This dissertation addresses three critical questions in the real estate literature and aims to provide practical insights for a broad range of stakeholders, including regulatory authorities, commercial real estate investors, appraisers, and private households. The first study examines the relationship between interest rates and real estate prices in Switzerland from 2005 to 2018, analyzing six real estate types across 106 regions. Using various interest rate proxies, the study reveals a heterogeneous impact of interest rates on real estate prices, with variations across real estate types and Swiss regions. The second study investigates the determinants of discount rates within the DCF method, distinguishing between appraisal-based and transaction-based discount rates. The findings show that appraisers and investors attribute different levels of importance to the fundamental determinants of discount rates. Furthermore, the study reveals that locational and macroeconomic factors are more influential in residential real estate, while object-specific characteristics dominate in the commercial real estate segment. The third study assesses the association of ESG ratings with key metrics in the real estate industry. The analysis shows significant associations between ESG ratings and discount rates, rental incomes, and vacancy rates, indicating that the environmental rating stands out as the most essential sub-rating. Furthermore, the findings suggest potential signaling effects, as properties with higher ESG ratings show greater sensitivity to discount rates and vacancy rates.