University of Cambridge | Real Estate Research Centre
Real Estate Finance and Investment Symposium
12–13 September 2026, Cambridge, UK

Call for Papers

The Cambridge Real Estate Research Centre (University of Cambridge), supported by Pembroke College, Cambridge, the Bergstrom Real Estate Center (University of Florida), and the Department of Real Estate and Construction (University of Hong Kong) announce a call for papers for their 2026 Real Estate Finance and Investment Symposium.

The symposium will feature longer, more in-depth paper presentations and will allow ample time for discussion among presenters, assigned discussants, and other participants. The event will be held in a relaxed yet focused setting aiming to inspire a critical mass of leading academics in the field to create new thoughts and insights on general finance, real estate finance, and investment topics.

The symposium will be hosted at Pembroke College, Cambridge. Hotel accommodation (two nights for researchers from Europe, three nights for those from overseas) and group meals will be provided. All travel costs will be borne by the participants. The organisers do not necessarily wish to limit the focus of the conference, and papers on any real estate–related finance or economics topics are welcome. However, subject to sufficient interest, we may try to focus the symposium on one or more of the following themes:

• Real estate risk management
• Leverage, capital structure, and real estate
• Debt funds and other non-bank finance
• Infrastructure and “real asset” investment
• Real estate price index methodology and performance measurement
• Economics of sustainability in real estate
• International real estate investment
• ML, AI, and new data in real estate
• Proptech and Crypto assets
• Behavioural approaches to real estate

Paper Submission

The deadline for submission of papers is Monday 1 June 2026. From the submissions, the organisers will select approximately eight papers for presentation at the symposium, with notification to authors by Monday 15 June 2026.

Authors should submit their papers by email to:

• Thies Lindenthal ([email protected]), University of Cambridge

The Programme

Participants are expected to arrive in Cambridge on Friday 11 September. All presentations will be on Saturday and Sunday (12–13 September). There will be no parallel sessions, and all participants are expected to attend all sessions and play an active role in them.

Each paper presentation session will last at least 45–50 minutes, allowing sufficient time for paper presentation, formal discussion, and general Q&A with the audience.

Friday 11 September 2026
   Pre-conference reception and dinner

Saturday 12 September 2026
   9:00 AM Three paper sessions
   12:00 PM Lunch
   2:00 PM Three paper sessions
   6:30 PM Conference dinner

Sunday 13 September 2026
   9:00 AM Three paper sessions
   12:00 PM Lunch
   2:00 PM Conference closing

Organisers

• Helen Bao, Franz Fuerst, Carolin Hoeltken, Philip Kalikman, Thies Lindenthal, Colin Lizieri, Nick Mansley, Dongxiao Niu, Daniel Ruf, Sofie Waltl, and Zilong Wang, University of Cambridge
• David Ling and Changcheng Song, University of Florida
• Kelvin Wong, University of Hong Kong