jats:titleAbstract</jats:title>jats:pIn October 2018, the Real Estate Finance & Investment Symposium, sponsored and organized by the University of Cambridge, the University of Florida, and the National University of Singapore, was held in Gainesville, Florida. Ten papers on various research topics were presented over the day and one-half symposium. Each presentation was followed by remarks from a discussant as well as general discussion from the audience. This short editorial discusses the five papers from the symposium that are included in this special issue.</jats:p>