AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The Appraisal course (code 83883) is a module of the City, Territory, Landscape Laboratory (code 118712) and aims to provide the fundamental elements of Cost-Benefit Analysis developed according to a Pivatistic perspective for assessing the economic and financial feasibility of projects at the building and urban scale. Specifically, the main indicators for assessing a project's economic sustainability are covered: Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Payback Period (PBP).

Attendance and participation in the module's lectures and exercises will enable students to:

understand the characteristics of the real estate market, the types of investments, and the players operating within it (planners, investors, etc.);
Recognize the costs and benefits of a real estate investment project (new construction, renovation/renovation, energy and structural retrofitting, etc.);
Estimate, using appropriate methodologies, the long-term costs and benefits of the construction project;
Evaluate the economic and financial feasibility of the construction project, including for the purpose of selecting the best alternative option;
Recognize and evaluate the effects of the main design variables on the economic and financial feasibility of the construction project;
Develop an assessment of the economic and financial feasibility of a proposed project.

TEACHING METHODS

The module is structured through lectures on the theoretical and practical tools for assessing the economic feasibility of interventions and classroom exercises in the form of applied exercises; student attendance is recommended.

For the exam, each student must complete and submit the exercises completed in class and the Cost-Benefit Analysis of the preliminary design hypothesis developed within the Workshop together with the other instructors of the Urban Planning (code 83882) and Landscape Architecture (code 115074) modules.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The Appraisal module (code 83883) is divided into two parts.

The first part will cover introductory topics in assessing the economic and financial feasibility of construction projects at the building and urban scale, with particular reference to the characteristics of the real estate market, investor types, different investment types, and financial mathematical tools useful for evaluating costs and benefits over time.

The second part of the module will cover the Cost-Benefit Analysis technique from a private perspective and the main indicators for assessing the economic and financial sustainability of real estate investments, specifically: the economic and financial Net Present Value; the economic and financial Internal Rate of Return (IRR); and the Payback Period.

An example of the economic and financial evaluation of a construction project will then be developed through the application of a Cost-Benefit Analysis.

Based on the example, students will then apply Cost-Benefit Analysis to the design hypothesis defined within the Laboratory.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Boardman, A.E., Greenberg, D.H., Vining, A.R., Weimer, D.L., 2016, Cost-Benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice, 3rd edition,  Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Brown G.R., Matysiak G.A., 2000, Real Estate Investment – A Capital Market Approach,  Financial Times Prentice.
• Grillenzoni M., Grittani G., 1994, Estimo: teoria, procedure di valutazione e casi applicativi, Edagricole, Bologna.
• Prizzon F., 2001, Gli investimenti immobiliari. Analisi di mercato e valutazione economico-finanziaria degli interventi, Celid, Torino.
• Seeley I.H., 1996, Building-economics - four edition- , Palgrave, McMillan.
• Utica G., 2008, Ingegnerizzazione e gestione economica del progetto, Maggioli Editore, Santarcangelo di Romagna.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

First semester (end of september)

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam is oral and covers the topics covered in the module.

Two exam sessions will be scheduled in the summer session, two in the winter session, and two in February 2027.

To take the exam, students must submit the exercises completed in class during the course and the exercise on assessing the economic and financial feasibility of the project hypothesis developed within the Laboratory and in collaboration with the other instructors.

Students with a certified learning disability (DSA), a disability, or other special educational needs are invited to contact the instructor at the beginning of the lessons to discuss teaching and examination arrangements that, while respecting the learning objectives of the course, take individual learning needs into account and provide appropriate accommodations.
Please also note that requests for exam accommodations or exemptions must be submitted using the form available at this link 
https://modulionline.unige.it/richiesta-adattamenti#no-back , to the teaching professor, the SCUOLA contact person (federico.scarpa@unige.it), and the relevant office (inclusione.studenti@info.unige.it) at least seven working days before the examination, in accordance with the guidelines available at this link 
https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa/richiesta-servizi

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The exam will assess the student's acquisition of the methodologies for assessing the economic and financial feasibility of construction projects at the building and urban scale.

The overall evaluation of the module will take into account both the oral exam and the exercises completed during the course, as well as the Cost-Benefit Analysis developed on the project proposal.

The grade obtained will be averaged with those of the other two modules (Urban Planning - code 83882 - and Landscape Architecture - code 115074).

Specifically, the student must demonstrate:

recognizing the costs and benefits of a real estate investment project;
being able to estimate the costs and benefits of the project;
being able to apply evaluation tools (Cost-Benefit Analysis) to assess the economic and financial sustainability of a building project;
be able to identify and evaluate the main variables that influence the economic and financial feasibility of a building project.