Maximilian Brauers (30) is the winner of the Aareal Award of Excellence in Real Estate Research 2009 in the category Master’s/Bachelor’s theses. Brauers studied economics at the “Albert-Ludwig University of Freiburg” and wrote his final thesis on the topic “Preisblasen auf Immobilienmärkten und die Rolle der Geldpolitik” (Price bubbles on property markets and the role of monetary policy”) at the “Institut für Finanzwissenschaft und Monetäre Ökonomie” (Institute for Finance and Monetary Economy) under Prof Dr Dr h.c. Hans-Hermann Francke.
1) What made you participate in the Aareal Award of Excellence in Real Estate?
MB: Fellow students drew my attention to the prize, my mentoring professor was full of praise for my thesis and my doctoral advisor generally recommended to hand in my thesis for a possible prize.
2) How do you see the relevance of this Award within the property industry?
MB: Due to an article in the “Immobilienzeitung” (German property magazine) and through an announcement on the Internet, I received congratulations from former fellow students and colleagues who work in the industry. This directly reflects the attention and the prestige of the prize within the industry.
3) Would you say that winning the Award has an influence on your professional / scientific career in the future?
MB: Yes, and only in an absolutely positive way. I received congratulations from professors and doctoral candidates and – even more important – my thesis has been recognised. Furthermore, the money that comes along with the prize is of course very helpful for me as it supplements my rather modest salary as a doctoral candidate. This allows me to concentrate on my job as a research assistant and on my research work, and to treat myself with a relaxing vacation without having to work in a second job.
4) How do you assess your “competitors” for the Award (top-class or average)?
Absolutely top-class. I had the opportunity to read Nils Kok’s thesis and I also know the excellent Felix Schneider from my time at the University of Freiburg. But also the high quality and broad range of the other theses from many different international universities impressed me. Thus, I feel even more honoured having won the prize.
5) Is there something you would like to improve in reference to the Award?
MB: I really like the fact that the prize is well-known at European universities, thus resulting in the hand-in of top-quality research theses. The award ceremony within the framework of the EBS Real Estate Congress is very well thought-out and ceremonial, too. The announcement of the theses in business practice and scientific research, which have been awarded with the prize, could possibly be improved.
In his thesis, Mr. Brauer discusses the causes and effects of price bubbles before the background of the current bubbles on the property markets as well as possible courses of action in monetary policy, which shall prevent or alleviate the effects of such bubbles. The discussion is based on the analysis of the current price development on the property markets of 18 industrial countries.
Desiree Springmann is one of the winners of the Aareal Award of Excellence in Real Estate Research 2009 who won the second price in the category master theses with her research paper on „Analysis of Real Estate Finance Performance Measures in the Context of Real Estate Cycles“. She was interviewed by Kirsten Lohmann in December 2009.
