A new milestone for ERES

Citation

D'Arcy, E. (2008), "A new milestone for ERES", Journal of European Real Estate Research, Vol. 1 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jerer.2008.35901aaa.001

A new milestone for ERES

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of European Real Estate Research, Volume 1, Issue 1

The launch of the Journal of European Real Estate Research ( JERER ) marks a very important milestone in the development of The European Real Estate Society (ERES). It raises the status of ERES to a new level and provides a much needed forum for the publication of cutting edge real estate research with a European theme. JERER also consolidates further the long-standing relationship between ERES and Emerald, which over the years has evolved from providing sponsorship for the ERES conference to the publication of an annual ERES special edition of the Journal of Property Investment & Finance ( JPIF ).

Since ERES was founded in 1994 the European real estate research landscape has changed considerably. A key driver of change has been the rapid internationalisation of a wide variety of real estate involvements. This has created many new requirements for research on individual national markets and in particular, for cross-border comparisons. The increasing sophistication of real estate investment markets has likewise acted as a catalyst for new real estate research requirements. As an illustration Europe today is home to over 500 non-listed real investment vehicles and has witnessed a considerable expansion of its listed real estate sector on the back of recent REIT legislation in a number of countries. In this period, another very important driver of change has been the need to understand better the linkages between housing markets and economic performance. Real estate research has also become a vital input into setting policy agendas in the areas of housing and urban regeneration. Increasing concerns about the environment and sustainability issues have created whole new agendas for real estate researchers.

Within this context of change ERES has played an important role in fostering European real estate research. Through its annual conferences it has provided the premier European platform for constructive engagement between real estate researchers, linking the academic, public and private. It has promoted best practice in research, with conference sessions and panels which reflect the changing research needs outlined above. Through its annual doctoral seminar it has contributed to the development of a new generation of European real estate researchers. Moreover, its success can be measured by the fact that researchers from over 30 European countries are actively engaged in the ERES community. The twice yearly ERES industry seminars which were established in 2003 have developed further its linkages with the European real estate industry and have acted as a vital input in making the research agenda it promotes more industry relevant. Through its active participation in the International Real Estate Society it links European researchers to their counterparts in other parts of the world, thus fostering best practice on a global basis. More recently ERES has provided the first forum for European real estate educators through its annual education seminar an activity which is entirely complementary to those it performs in the research arena.

ERES is fully committed to developing JERER as a leading real estate research journal. This is a very important challenge for the society and its membership but one which based on its achievements thus far is realistic. Its launch at the 15th Annual ERES Conference in Krakow, Poland is fitting in that this also represents another milestone for ERES as it is the first time the conference has been held in Central and Eastern Europe. This also reflects the changing landscape of European real estate research.

Finally, it is important to recognize that making JERER a reality has taken some considerable effort. Aside from the inputs of the ERES board the contributions of a number of individuals have been very important. In particular, the efforts of Nick French in acting as a vital link between the ERES board and Emerald and Rob Edwards and his team at Emerald who have been more than helpful at every stage of the process. Last but not least ERES is very grateful to our colleague Simon Stevenson for agreeing to be the editor of JERER. As a result we know that the journal is in very capable editorial hands.

The final task in making the success of JERER a reality rests with the ERES community. It is one that I am very confident they will respond to.

Éamonn D’ArcyPresident ERES 2007-2008