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Do you know how to count the number of cells filtering several different criteria using Excel?

Posted on by Cambridge Finance

By Victor Alarsa

In essence, the COUNTIFS function is used to count the number of cells that meet one or multiple criteria, given a specific range of the array.

You may have noticed that COUNTIFS has an “S” in the end, which differs from its cousin COUNTIF, which is programmed to count the number of cells meeting only one condition and a single range, whereas COUNTIFS accepts several criteria.

The formula is comprised of ( criteria range 1, criteria 1 ), this is the required argument. In case you want to add new criteria, just add after the first two arguments

E.g. ( criteria range 1, criteria 1, criteria range 2, criteria 2).

You could add as many criteria as you want. The criteria range accounts for the array you want to count (highlighting them), and the criteria are the condition to be tested against those values.

Continue reading Do you know how to count the number of cells filtering several different criteria using Excel?

Will Green Credentials Impact Property Values – Let’s Go Dutch

Posted on by Cambridge Finance

By Morag Beers

Going Dutch does not always have particularly positive connotations; but Going Dutch in green investments is a whole other matter. The Dutch do it well, and the results are increasingly being recognised as beneficial.

dutch cycle

How do the Dutch know how to do this? I learned a joke about developers when I arrived in Holland: ‘

What is the first thing a developer does? He makes the land’. Ha ha.

The Dutch grow up to the national tune, Living with Water, not taking it for granted that our land is permanent and knowing that we are together collectively responsible for its stability. There is also the inbuilt advantage of being brought up on bicycles: as soon as you are old enough to sit up straight at a few months old, you can expect to be riding along on a seat out front on your parent’s bike. Being a very small baby projected into town traffic makes you brave in life. It is hardly surprising that these people grow up to be creative engineers and responsible investors, intuitively understanding environmental protection and not being easily fazed by life. Some of the most innovative, sustainable and thought-provoking investments and construction projects stem from Dutch activities which have served Dutch investment returns well. It is no accident that GRESB, the leading sustainability performance measurement, has its roots in Holland working with that other seat of innovation, California.

Continue reading Will Green Credentials Impact Property Values – Let’s Go Dutch

Demystifying real estate financial models

Posted on by mwiedner

Real Estate financial models are mainly spreadsheets used extensively as an aid in decision support in the areas of property investment and lending. These spreadsheets will ascertain the present value of a stream of cash flows and generate risk / return ratios.

Continue reading Demystifying real estate financial models

5 Things Highly Productive Financial Analysts Do Differently

Posted on by mwiedner

Being a highly productive financial analyst is not an innate talent; it’s simply a matter of organising your spreadsheets so that you can efficiently get the right calculations and analysis done. Real estate financial analysts in particular…

So, what behaviours define highly productive financial analysts?  What habits and strategies make them consistently more productive than others?  And what can you do to increase your own analytical productivity?

Here are some ideas to get you started: Continue reading 5 Things Highly Productive Financial Analysts Do Differently

What is the relationship between yields, risk, rents and price/value in property?

Posted on by mwiedner

Yields have many different meanings in finance – yield to maturity, running yield, dividend yield, interest yield – and in property finance, the case is very similar. We can talk about initial yield, equivalent yield, reversionary yield etc. It is, therefore, really easy to get lost in a “yield” conversation, unless you stop the other person and ask: “which yield?!”

If you are emotionally intelligent enough (and I bet you are if you are reading this!), you won’t do this so blatantly. So, let’s break down this “yield” conversation first to ascertain the relationship between yields, risk etc. Continue reading What is the relationship between yields, risk, rents and price/value in property?

What is covenant strength and why does it matter?

Posted on by mwiedner

By Cleo Folkes

As many high street stores find themselves closing their doors permanently, we hear that landlords increasingly worry about covenant strength. What is it exactly that they worry about?

In property you often hear the word covenant strength when people talk about a tenant or the quality of an investment property or real estate loan. When you Google the definition for covenant it will tell you it is “an agreement” or something you “agree by lease, deed, or other legal contract”. Thus, when people talk about covenant strength, they are talking about how secure the income is coming from a lease with a tenant. Continue reading What is covenant strength and why does it matter?

Are REITs real estate?

Posted on by mwiedner
Cambridge Finance Property Training Courses

Firstly, REITs, or Real Estate Investment Trusts, are companies that own and manage real estate. Therefore, owning shares in REITs is a way for investors to access the risks and rewards of holding property assets without having to buy and manage property directly. REITs typically pay out all of their taxable income (90% in the UK) as dividends to shareholders and in turn, shareholders pay income tax on those dividends. Continue reading Are REITs real estate?

The benefits of SUMPRODUCT?

Posted on by Cambridge Finance

By Victor Alarsa

If you are one of those who loves to model using lots of “IF”, “AND” and “OR” functions, then this article is for you.

Let’s discuss the SUMPRODUCT, which literally means summing up the multiplication (product) of two or more different arrays.

For example, if you want to calculate total rental value of a property with different floor sizes and rents per square foot, then you simply need to multiply each floor size by its corresponding rent and sum up everything in the end.

Continue reading The benefits of SUMPRODUCT?

The Evolution of the Modern Office

Posted on by hollycambridgerefinancecom
Evolution of the modern office

How has the modern day office evolved since the 1950’s?

Looking at the evolution of the modern office from cubicles with typewriters and filo faxes through the age of electronics coming in, the integration of the sexes in the workplace and then today a more flexible approach, hot-desking and virtual offices.

Continue reading The Evolution of the Modern Office

UK Government – planning for the future

Posted on by hollycambridgerefinancecom

Written By Danass Maddison

Proposals intended to streamline and modernise the planning process

Current system

Currently, the government uses the system based on the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. The act calls for local authorities to prepare local plans setting out proposals for the use and development of land within their area, showing an ability to meet the housing demand.

Continue reading UK Government – planning for the future

Top 10 ‘Golden Rules’ of Financial Modelling in Excel

Posted on by mwiedner

In our financial modelling courses, we discuss what makes a great financial model in Excel and here are the top 10 ‘Golden Rules’ that I find will help you to achieve that.

  1. Don’t hard code values, instead use input tables
  2. Don’t use CTRL + Shift + Enter command
  3. Use intermediate calculations to help simplify your formulas
  4. Don’t use more than 4 (four) “IF” functions per formula
  5. Use data validation
  6. Build error checks
  7. Create one formula per row (or column)
  8. Protect your workbook
  9. Avoid circular references
  10. Keep it simple and elegant

Continue reading Top 10 ‘Golden Rules’ of Financial Modelling in Excel