tourism production system, thus supporting the notion that a large enterprise can boost a local production system and extending it within the tourism context. The paper concludes that investigating the economic linkages of the local tourism production system activities allows for a more accurate assessment of its operation, which in our case could be further enhanced by establishing a focal actor in a tourism network or cluster.

Transport cost in location practice and economic geography: traditional theories, some new dimensions and policy implications.

Abstract This paper outlines the main theoretical approaches to the role of transport in spatial organization and investigates possible new extensions at a theoretical and practical level, focusing on the analysis of transport cost. Beginning from the traditional theories of spatial distribution and the location of economic activities under transport cost, the analysis focuses on the related approaches of the new economic geography, which are based on the assumptions of the known “iceberg cost”. After that, through the presentation of indicative empirical studies, the paper attempts to clarify new issues that should be taken into account in the relevant theoretical considerations as well as in the political practice. Thus, factors such as the change of production structure in the modern economies with the production of more quality products, lower mass, and higher relative value and intangible goods, in combination with the improved transport technology, have contributed to a continuous reduction of the transport cost of raw materials and productive goods over the years. These developments along with the growing importance of cost of moving people should be taken into account in the new theoretical interrogations and the political practice of regional and urban development

Transport and Regional Development

The transport policy is directly connected with spatial organisation as well as the regional development and policy of an area. Thus, the transport infrastructures affect the development potential of a country as a whole and of each region separately. In this framework, the present chapter attempts to explore the new dynamics and the developmental potentials in Greece that have been emerged due to the impact of the implementation of the Community Transport Policy, especially through the Pan-European Corridors and Trans-European Transport Networks. These potentials refer to the domestic spatial dynamics as well as the spatial dynamics of the wider area of the Balkans.