Yes, yes, of course we understand the risk of overconfidence – The Property Chronicle
Select your region of interest:

Real estate, alternative real assets and other diversions

Yes, yes, of course we understand the risk of overconfidence

The Analyst

Overconfidence can be ruinous in real estate and elsewhere.

Overconfidence is a cognitive error that we make routinely. It’s the tendency to hold a false assessment of our skills, intellect or talent. Take this article, for example: I expected to write it in about three hours, but it has taken much longer because I overestimated my writing skill.

A person’s subjective confidence in their judgements is typically greater than the objective accuracy of those judgements. We are particularly overconfident when it comes to harder decisions, it seems.

Overconfidence comes in three varieties: over-estimation of one’s actual performance; ‘over-placement’ of one’s performance relative to others; and over-precision, which means expressing unjustified certainty in the accuracy of one’s beliefs. History is full of examples of overconfidence, such as Napoleon’s catastrophic decision to invade Russia in 1812. Other examples include New Coke, introduced by Coca-Cola in 1985 and withdrawn following a huge backlash from Coke drinkers, and the recent European Super League of football clubs, which fell apart after fan protests.

Cognitive errors, of which overconfidence is just one, can affect investors in real estate at different stages of the decision-making process: the data collection stage and the decision itself. This means investment committees and boards of trustees should be alert to cognitive errors from the very outset of the process.

“We skate over relevant but unmeasured concerns because of what Daniel Kahneman, author of Thinking Fast and Slow, coined WYSIATI, which stands for ‘What you see is all there is'”

“We have 100% confidence in our data.” Why? Protecting the data-collection stage from cognitive error can be challenging. To start with, important aspects of a potential investment may not be measured. As economist Robert Shiller noted, “It’s kind of amazing what is not measured”. 






The Analyst

About Stephen Ryan

Stephen Ryan

Stephen Ryan is a research associate at Didobi (didobi.com), specialist advisers to the real estate industry. Stephen has worked in the real estate and wider financial services industry since 1988. Most recently he worked with INREV in Amsterdam, concentrating on real estate research, corporate governance and liquidity. Prior to INREV, Stephen was an investment consultant in Mercer where he advised institutional investors on real estate and on defined contribution investments.

Articles by Stephen Ryan

Subscribe to our magazine now!

SUBSCRIBE

Our Partners