Stace Sirmans

Stace Sirmans is an Associate Professor of Finance in the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business at Auburn University, where he joined the finance department in fall 2018. His research spans investments, real estate, international finance, and credit markets, with publications in top journals including the Journal of Finance, Review of Asset Pricing Studies, and Journal of Real Estate Research.

Dr. Sirmans earned his PhD in Finance from the University of Florida and his BS in Finance from Florida State University. His academic journey reflects a deep commitment to both theoretical and applied finance research.

Sirmans' research primarily focuses on REIT performance, real estate investments, and credit markets. His work examines the relationship between natural disaster risk and real estate pricing, REIT factor performance, sovereign risk impacts on corporate credit, and the dynamics of capitalization rates in commercial real estate. His research demonstrates how behavioral factors like climate change beliefs influence asset pricing in real estate markets, and how investor sentiment affects REIT valuations. Through comprehensive data analysis of over 8,000 single-tenant net lease transactions and extensive REIT factor studies, he has established himself as a leading expert in real estate finance.

His publication record shows a clear evolution from traditional real estate topics toward more sophisticated analyses of REIT factors, sovereign risk, and cross-market spillovers. Recent work emphasizes the intersection of climate change perceptions with real estate pricing, reflecting a timely adaptation to emerging market concerns. His research methodology combines large-scale transaction data with innovative analytical frameworks to uncover previously unrecognized patterns in real estate and credit markets.

• WRDS Best Paper in Empirical Finance
• ARES Best Paper in Real Estate Investments

As an educator, Sirmans teaches across undergraduate, MBA, and doctoral levels, offering courses such as Principles of Business Finance, International Finance, Advanced Corporate Finance, and a Seminar on Investments. He serves on the board of directors of the American Real Estate Society and the editorial board of the Journal of Real Estate Research, demonstrating significant professional engagement. His research has been presented to prestigious institutions including the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) and the Chicago Quantitative Alliance (CQA), highlighting the practical relevance of his academic work.

Sirmans leads the REIT Factors Database project, which provides comprehensive REIT investment factors for researchers. This initiative includes size, value, momentum, quality, low volatility, and short-term reversal factors, offering valuable resources for real estate investment research. His work with collaborators Mariya Letdin and Cayman Seagraves has established a robust framework for understanding REIT performance drivers through systematic factor analysis.