Thies Lindenthal

Thies Lindenthal is the Grosvenor Professor of Real Estate Finance at the Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge. He holds dual affiliations as a Professorial Fellow at Pembroke College and the Cambridge Endowment for Research in Finance. His academic journey includes a PhD from Maastricht University and postdoctoral work at MIT’s Center for Real Estate.

• Research Focus: Long-term property investments (up to 500 years), machine learning applications in real estate, and virtual real estate markets
• Teaching: Course director for the MPhil in Real Estate Finance, teaches Corporate Finance and Real Estate modules
• Professional Roles: Expert witness on internet domain names in US courts, board member of AREUEA

Education

• PhD in Real Estate/Economics, Maastricht University
• Postdoctoral research at MIT’s Center for Real Estate

Research Contributions

His work bridges historical analysis and modern computational methods. Key areas include analyzing centuries-long rent-price dynamics, developing ML models for property valuation using non-traditional data (e.g., images), and studying virtual markets like domain names. Recent articles highlight innovations in REIT forecasting and critiques of land valuation models.

Awards & Fellowships

• JM Keynes Fellowship in Financial Economics

Advising & Grants

Supervises PhD students focusing on big data applications or long-term property markets. Active in mentoring three current students (Leow, Wei, Kgaka) and has guided two recent graduates (Wan, Korevaar). Engages in grant activities tied to real estate finance research.

Labs/Teams

Leads research initiatives at the Department of Land Economy, collaborating with institutions like the Cambridge Endowment for Research in Finance and AREUEA.