Thies Lindenthal

Thies Lindenthal

Research and teaching, mostly real estate finance, a bit of Big Data, ML, domain names, and a careful dose of proptech. University of Cambridge, Department of Land Economy.

Recent Posts

The MPhils were back in town!

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It was such a joy to welcome back our MPhil alumni and former colleagues for the 2024 MPhil reunion! I truly enjoyed the evening, hearing all about your impressive careers—but, more importantly, seeing old friendships glowing strong and new bonds forming.Sometimes, the beauty of working in education gets lost in the daily grind. Being there with you wonderful people, I felt grateful, sentimental, and curious about your next steps. Thanks to all for the reunion, and I hope to see you again soon!

Continuous learning

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As I sat in the dentist’s chair, waiting for the local anesthetic to kick in, I finally asked the dentist something I had wondered about a few times before: “How do you keep up with new techniques and stay on top of your field?” I inquired, half-expecting a mention of professional courses or medical journals. His response was immediate and enthusiastic: “YouTube!” And that was reassuring.

Blog post: Predictable REIT returns

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The Cambridge Endowment for Research in Finance (CERF) has published a blog post on Kahshin Leow’s and my research on predictable REIT returns: https://www.cerf.cam.ac.uk/blog/blog-2024

Upcoming talks: Research seminars in Reading and London

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This Wednesday (March 20) will be busy: First, I’ll head to the University of Reading for a research seminar (12–1 pm). My paper shows how REIT return predictability increases when machine learning methods are allowed to shine. In the evening (6:15—7:15 pm), I will take part in a seminar on generative AI organised by the Society of Property Researchers in London. Pretty excited to share my work and to meet new and old friends.

Spring

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Spring arrived early this year. The apricot is flowering, to the delight of big bumble bees. Let’s hope there will be no more frosty spells.

Agreed

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“In [Trump’s] world: rent regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air; […] and square footage subjective. That is a fantasy world, not the real world.” A. Engoron

Easy New Year’s Resolutions

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Still looking for an easy new year’s resolution? Something that won’t be difficult to do but might make you feel better every time you navigate the Internet?

Run Large Language Models locally

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Want to run a large language model (LLM) on your computer? Llamafile makes hosting a LLM chatbot locally as simple as downloading a single file and starting it. That’s all. It took me less than a minute to arrive at my first home-spun text. If you wanted to use Large Language Models (LLM) without sharing all prompts and other data with Big Tech, or integrate a chatbot into a system that you control fully, or simply preferred open-source solutions wherever possible, then llamafile is worth a try. CONTINUE READING …

True Craftsmanship

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I spotted this exceptionally well-made gate not far from home. The oak wood has been hewn, not sawn, giving strength and elegant curves. Connections made in wood, just the hinges are metal. This must have been irrationally expensive to build. Beautiful.