C. Kat Grimsley
Clinical Assistant Professor of Finance
Listings
Educational Background
- Ph.D., Land Economics, University of Cambridge, 2015
- M.S., Real Estate, John Hopkins University, 2010
- B.S., Finance, Gies College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2001
Positions Held
- Clinical Assistant Professor of Finance, Finance, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2024-2024
- Visiting scholar, Housing Economics and Real Estate Sector Research Group, University of Alicante, 2023-2023
- Expert Witness, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, 2020-2021
- Principal, Abeja Analytics, 2020 to present
- Director, MS Real Estate Development program, College of Business, George Mason University, 2015-2023
- Doctoral Researcher/ Candidate, Land Economy, University of Cambridge, 2011-2015
- International Realty Specialist, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, 2006-2011
Recent Publications
- Grimsley, C., & Salazar Sánchez, H. Forthcoming. Mexico: Nearshoring, Foreign Investment Create Industrial Opportunities. Development, NAIOP Research Foundation, Spring 2023. link >
- Grimsley, C. (2022). Findings from the Development Approvals Index. Development, NAIOP Research Foundation. link >
Other Publications
Articles
- Grimsley, C. (2021). The Development Approvals Index: A New Tool to Evaluate Local Approvals Processes. Development, NAIOP Research Foundation. link >
Book Chapters
- Grimsley, C., & Pennetti , C., Amnon Lehavi and Ronit Levine-Schnur (Ed.) (2020). Application of a Systems Engineering Approach as a Preventative Measure Against Disruptions to Real Estate Institutions. Disruptive Technology, Legal Innovation, and the Future of Real Estate ( pp. Pages 155-176). Switzerland: Springer. link >
- Grimsley, C., Bo Huang (Ed.) (2017). A Global Administrative Solution to Title and Tenure Insecurity: The Implementation of a Global Title and Rights Registry. Comprehensive Geographic Information Systems ( vol. 3, pp. Pages 257-271). Elsevier. link >
Books and Monographs
- Grimsley, C., S. O. Dewberry (Ed.) (2019). Development of the Built Environment: from Site Acquisition to Project Completion. McGraw Hill Education.
Conference Proceedings
- Grimsley, C., & Pennetti , C. (2020). Application of a Systems Engineering Approach to Improve the Effectiveness and Sustainability of Land Policy Regulatory Reform and Tenure Security Projects. World Bank conference - Land and Poverty: Institutions for Equity and Resilience, Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
- Grimsley, C., & Kavanagh, J. (2018). Modernizing Land Service Delivery through the Application of a Continuum Approach: Examining the Appropriateness of the International Land Management Standard (ILMS). World Bank conference - Land & Poverty: Land Governance in an Interconnected World , Washington, DC: World Bank Group. link >
- Grimsley, C. (2015). A Global Administrative Solution to Title and Tenure Insecurity: the Implementation of a Global Title and Rights Registry. World Bank conference - Land and Poverty: Linking Land Tenure and Use for Shared Prosperity, Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
- Grimsley, C., & Roll, G. (2014). Regional Initiatives to Improve Land Governance. World Bank conference - Land & Poverty: Linking Land Tenure and Use for Shared Prosperity, Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Technical Reports
- Taltavull, P., Grimsley, C., O’Toole, C., Garcia-Rodriguez, R., & Strong, G. (2025). Challenges and priorities for improving housing affordability in the UNECE region. ( pp. 106). Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. link >
- Grimsley, C. (2023). Examining Development Approvals Across North America: An Analysis of Site Plan and Building Permit Review Processes. NAIOP Research Foundation. link >
- Lawson, J., Norris, M., Wallbaum, H., Grimsley, C., Nasarre-Aznar, S., & Lambea Llop, N. (2021). #Housing 2030: Effective policies for affordable housing in the UNECE region. ( pp. 188). Jointly between: UN Economic Commission for Europe, the UN-Habitat, and the Housing Europe. link >
- Grimsley, C., & Carriero, D. (2019). Guidelines on the Management and Ownership of Condominium Housing. ( pp. 107). UN Economic Commission for Europe. link >
- Belenchia, E., Campagnoli, E., Emmott, B., Grimsley, C., Kaplinskiy, V., Karapetyan, A., Raga Sastre, N., Rypkema, D., Sümeghy, G., & Taltavul,, P. (2019). Policy Framework for Sustainable Real Estate Markets. ( pp. 107). UN Economic Commission for Europe. link >
Honors and Awards
- Teacher Ranked as Excellent by Their Students, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2024
- Distinguished Fellow, NAIOP Research Foundation, 2018-2023
- George Mason University Platinum Impact Award, George Mason University, 2022
- Faculty of the Year, MS Real Estate Development Program, George Mason University, 2021-2022
Grants
- Development Approvals Index, NAIOP Research Foundation, 2020-2020
- Pedagogy Innovation grant, George Mason University, 2017
Service
- Vice Chair, Real Estate Markets Advisory Group, UN Economic Commission for Europe,Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management, 2017 to present
- Panelist, U.S. Department of State, 2024
Current Courses
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Real Estate Finance Academy (FIN 395) The Real Estate Finance Academy prepares students for careers within the real estate industry. Topics include real estate financial modeling, investment case studies, underwriting real estate markets, and developing professional communication skills. Students who choose to repeat the course assume leadership roles over time.
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Financial Modeling (FIN 418) The objective is to learn the fundamentals and practice building financial models using Microsoft Excel. By the end of the term, each student should be able to develop an understanding of any financial relationship and build that financial relationship into a model using the built-in functions of Excel. Financial modeling, by definition, requires significant work outside of the classroom. Models are introduced, demonstrated, and reviewed in class, but each student is expected to research and collect date, and to construct the models, prior to each week's class meeting.
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Real Estate Investment (FIN 445) An approach to the evaluation of real estate investment opportunities. Begins with the identification of the investor's goals and ends with an investment decision. Considers legal, physical, locational, and financial constraint, aggregate real estate and financial markets, tax considerations and investment criteria.
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Real Estate Development (FIN 447) Provides students with an exposure to the real world of real estate through a series of lectures by real estate professionals focused primarily on retail real estate development. A side benefit of the class will be to provide graduating seniors some insights into different career paths to help improve the career choices that they make.
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Adv Real Estate Investments (FIN 448) Case-based analysis of multiple real estate investments with different partnership structures. Each analysis: generates a pro forma, investment memorandum and presentation; considers different capital stack structures; performs model stress testing and sensitivity analysis; identifies elements influencing optimization of negotiated agreements; examines REITs to correlate publicly traded real estate company prices with relevant benchmarks.