VARIATION IN VALUATION OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

Abstract

Although substantial amount of studies have been carried out on accuracy in valuation in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States; minimal research has been done to examine the issue of valuation variation in Singapore. Through the valuation process, valuers are the professionals who have the ability to determine the value of properties and are entrusted to do so accurately. Thus, understanding the valuation accuracy of valuers matters to all real estate stakeholders. The study focuses on the variation in valuation and its possible increase or decrease by factors such as the nature of the property and background of the valuers concerned. A valuation case study assignment that consisted of a landed house, a walk-up apartment and a condominium unit were administered to 20 Singapore-based valuers. The findings suggested that valuation variation is prominent in properties that are less homogenous. Above all, experienced valuers had less valuation variation than the novice valuers. Furthermore, for the less homogenous properties that had significant variation in valuation, when assessed by novice valuers, the variations were amplified. The findings also revealed that gender differences do not significantly affect the valuation variation.