While increasing pattern of racial segregation has been observed in the face of recent massive immigration of minority populations into the US, pockets of spatial concentration of Blacks and Whites persist. A recent analysis of the geographic diversity in race and ethnicity in Washington, DC Metropolitan Area by Washington Post, 2011, found significant desegregation patterns depicted in the following table.

Table 1: Racial Concentration Index for Washington Metropolitan Area1

From the table, the percentage of the neighborhoods in which 85% or more of the populations are of the same race or ethnicity, characterized as “racial/ethnic enclaves”, declined significantly in Northern Virginia to 14% in Loudoun County in 2010 from 75% in 1990 census, being only 2% for Fairfax County and 5% for Northern Virginia as a whole. Declines in Maryland and Washington DC , though significant, were less dramatic.

HYPOTHESIS: This paper will attempt to explain empirically, the emerging pattern of spatial desegregation in Washington, DC depicted above, and in particular, the pockets of racial concentration in the city. We postulate that the change in spatial distribution of demographic groups is influenced by age, family size, education, population growth, household income and other economic characteristics. Specifically, changing demographics is a function of a vector of those socio-economic variables. Our dependent variable metric is an “exposure” index after Schnare, 1977 and Armor, 1978, measured at the census tract level.

• 1. Source: From “The New American Neighborhood”, Washington Post, 10/30/11
• 2. Represents single-race domination (racial enclave) of census tract by 85% or greater

The department of Land Economy has pertinent problems inhibiting teaching and learning. It is not known how students generally rate the level of teaching and learning in the department. The university evaluates lectures and courses through student evaluation questionnaires. Over the years it is realized that most of the students do not take these assessments seriously as they do not see how their inputs are incorporated into a better course design. Also participation of third and final year students dwindles because of reasons mentioned above.

The main objective is to review teaching and learning activities of the DoLE to promote quality education. To do this the researcher adopts and modifies the Student Engagement Questionnaire (SEQ). 312 students in the third and final year of the BSc Land Economy and BSc Real Estate of the Land Economy Department participated in this assessment. The questionnaires were administered at the end of the 2012/ 2013 academic year when students had completed their end of semester examinations. The overall response rate achieved is 93% representing 312 students. 18 different scales were measured using a 5-point Likert scale. The reliability of the scales was checked using Cronbach alpha values.

The principal conclusion reached is that the SEQ has diagnostic power to measure strengths and weaknesses based on student response at the programme level. This is a diagnostic tool that should be treated as being indicative, rather than absolute. It was realized that more than 50% of students from all the classes sampled agree that the quality of the programme is good.

Areas which could need further improvements at the programme level include; Self-managed learning; Requisite feedback from staff to assist studies; Teaching for understanding in order to make students understand course design, course material and course content; and Active learning that encourages student participation and also diversity in course delivery.

PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER: Globally real estate shares offered in initial public offerings (IPOs) have on average been shown to appreciate in value on the first day of trading. This mispricing phenomenon, known as underpricing, is typically attributed to the influence of market players. This paper aims to test this finding in a South African context as well as investigate the effects of offer price, capital raising, underwriting, offer period, listing method and market sentiment as key variables in determining the level of underpricing.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The literature review includes a critical assessment of the initial performance of listed real estate funds globally and identifies a number of variables that have an effect on their performance. Thirtyfive SA companies, listed on the JSE over the past 12 years, are chosen through a process of elimination and tested for the presence of underpricing. With the use of correlation and regression analysis, factors identified in the literature are tested for their effect on underpricing. In addition, three interviews are conducted with industry professionals in order to better understand the factors that result in underpricing of real estate IPOs in South Africa.

FINDINGS: Based on the analysis of data, this research confirms that although underpricing is present in listed real estate in South Africa, the initial return of these funds cannot be explained by any of the variables identified in the literature. The mechanism by which these funds list is largely a negotiated process of private placement with large institutional investors. These institutions, with long term holding strategies, determine prices prior to the IPO and generally do not reduce holdings in the short term, thereby resulting in low initial share liquidity.

VALUE: This research has important implications for South African and international investors, who wish to gain an understanding of the initial performance of listed real estate in South Africa.

PURPOSE: of this research is to compare “mixed housing development” models in South Africa with international models through literature review as an overall background to understanding urban housing developments.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This research is designed as a comparative study employed to analyze important aspects while fruitless aspects are dropped out. Aspects of comparison include; the definition, regulations and institutions, benefits and challenges, sources of funds and government subsidies, management and sustainability of mixed residential developments. Desktop analysis of literature is the instrument used to study the model.

FINDINGS: Results of this study show that what mixed housing endvours to achieve are the same globally. Inclusionary policies that create this model create heterogeneous housing markets where low income people live together with high income people in the same neighborhoods. The main difference is that in South Africa, mixed residential developments remain occupied by disadvantaged race class where as in other countries advantaged classes (who are usually of ethnic backgrounds) indeed live together with disadvantaged classes. In most countries, inclusionary housing policy that creates these integrated developments have been legislated but not yet legislated in South Africa implying a more market-rate approach.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: As a contribution, this paper places mixed housing developments into an international setting as a way of evaluating the South African model against international standards in assessing the effectiveness of housing policies. This reading is good background reading for researchers, policy makers, developers and housing consumers. In most countries, inclusionary housing policy that creates these integrated have been legislated but not yet legislated in South Africa implying a more market-rate approach. “Research has suggested that the post-apartheid communities developing in Lehae and Chief Mogale are not spaces in which race has reduced in its importance”(Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, 2013) as a social identity. As a contribution, this paper places mixed housing developments into an international setting as a way of evaluating the South African model against international standards in assessing the effectiveness of housing policies.

In the aftermath of the Global Financial crisis, low interest rates and the global hunt for secure income streams seem to be catalysts for a shift in investment preferences. For example, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) expects that global portfolios are rebalancing towards real estate and that real estate investment flows are going to augment towards emerging markets. As the continent with a variety of fast-growing cities, which are characterized by rapid urbanization and an expanding middle class, Africa is getting more and more attention from international companies.

PURPOSE: The aim of this research is to determine if a range of crimes in a suburb have an impact on the residential property sectors in that particular suburb. With the increasing media coverage of crime in specific locations, this knowledge of crime in Brisbane Australia is more available to potential residential property buyers

DESIGN / METHODS FOLLOWED/ APPROACH: This research is based on the analysis of the crime statistics for 48 suburbs in Brisbane across a range of major crime activities and compares the level of crime to property median prices, sales volume and in a range of suburbs the volume of sale and lease listings.

FINDINGS: The results of the research show a significant variation in the response of buyers in residential property markets based on the type of crime and the socio-economic status of the suburb. In a range of suburbs, value factors other than crime are the major drivers of the market.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS / IMPLICATIONS: The study provides an insight into consumer behaviour in a major city and the response of residential property buyers to an increasing level and awareness of crime statistics in the suburbs they are considering to buy.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The implications of this research are that with a greater level of awareness of factors that could be a disadvantage to some potential buyers are not always reflected across a full residential market. Valuers, property financiers and the public need to be aware of the type of crime and locations that have a direct impact on property prices and saleability

ORIGINALITY / VALUE OF WORK: These results expand on the current knowledge of value drivers in major residential property markets.

Property taxation is a universal tax that has become a veritable tool in the financing of Urban Infrastructure in the major cities of developing countries. It has also become a veritable tool in the enhancement of good governance as it is ability to be paid on the basis of the annual value of properties within a locality is one of its advantages. However the participation of every member of the locality in the finance of urban infrastructure through property taxation be it the rich or the poor must be encouraged in order to allow for the participation of every strata of the locality. To this end a veritable tool in property tax that could encourage the poor to participate in payment of property tax and also in the process of governance known as Circuit Breaker was suggested together with a flow chart for the application of the circuit breaker. It is however important that the basic requirement for the implementation of the property tax be put in place first.

In many parts of the world, urban cities have seen phenomenal cycles of urban renewal projects culminating in the development of mega cities. Economies of scale and coordination benefits associated with such renewal projects are in turn a significant driving force in brownfield development of cities and towns. One of the most flagrant inefficiencies in the creation of mega cities in Africa is the lack of political will and real estate investment strategies to transform blighted urban suburbs into modern and sophisticated commercial and residential vicinities. The paper argues that brownfield development provides great opportunities to renew urban centres. Urbanization and its responses have important consequences for the growth and development of cities globally. Building of mega cities in Africa needs to be strategically conceived by an individual or group of persons, but bought into by the government and other key stakeholders as a vehicle to create wealth, enhance economic development and provide employment.

This paper is a clear demonstration of a conceptualized approach to develop schemes in Accra, the capital of Ghana to modernize and transform it into a mega city. A carefully conceptualized urban renewal agenda that is to manifest in four major real estate projects – Airport City 2, Ridge Heights, Roman Ridge Gardens and the Marine Skylines – in selected “brownfields” is a justification for creating a mega city in Africa. It is generally accepted that brownfield developments are a sustainable way of developing mega cities. However, there is paradoxically very little literature in Africa in general, and Ghana specifically to either promote urban renewal schemes or provide justifications for such projects when they are executed. This paper fills the literature gap through its economic, physical, social and environmental sustainability analysis in promoting the development of a mega city in the continent.

The paper concludes by providing evidence to show how the proposed brownfield development schemes will yield a significant transformation of the four carefully selected neighbourhoods into major real estate investment submarkets in the city to stimulate national development.

Nigerian is in the process of developing a green certification standard for its buildings inspite of the fact that it is becoming a global phenomenon. In view of this, a green building council has just been established. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the level of clients demand for green features in office buildings with a view to providing an incentive for prospective developers of green buildings in Lagos. Nigerian data for the study will be from structured questionnaires administered to 250 offices in high rise office buildings within Lagos island of which 193(77.2%) were retrieved. Analysis is carried out with the use of descriptive statistics. Findings from the study indicate a general lack of awareness of the concept of green designs and its certification. Users however appreciate the benefit of green features and majority of them are willing to pay for them if integrated in their buildings. The findings provide an encouragement for the expected green certification standards when introduced in the country and also trigger a need for intensive publicity of benefits of green buildings to stakeholders

The forecasting of real estate markets continues to be a topical issue and has attracted several research interests over the decades. This is because the real estate market is a major constituent of both the local and international economies and is not insulated from the swings that characterize the economies. Professional real estate valuers interpret market information as they affect real estate investment and aid the real estate investor in decision making. Therefore, real estate market forecast is an important tool for investment decision making. In Nigeria, however, real estate market forecast and its underlying factors are largely unexplored. This neglect is quite obvious given the data challenges and characteristics of the real estate markets. In view of the foregoing, this study is an attempt to investigate the complexities inherent in the conduct of commercial real estate market forecasts, methods adopted by Nigerian Estate Surveyors and Valuers in predicting the real estate markets and goes further to examine the wider implications of real estate market forecasts to commercial real estate investment in Africa’s most populous and largest economy. The study carried out a questionnaire survey involving Estate Surveyors and Valuers in Lagos megacity, Nigeria’s commercial capital. Preliminary results indicated that the availability of market data was on the increase but the Nigerian professionals are yet to fully incorporate forecasting models in their valuations. The paper recommended that international real estate organizations and investors should collaborate with indigenous researchers, practitioners and the Nigerian real estate professional regulatory bodies in order to develop a sustainable market based forecasting framework.

Professional valuers valuing contaminated wetlands in the Niger Delta, frequently resort to the normative valuation methods learnt in their trainings. When determining the damages due to contamination, the valuers’ normative methods prove to be unsatisfactory as many of the non-market goods are not captured in the process. Adopting a quantitative approach, practicing valuers were questioned on their practice. It was found that valuers are deficient in their knowledge of wetland valuations and not conversant with the valuation methods used successfully be ecologists to value wetlands. Highlighting the composition and functions of wetlands, the study recommends a paradigm shift by valuers, to adopting cross-cutting methods of valuation when determining compensation payable for damages due to contamination in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Cornubia is a bold undertaking by both Tongaat Hulett and eThekwini Municipality and sets out the commitment to the national ideals, as well as defining and creating benchmarks for similar initiatives. The Project aims to apply, leverage, assemble, and systematically align multiple institutional, financial, human and managerial resources, in a creative and innovative manner, covering aspects such as informal settlement eradication, inter-and intra-settlement integration, urban restructuring and renewal, densification, tenure diversification, improved settlement design, better quality shelter, poverty eradication, and greater responsiveness to livelihood strategies. These are key components of Cornubia and relate directly to the strategic activities of Government, its constitutional obligations and the priorities of creating a better life for all. The very nature of the Cornubia project is of a highly integrated and collective effort.

The purpose of the Cornubia project is to comprehensively address the housing and development needs of identified communities located in informal settlements, in such a way that individual and household livelihoods are enhanced, that people are housed in habitable, affordable, and sustainable housing, and that the City is improved through urban renewal, regeneration, and social and economic development.

The project is a component of a focused national realigned housing plan, geared toward meeting rapid delivery, whilst retaining core elements of sustainability, quality and integrity, thus forming an integral part of Government’s re-energised commitment to sustainability, empowerment, expansive citizenship, the restoration of human dignity and poverty alleviation. Government views arresting the growth of informal settlements and upgrading existing informal settlements are central to the realisation of these commitments. Driven by this conviction, Government is spearheading its multi-pronged human settlement strategy by strengthening the partnerships between all spheres of government, as well as the capacity, and expertise of private sector. Cornubia can therefore be seen as a lead or pilot project in this regard.

PURPOSE: The paper analysed the movements in the prices and returns of property listed stock and the determinants of these prices in the Nigerian Capital market for the period of 2000 to 2010.

DESIGN/METHODS/APPROACH: Data on the prices and dividend payments on the only listed property stock, (UACN Property Development Company (UPDC)) in Nigeria, was collected from the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s daily price list. Information on macro economic variables, which included inflation rate, GDP, consumer price index, GDP Deflator, interest rate, employment and exchange rates, were also sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin and the Nigerian Labour Force for the same period. The time series changes in the price of listed property stock were analyzed with the use of holding period returns while the determinants of the price movements were established by analysing the relationship between property listed stock prices and the economic variables in the market using the arbitrage pricing models.

FINDINGS: The result showed that real estate total return averaged 37.34% and ranged from -25.99% to 93.64% for the period of measurement, while the macro-economic variables explained about 82.5% of the variations in the total return. At individual level, Interest Rate had the highest effect on real estate performance with beta of -16.13, while Consumer Price Index had the lowest effect coming with a beta of 0.619.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The paper concluded that decision to invest in property listed stock in Nigeria should be on short or medium term basis as investors who stayed too long might gradually lose their investments.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The paper is one of the few attempts at examining the relationship between listed property stock returns and economic variables, especially from the perspective of African emerging market.

There is a growing literature suggesting that the development and maturity of Commercial property markets is closely related to the level of market transparency. This paper assesses the feasibility of developing a non-residential property index in Mauritius. It does this by considering the market characteristics that would be required to successfully launch an index. These characteristics include the size of markets as well as the players in them. It also suggests that both opportunities and threats exist in the development of a national property index.

The research was undertaken by means of unstructured and semi structured interviews with various professionals ranging from property companies, real estate agencies, government bodies, valuation companies and private consultancies. The research concludes that in the Mauritian property market, the success of developing a property investment index will be influenced by valuation standards, the professionalism of the valuation profession, the structure and players in the market, and the level of professionalism of the market . While market professionals have certain misgivings regarding the implementation of an index, there is agreement that there is a need for an index and that it can play a positive role. The paper concludes that while significant impediments exist in the development of a property index in Mauritius, the development of such a index could provide an important catalyst in increasing market transparency and the further developing of this property market.

PROLOGUE: Urbanisation in the face of globalization is embraced as a facilitator of dynamic real estate development and investment with the target aim of boosting the socio-economic status of the people. Caution is needed to correlate the dividends of economic growth of each economy with the millennial dynamics in real estate investment standards in order to guarantee the sustainability of both sectors. Deviation from this focus is a possible disastrous end to real estate suitability for the next level of world class environment.

PURPOSE: This paper shall examine the government’s globalization strategy and the prevailing challenges and its effects on the sustainability real estate investment in Nigeria. This is with the view to proposing effective approach to improving her input standard on housing investments.

DESIGN/METHODS FOLLOWED/APPROACH: The study shall take a quasi-exploratory survey approach to elicit relevant data necessary for the improving the nation’s economic status via the real estate investment dynamics. The appropriate probability sampling approaches shall be adopted in a multistage sampling system used to elicit data from some renowned real estate firms, Architectural/ Construction firms.

FINDINGS: Findings shall focus on Nigeria’s adopted strategies of the government to achieving economic growth; her contribution to real estate investment and compliance with world class standard in development. It shall investigate whether the concept of sustainability is incorporated in Nigeria’s real estate investment strategy to globalization program. The predictive outcome of her prevailing strategy shall be identified based on the research results.

ORIGINALITY: Outcomes of this study shall served as a warning guide to the various tiers of the Nigerian government towards prioritizing sustainability of strategic real estate investments and development in their struggle to achieving globalization.

Housing market and its associated housing finance systems continue to remain opportune to explore in South-east Asia. These include the expanse of different sub-markets within the systems, each with its own peculiarities. An approach has been taken to concentrate on the housing market on account of its importance as a tool toward social gratification as well as of investment. A key aspect of this original paper is to analyse the inter-relationship between the housing market and housing finance system in countries with emerging economies. Malaysia and Indonesia have been chosen as representative of the middle nation of South-east Asia, bridging the divide between the more advanced and less developed countries within the group. The paper employs cointegration analysis including causality and vector error correction models (VECM) to investigate this relationship. The key findings show that the housing markets in both countries are cointegrated, and market disequilibrium is corrected each year by changes in house prices of each country as a result of a combination of changes within the housing finance systems. The analysis was conducted over the period of 2002 – 2012 due to the unavailability of longer series in Indonesia which become the main constraint of the study.

Access to finance is a major obstacle in developing the real estate markets in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). The purpose of this research was to establish the key factors that a lender takes into consideration when financing real estate transactions in Sub Saharan Africa; as well as the relative importance of each key factor. In addition to this, the study reviews and examines the risk considerations and challenges involved in doing business in Sub Saharan Africa, from a South African lender point of view.

As the research is exploratory in nature, the initial approach to gather significant information was through interviews with relevant stakeholders involved in financing real estate transactions in SSA. Thereafter, a questionnaire was administered to bring out further factors or dynamics to consider.

The main findings of the research was that the primary factors that influence a lender’s decision to finance a real estate transaction are: projected cashflow of a specific transaction; pricing; lender’s Return on Equity (ROE); client risk grading; property location; pricing; type of property; nature of business of borrower; security provided; client relationship. Additional factors included track record, and term of the loan.

Regarding risk concerns, cultural differences, legal frameworks and single obligor limits were highlighted as additional issues of consideration, primarily for cross border funding into SSA markets. The economic environment is highly segmented, and is thus challenging to treat SSA as one bread basket.

The study reveals that although SSA is riskier that RSA in terms of doing business, each risk highlighted has an equally strong risk mitigant, which could be comfortably adopted to secure debt funding for a transaction. An analysis is required to establish whether these mitigants would hinder the feasibility or profitability of transactions.

The Purpose of this paper is to establish the barriers to entry in African real estate markets from a South African investor’s perspective. Questionnaires were administered to a total of 12 listed property companies out of 36 on Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and data on diversification strategies was gathered from the annual reports. Through an analysis of data gathered, the study established the most significant barriers to entry and the market selection criteria of South African listed property companies when it comes to investing in real estate in the African continent.

The research found that property rights are the most substantial market selection criteria that listed real estate companies consider and the main barrier to entry into the African markets is legal and title risk. The study finds that geographic diversification within South Africa was a strategy mostly adopted by listed real estate companies. Central Africa is ranked as the region with the highest criteria for barriers to entry while Nigeria ranked highest in terms of country. This study concludes that for African countries to attract real estate investment from South Africa, they need to improve their legal and property rights regulations.

Purpose – This paper examines government housing policies and how it affects household mobility behaviour in Osun State Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach – Primary data used in the study was obtained through oral interview of randomly selected officials of the OSPDC and purposively selected households’ situated in OSPDC estates in the six geo-political zones of the state. Similarly, secondary data was collected from the official records of the corporation. Simple descriptive statistical tools such as frequency distribution, mean and percentages were employed to analyze the data collected.

Findings – The study revealed that the major determinants of household mobility behaviour in the state are accessibility and affordability of housing units, other factors include: household type, size class of households, type of dwelling/housing units, number of exclusive sleeping rooms and tenure status. Also, the study revealed that in Nigeria, particularly Osun state, the government through the agency of the OSPDC encourages household mobility through the provision of accessible and affordable housing to particularly the low and middle-income classes. However, much is still left to be desired as only few of the citizenry have access to these “affordable” housing units.

Practical implications – Housing is a basic necessity for all households. The recommendations proposed in this study will help the government in formulating better housing policies, which will encourage household mobility for especially the low-income class in the state. To enhance this, adequate funding of the state housing corporations and encouragement of Public Private Sector Participation can greatly improve accessibility and affordability for household mobility.

Originality/value – This research work is unique as it looks into the mobility behavior of households in Osun State Nigeria. In Nigerian context, this is rather an unexplored aspect in the housing literature, hence this study. With the right policies in place, households (especially the low income class) could be motivated to move to better housing units.

This paper examines government housing policies and how it affects household mobility behaviour in Osun State Nigeria, with a focus on the Osun State Property Development Corporation (OSPDC). The study used both primary and secondary data. The primary data was obtained through oral interview of randomly selected officials of the OSPDC and purposively selected households’ resident in OSPDC estates in the six geo-political zones of the state while the secondary data was collected from the official records of the corporation. Simple descriptive statistical tools were employed to analyze the data collected. The study revealed that the major determinants of household mobility behaviour in the state are accessibility and affordability of housing units, other factors include: household type, size class of households, type of dwelling/housing units, number of exclusive sleeping rooms and tenure status. Also, the study revealed that in Nigeria, particularly Osun state, the government through the agency of the OSPDC encourages household mobility through the provision of accessible and affordable housing to the low and middle income class. However, much is still left to be desired as only few of the citizenry have access to these “affordable” housing units. It was recommended that government should rather exert its effort towards providing an enabling environment (through provision of sites and services) for the provision of housing to ensure successful household mobility most especially for the low-income class. Adequate funding of the state housing corporations and encouragement of Public Private Sector Participation can greatly improve accessibility and affordability for household mobility. This will greatly impact on the household mobility of especially the low income class in the state.

Buildings have played an important role in human society throughout global history. Although the architectural design and the technology of building construction have evolved in different ways across regions, the fundamental functions of buildings have not changed. This study examines perspectives on green office building attributes through a survey of several hundred office manager tenants of class A and B office buildings in 17 major US markets. The on-line survey is being conducted during summer 2014. Questions include prioritizing of 18 specific green attributes, triple bottom line priorities, lease structure, pricing of attributes in the marketplace, and connecting green attributes with work productivity. The study was funded by CBRE1.

• 1. We acknowledge support from CBRE, Inc., as part of the Green Research Challenge funding program, directed by Mr. David Pogue This paper will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the African Real Estate Society in Capetown, RSA, in September 2014.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact stigma has on property values and how long the stigma remains after the Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY) structure has been removed.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A quantitative analysis was undertaken, using a high voltage overhead transmission line (HVOTL) case study, to determine the effect on property values prior and post removal of the NIMBY structure. A repeat sales index in conjunction with the regression analysis determined the length of time, the stigma remained after removal of the NIMBY structure.

FINDINGS: The results show that while the NIMBY is in place the impact on value is confined to those properties in close proximity. This is in contradiction to the findings, where on removal of the NIMBY the property values of the whole neighbourhood improve with the stigma remaining for 3 to 4 years.

RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS: The implication of this research is that property Valuers need to change the way they take into account the presence of NIMBYs when valuing property with more emphasis, being placed on the neighbourhood rather than just the properties in close proximity. While the HVOTL was in place, only properties in close proximity were negatively affected, but on removal of the HVOTL the whole neighbourhood increased in value.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Results expand on current knowledge by demonstrating the length of time the market takes to adjust to the removal of a NIMBY structure.

PURPOSE: Gidan Kwano area of Minna, Nigeria had been a predominantly village setting with mud houses and very scanty housing development with agrarian economy. Federal university of Technology, Minna developed its main campus in Gidan Kwano and started operation in 2005. Since its operation, the village has witnessed astronomical housing development as investors continue to develop off campus accommodation for students with attendant commercial activities. This work examines the impact of the university on housing development in the area.

DESIGN / METHODS FOLLOWED / APPROACH: Landsat imageries were used to monitor spatial growth in Gidan Kwano between year 2005 and 2013. Ground survey data were collected from Federal university of Technology, Minna,Estate Agents, Property developers, Power Holding Company of Nigeria and Ministry of Lands and Housing. ILWIS was used to analyse the satellite imageries while Analyze it was used for the analysis of the ground survey data.

FINDINGS: Findings revealed an average annual growth of 125% in physical development and a rental growth of 800% from 2005 to 2013. However, the growth has been marked with problems of uncoordinated development and inadequate infrastructures.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS / IMPLICATIONS: Some of the properties developed in the study area are not having state title.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The ever increasing population of the university will continue to attract physical development and if the growing development is not coordinated by enacting master plan, there will be chaotic and haphazard development.

ORIGINALITY / VALUE OF WORK: The study has revealed the spillover effects of locating university. It has also unfolded the pending danger of uncontrolled development.

The promotion of homeownership is often accorded a great deal of policy attention by governments of many countries. This is because housing is one of the three basic needs of mankind and it is the most important for the physical survival of man after the provision of food. Unfortunately, housing programmes and policy making have failed to incorporated socio-economic indices of the people. However, housing problems is beyond the qualitative and quantitative problems which has always been the indices used by policy makers in solving housing problems in Nigeria. Therefore, this study identified the socio-economic characteristics and indices and their influence on housing ownership in Akure. Descriptive statistics in the form of percentages and weighted mean scores and inferential statistics of logistic regression and correlation analysis were used to analyse data. It was discovered that income level, occupation, family size, education, in that order among other indices, as variables are more relevant than gender, finance, religion and tribe which are less relevant to housing ownership among other findings. The study concluded among other recommendations that socio-economic indices should be taken more seriously in housing planning and development in Nigeria.

This paper demonstrates how an engineering curriculum design (CDIO) approach was used for translating stakeholder demands captured by previous research into a real estate degree curriculum at Wits University in South Africa. The role of constructive alignment as the principal theoretical framework around which the approach was organised was discussed.

The resultant curriculum was validated by independent reviews of two high-ranking academics and a focus group of local employers and professional bodies.

The contribution of the paper is to demonstrate the CDIO approach can be adapted to other disciplines like real estate and constitutes a formal process of implementing stakeholder requirements into a new curriculum. It can also be useful for using stakeholder inputs in major curriculum reviews.

The purpose of the study was to investigate ways of providing corporate real estate management services in the South African context. A qualitative approach was used with semi-structured interviews of six CRE managers from major companies from various industries in Johannesburg in March 2014.

The larger organizations prefer to have a formalized CRE unit that sits at headquarters and have no business with core business. These companies refer to their corporate real estate units as facilities management, property management and workplace management, the actual term “corporate real estate” is not used in South Africa. The companies that have the formalized CRE units own their CRE or are triple net leasing the CRE.

Respondent companies prefer to manage strategic aspects in-house and outsource the operational activities, because real estate is not their core business. Some of the respondents did not experience challenges with either outsourcing or in-house management. Respondents that experienced challenges with outsourcing had problems with performance issues, lack of knowledge and experience by service providers, the quality of the service and the lack of performance measurement tools. The challenges experienced with managing in-house included performance issues, no lack of accountability from internal staff, lack of flexibility, and lack of skill and experience on the part of internal staff. South African practice may appear to match international best practice; however, more studies might be needed to validate the results.

PURPOSE: To examine the change in value, volume and racial distribution patterns of real estate in South Africa between the years 1994 2014

DESIGN / METHODS FOLLOWED/ APPROACH: Quantitative analysis of Deeds Office records

FINDINGS: Black participation in the real estate market has been marked by over 2 million properties being transferred into individual names. Aggregate black buying has surpassed aggregate white buying since 2011 and the level by single black females at the first time buying possibly profiles the future purchase market.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS / IMPLICATIONS: The research was limited to the data registered in the South African Deed office and does not include leasehold rights granted

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The South African miracle is predicated upon economic upliftment predicated on political emancipation. This study shows the quantitative shift of ownership and points to possible development directions for the future

ORIGINALITY / VALUE OF WORK: The research is the authors own work with data sourced from the SA Deeds Office and Lightstone Risk Management

PURPOSE: Sweden has committed itself to comply with EU legislation requiring that 20% of all energy used in the EU is to be supplied from renewable sources by 2020. One vehicle towards achieving this goal is through building integrated photovoltaics (solar cells). The Swedish cooperative housing sector has a lot of suitable roof space in need of major renovation. Installing PVs at the same time as the roof and/or the façade is being renewed provides a means of contributing to the goal above.

METHODOLOGY: Case studies are used to investigate the legal and economic challenges to large-scale installation of PVs on the roofs of properties owned by tenant-owner housing cooperatives in Sweden.

FINDINGS: There is an absence of a standardised nationwide legal and regulatory process addressing subsidies and billing for large-scale production of PV electricity by non-commercial entities. The lack of competency in long-term maintenance planning, investment analysis and procurement by the governing boards of the cooperatives provide major shortcomings in the effort to install PVs in the sector.

LIMITATIONS: The electricity prices in Sweden are very low as compared to many other countries putting a bias to the economic analysis.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The extensive roof space in the high-rise multi-family housing sector should be utilized even more for the production of renewable energy.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Subsidies and studies on PVs in the housing sector have mainly focused on the single-family housing sector. This paper highlights issues in the cooperative housing sector that need to be addressed in order to gain from an easy means of contributing to a sustainable environment

This study investigates the current practice with regards to property tax in South Africa. Reference is made to the legislative environment, property tax policy, valuations practice and the actual tax being collected in different municipalities and types of property. Emphasis is given to metropolitan municipalities and the influence on commercial property as investment class real estate. The findings of the study is that the legislative environment underpinning the property tax practice is considered to be well structured and a good basis for the purpose it was implemented. There are, however, some shortcomings in the implementation of this by individual municipalities. It was furthermore found that the average taxation of commercial property in South Africa appears to be at a sustainable level, however, there were some significant changes in property tax collected since the implementation of the Municipal Property Rates Act of 2004 and also that there are significant differences in tax treatment by different municipalities and for different property types. Lastly it was also found that there are significant shortcomings in valuations practice for tax purposes, with specific reference to mass appraisal methodologies.

This presentation will include provincial oversight and monitoring on whether municipalities comply with the implementation of property tax legislation across valuation rolls and property tax. This session aims to cover what the legislation says about property tax; what resources, technology and information is available; and an overview of the future of property tax in South Africa.

Property markets in Africa are products of different economic regimes with incongruent characteristics that determine their attractiveness to local and international investors. Each market is, as a result, unique in terms of development and maturity but operates in a regional and global competition. Despite the importance of property to the total value of capital stock and investment flows, there are only a few sources which attempt to measure the total value of property stocks, or their size in comparison with other tangible or intangible assets, across countries at different stages of economic development. Meanwhile, property is a large element of total capital stocks, and of total personal and corporate wealth

Both information sources and published literature on African property markets are, on the whole, limited. The lack of property data and performance indicators in the continent is not only surprising but also suggests an urgent need to build the requisite structures and develop market intermediaries now or never.

This paper therefore seeks to promote, as far as possible, an agenda for a robust quantitative measure of property values and trends in Africa. Using Ghana as a case study, it is established that public policy may be required to develop property performance indicators. And it is copiously demonstrated that property information services can generate substantial revenues through direct sales of information, or licensing access to data. The paper concludes that it is time for Africa to stimulate the attractiveness of its property markets.

This paper looks at the Real Estate programmes taught at universities on the African continent, its valuation component and the relationship between the valuation profession and the real estate programmes. Various studies on the African Universities have been done, but none relating to the Property Valuers/Appraisers profession.

The authors seek to determine the relationship between the real estate programmes and the valuation profession by way of a survey of African universities where real estate/property studies are available, the courses that are taught and the number of graduates and post graduates entering the valuation profession. The survey includes the views of lecturers, students and real estate professionals.

The changes and demands in the real estate sector internationally requires that the universities provide them with young professionals with knowledge of the recent developments and current demands of the real estate sector. The scarcity of certain real estate professionals on the continent and especially those specialising in valuation/appraising is a challenge. This study seeks to ascertain whether the universities in Africa teaching the real estate programs are providing the continent with valuers/appraisers.

The growth in investment in Africa from the East and the West was highlighted during the three-day summit between America and Africa held in early August 2014 in Washington. Is the real estate sector in a position to be part of the future in Africa? What role can the universities play in providing the continent with real estate valuation professionals?

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of operating environment factors on the performance of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in Nigeria.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY: A questionnaire survey research method is adopted for the study and logistic regression and correlation matrix analyses were used to investigate the significance contribution Political Leadership, Investors Perception, Infrastructure and Social Security on REIT dividend based performance.

FINDINGS: The study finds that there is significant correlation among Political Leadership, Infrastructure and Social Security while Investors Perception exhibits non-significant correlation with any other factor. The logistic regression shows that the factors jointly contribute significantly to REIT performance in Nigeria.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Most studies have focused more on the effects of economic factors (size, FFO, NAV, Market Index etc), on REIT performance adopting correlation or volatility studies. This study will be useful to Industry players especially fund managers on the possible effects of external factors on REIT performance.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE OF WORK: The paper contributes to the body of knowledge on REIT performance with its special `focus on external factors influences on REIT return/dividend especially in the developing nations like Nigeria, where the operating environment is characterised with peculiar challenges of paucity of property stocks and high external factor risk.

One key aspect of land management involves proper information and records management. In the absence of appropriate methods of keeping records, there is the high likelihood of important land information to get lost, causing considerable adverse implications for national development. Indeed many of the land related conflicts are as a result of the absence of land based information management systems. The Lands Commission (LC) is the main state institution mandated in land administration in Ghana, which places them at the center stage of these discussions. This paper examines Records Management practices of the Land Registry Division (LRD) of the LC Accra office. It provides an empirically based account of the records management situation in the Registry, bringing to light ways of improving upon it. Data for the research was collected between December 2011 and January 2012. Primary data was gathered through field observations, semi-structured interviews and the use of close and open-ended questionnaires.

Findings show that the LRD generates numerous records daily and most of these are referred to frequently for smooth running of every department in the Registry. There is an alarming rate of misplacement, slow speed of retrieval of parcel files from storage and sometimes unavailability of records when needed for decisions. The approach to records management by the LRD has resulted in a poor records keeping culture, which although highly noticeable has seemingly been ignored for years. This has contributed to lowering general standard of service delivery at the Registry.

Based on these findings we recommend a Records Management Policy to be in place, computerizing work flow processes, a website to facilitate interface with clients, institutional coordination, cooperation and training, and also support from the GLAP Phase II Project. Adding to calls from various stakeholder groups on the need for good records management practices in LSAs.

Any appraiser is subject to many potentially biasing influences which compromise the accuracy of the appraisal. One of these possible biases is the anchoring heuristic. While many studies have proven the existence and importance of the anchoring effect in real estate appraisals, very few studies have suggested practical means to counter it. In this paper we demonstrate that the anchoring effect can be reduced if appraisers are supported by a computer software which helps them to detect possible anchors.

In our experiment we asked experienced valuers and novices to perform a mock valuation of a small office building, based on a set of documents and with the help of a self-made valuation software. Each test person received one of the three versions of the software in order to test its influence on the appraised values: The standard version was a simple Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with no features for debiasing. The modified version contained two features to inform the test person about the anchoring effect, namely a written warning and a graph. The third version included several features that were found to reduce the anchoring effect in previous experiments, such as warnings, better information display, and help texts.

The experiment was carried out in South Africa and Germany. The comparison of the two sub-samples which used different properties and valuation methods adds to our understanding of how decision-support systems can improve valuation accuracy.

Security of land rights remains elusive in many part of Africa despite the fact that peasant agriculture is the source of livelihood for significant portion of the population. Contemporary pressures on land from rising population, globalization and market liberalization among others are increasingly putting strain on customary land tenure and institutions and this weaken their ability to provide the needed level of tenure security. Imported models of securing land rights such as titling have also continuously failed to live up to the initial expectations, thereby prompting the need for locally inspired alternatives. The Innovative Tools to Secure Land Rights in West Africa Project is one of such initiatives. This was a three-year research-action Project which was conducted in Ghana and Mali.

Under the Project, a model for spatially documenting customary land rights, templates for documenting customary and informal land transactions as well as spousal transfer agreement template to secure land access and tenure from gender equality point of view have been developed as part of the effort to secure land rights for all. The processes involved in the development of these tools were participatory, deliberative and iterative. Several lessons have been learnt and this paper seeks to highlight these experiences in order to inform the design of similar initiative.

In Africa, land is a fundamental asset with profound economic, social and spiritual relevance. And with economies being dominantly agrarian, securing land access and land rights are central in securing livelihoods and ensuring economic prosperity. Ironically, land ownership and access in many parts of the continent continue to be riddled with tenure insecurity partly as a result of the demographic pressure, globalization and market liberalization in the face of weak institutional framework, unresponsive policies and outdated laws.

Although customary land tenure is dynamic and may evolve to cope with emerging issues, the intensity of contemporary pressures on land is increasingly rendering indigenous tenure inadequate in ensuring the needed level of tenure security. Imported model such as land titling has also continuously failed to live up to the initial expectations despite the profound capital and technical investments. These developments have prompted the need to develop locally inspired alternatives to enhance land tenure security. The Innovative Tools to Secure Land Rights in West Africa Project is one of such initiatives. This was a three-year research-action Project which was conducted in Ghana and Mali.

Under the Ghanaian Component of the Project a model for spatially documenting customary land rights, templates for documenting customary and informal land transactions as well as spousal transfer agreement template to secure land access and tenure from gender equality point of view have been developed as part of the effort to secure land rights for all. The processes involved in the development of these tools were participatory, deliberative and iterative. Several lessons have been learnt and this paper seeks to highlight experiences from this Project in order to inform the design of similar initiative.

In Africa, land is a fundamental asset with profound economic, social and spiritual relevance. And with economies being dominantly agrarian, securing land access and land rights are central in securing livelihoods and ensuring economic prosperity. Ironically, land ownership and access in many parts of the continent continue to be riddled with tenure insecurity partly as a result of the demographic pressure, globalization and market liberalization in the face of weak institutional framework, unresponsive policies and outdated laws.

Although customary land tenure is dynamic and may evolve to cope with emerging issues, the intensity of contemporary pressures on land is increasingly rendering indigenous tenure inadequate in ensuring the needed level of tenure security. Imported model such as land titling has also continuously failed to live up to the initial expectations despite the profound capital and technical investments. These developments have prompted the need to develop locally inspired alternatives to enhance land tenure security. The Innovative Tools to Secure Land Rights in West Africa Project is one of such initiatives. This was a three-year research-action Project which was conducted in Ghana and Mali.

Under the Ghanaian Component of the Project a model for spatially documenting customary land rights, templates for documenting customary and informal land transactions as well as spousal transfer agreement template to secure land access and tenure from gender equality point of view have been developed as part of the effort to secure land rights for all. The processes involved in the development of these tools were participatory, deliberative and iterative. Several lessons have been learnt and this paper seeks to highlight experiences from this Project in order to inform the design of similar initiative.

Owing to the revolution in the telecom landscape, the need for space to house GSM equipment so as to provide satisfactory network coverage for the Nation has intensified. Site acquisition activities have deepened due to competition and need to increase market share by individual network operators. But these telecom operators continually encounter various degrees of problems when acquiring these sites and these often come with resultant implications. The study aims to ascertain and observe the conspicuous issues and logjams associated with acquiring sites for telecom base stations in the Southwest Nigeria, and also evaluate their occurrence rate and establish the consequential implications of these evident site acquisition difficulties. To sample the opinion of telecom service providers’ site acquisition operatives and consultants, both direct observation and mail questionnaire were employed. From the analysis of data based on 400 telecom base stations, 11 distinctive site acquisition problems are identified, and further analysis reveals the extent of occurrence and the diverse consequential repercussions of these logjams. Restive attitudes of community youths, burdensome financial terms by regulatory authorities, overbearing bureaucratic practice by the telecom operator and uncooperative attitudes of host community heads (and adjoining landowners) are the top-ranked logjams. The study, however, suggests certain practicable initiatives and viewpoints to check these barriers.

Urban-Econ Development Economists was commissioned by the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) to undertake a detailed investigation of the private property industry in the Western Cape Province, with special reference made to the City of Cape Town Metro.

This report is the first component of the “The Role and Impact of the Commercial Property Sector in the Western Cape” study. This report aims to contextualise the size and quantity of the private property sector in the Western Cape to provide a foundation for cost calculations related to application and other administrative processing timeframes. The second report supplements the first by analysing development application case studies in order to link processing timeframes to economic performance.

This research provides an investigation into the impact of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) on the risk and returns of listed and delisted property companies on the Johannesburg stock Exchange. The study was investigated to understand the impact of BEE Property Sector Charter and effect of government intervention on property listed markets.

The study examines the performance trends of the listed and delisted property companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange from January 2006 to January 2012. The data was obtained on McGregor to compute the risk and return measures of the listed and delisted property companies. The study employs a capital asset pricing model (CAPM) to derive the alpha (outperformance) and beta (risk) to examine the trend amongst the BEE and Non-BEE companies, Sharpe ratio was also employed as a measurement of performance. A comparative study is employed to analyse the risks and returns between listed property companies that are BBBEE compliant and BBBEE non-compliant. The study creates a dummy variable to rank BBBEE ratings to test whether there is a correspondence between BBBEE levels of the listed and delisted property company and its risks and returns.

Results show that there exists differences in returns and risk between BBBEE compliant firms and nonBBBEE compliant firms. The study shows that non-BBBEE firms have higher returns that BBBEE firms and are less riskier than BBBEE firms. By establishing this relationship, this possibly affects the investor’s decision to invest in BBBEE companies versus nonBEE companies. This can assist the government in strategically adjusting the policy.

PURPOSE: the paper is intended to explore and examine the rate of development in real estate and its effect on utilization of building materials the case of Addis Ababa. The paper is prepared to initiate academic and policy debate in the area of construction material manufacturing, utilization and its linkage to the economy of developing countries in general. The rapid development in construction sector in Addis Ababa significantly altered the manufacturing of construction material. The construction of highrise building, the building permit regulation and rising land market have significantly changed the local building material usage and the construction technology in Addis Ababa. The government of Ethiopia has responded construction boom in the country by providing and promoting an exemption of import duties on building material. Given the levels of construction in the city, there remains much more scope for using increasing locally produced building materials efficiently – in terms of benefits from construction boom, rapid economic development and urbanization.

DESIGN / METHODS FOLLOWED/ APPROACH: The paper uses secondary data on the quantity of construction materials that the building construction completed and handled to the client. The buildings constructed in the last five years were considered in the study. The official data for local materials produced and the import of construction materials was collected from the Central Statistical Office and Custom. Five different building with different functions and types were purposively selected for the study assuming different construction needs and quantity and the heights of the buildings.

FINDING: The research finding will be the main topics of discussion for policy dialogue. The change in building constructed in Ethiopia has increased the use of imported materials. The policy of the government has considerably supported the importation of building materials other than creating local capacity. If such materials are produced locally the construction sector as well as building material manufacturing could contribute increasingly greater economic opportunities.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS: The research is limited construction of buildings greater than five floors, the empirical finding refers only the sampled buildings, the decomposition of local and import building is based on professional assessments.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The paper could provide policy impulse in the rethinking of the construction material manufacturing sector, exemption of import duties, import substitution strategy and the policy towards construction sector in general. The amalgamation of the mass of building material creates as “Building”. If one consider transporting such a mass to that specific site one can simply judge how much cost is devoted to building materials and transport.

ORIGINALITY: There is no much work done in area of the economic significant of building materials in developing countries. The manufacturing sector is well developed elsewhere in developed countries and no need for import of such bulk materials. The case study is conducted on actual information and validity is checked with the certificated of construction.

There are many ways of getting about that don’t involve four wheels argues Clarkson (2004). In Lamu Old Town, you get around by riding on a donkey or by walking. The main reasons being that Lamu Old Town in Lamu Island has narrow streets that are feature in many of the coastal urban areas in Eastern Africa, like Mombasa Old Town and Zanzibar.

The narrow streets are likely to remain because Lamu Old Town was declared a national monument in 1983. The Old Town is a gazetted buffer zone that includes the Manda and Ras Kitau mangrove skyline and the Shela sand dunes. The Old Lamu Town is protected by the National Museums and Heritage Act of 2006, the Physical Planning Act and EMCA.

What, however, is already changing is the real estate market. Property prices near mega projects have skyrocketed with land in Lamu almost tripling amid speculation of a further rise after completion of the Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor according to Itumo, a manager at property firm Badana Investments Ltd (Business Daily, 2014). Itumo further states that speculators are cashing in on the high demand at the expense of local land owners.

The introductory section of the paper discusses the importance of conservation of a national heritage. It goes on to explain the various fundamental measures that are critical to incorporate in conservation of a living settlement. The paper further presents several sales that have occurred in Lamu Old Town. The purpose of the field survey was to ascertain the changes in prices of land since the announcement of the construction of the mega LAPSSET corridor and its likely effect on the sellers of the properties.

The paper concludes with some recommendations on how to preserve a national heritage and an active real estate market without defranchising the local community. The government and the people must look beyond conservation and profits and look at the livelihoods of the people who live within the Old Town.

The study investigates the principles of input-output analysis to determine the influence of real estate, with specific reference to commercial real estate as an investment class, on the economy in South Africa. The results of the study shows the model developed for this purpose and the results of the direct-, indirect and induced impact of commercial real estate on the economy. The model provides the basis for economic analysis with regards to real estate and provides the opportunity to do international comparisons with regards to the impact of real estate in different economies. This forms the basis for further analysis into a Property Purchase Power Parity index, which attempts to analyse differences in economic behaviour in any country, based on the wealth effects of real estate in that economy.

PURPOSE: The paper examined the nature of Africa’s property markets rating as opaque in Jones Lang LaSalle’s (2002) classification, with a view to enhancing transparency on the Continent and thereby attracting more foreign investment.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The paper is a theoretical paper, using paper reviews with reasoned analysis to reach conclusions and articulate the way forward. First, the paper established a link between property market transparency in regions of the world and FDI and demonstrated that opacity is the reason that FDI in Africa is very low (only 1 per cent of global investment). Next, Nigeria was provided as a case study of a Sub-Saharan African country that is rated opaque by the JLL in order to better understand the nature and causes of the continents opacity problems and to serve as a springboard for suggestions on improving transparency on the Continent. Transparency issues in the case study were investigated using the JLL’s (2012) five indicators of transparency.

FINDINGS: The study found that Nigeria has tremendous real estate profit potentials (arising from rapid urbanization, the emerging middle class and high GDP levels) which international investors are beginning to notice. There are however opacity barriers confronting such investors in respect of at least four of the five JLL indicators of transparency; the result is that risk-averse international investors like European pension funds shun the country. The study analyzed the potential role of six categories of stakeholders the academia, national/local government, local and international real estate service providers, local and international specialist data vendors, the Securities and Exchange Commision and the professional Institution in addressing deficiencies detected in each of the five indicators and in ultimately increasing the flow of foreign investment.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The paper provides a much-needed understanding of transparency barriers to foreign direct investment in Africa as well as an articulation of the potential role of six groups of stakeholders in overcoming these barriers.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The paper has value for all African property market stakeholders who seek enhanced continental property market transparency so that the Continent take its rightful share of global FDI the academia, national/local government, local and international real estate service, local and international specialist data vendors and professional bodies.

The purpose of this research work is to critically examine the effects of urbanization on urban fringe land uses in Birnin Kebbi metropolis, Nigeria. In the study, a survey was carried out using questionnaire and oral interview. One set of structured questionnaire was designed and administered for the collection of primary data used for the study. 340 questionnaires were administered on the household heads in the urban fringes in Birnin Kebbi and subsequently used for analysis. Likert scale, urban growth rate formula and landsat imagery were used to analyze the primary data collected for the determination of the causes of urbanization and its effects on urban fringe land uses. Investigation indicated that the study area experienced urban expansion and this has affected the urban fringes. The effects are among others, the reduction in urban farm activities, increase in the cost of infrastructural development and transportation cost. Provision of cost effective transportation to ease the problems of commuters, establishment of pragmatic institutions that will see to the effective land use control and management at the urban centres and peri-urban area, effective crime control mechanism at both urban centres and fringe areas so as to discourage the use of urban fringes as hideout for criminals are among the recommendations made in this research work.

The rapid increase in the adoption of mobile technology in data collection devices as preferred methods of business to business (B2B) communication, for transmission of data and ways to manage and analyse spatial information, has led to a significant progress in the development of custom designed valuation applications, automated valuation models (AVMs) and robust spatial/cadastral databases. These have also transformed the way property practitioners, including valuers, collect information, process it and transfer it to the client. According to Piers Macrae Cockram, Founder and Managing Director of ValuePRO Software, Brisbane, “the change to electronic means has been sparked by both the progress of suitable mobile devices and the commercial pressures to find operating cost and time efficiencies”. From the many users and studies to be quoted in this paper there will be no doubt therefore that these advances has increased operating efficiencies, improved costs and contributed significantly in improving client service levels. The indirect benefit of these advances is in the capability for the development of a sizeable number of people in a short space of time with minimal effort. Although these advances have become a norm in certain industries, adoption of technology is to some extent treated as unthinkable in the valuation practices. Therefore the question this paper seeks to address deals with the position of the valuation industry in embracing technology and the automated valuation models. With the conclusion that it is not too late for the industry save itself by embrace technology and being open to scientific models in the valuation practice.

Recent development in Nigeria valuation market reveal that banks, notable end users of valuation services, now enlist (select) Estate surveying and valuation firms for credit based valuation jobs adopting divergent and unilaterally set basis. They also dictate fees payable to the retained Valuers adopting standardized threshold not properly aligned to the nature, purpose, location, magnitude of the job and sector fee scale. This study therefore, attempts an investigation into this enlistment and fee practices to ascertain the implication and the extent to which the act may affect the Estate Surveying and valuation profession in Nigeria. A survey was conducted in Lagos, using a purposive random sampling with a structured questionnaire to collect data from 121 respondents comprising 100 registered estate surveying firms and the 21 banks in Lagos metropolis. Data collected were captured with SPSS IBM Version 20 and analyses were done using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result however revealed that the enlistment policies are not broad based, criteria substantially opaque with a wide range of qualified practitioners excluded by this practice. It also creates black market fee structure, tight cost-fees ratio, creeping loss of interest by valuers in credit based valuations, low quality reports, and dwindled capacity of firms to engage and retain experienced valuers. It was further revealed that banks engage in this two-pronged practice predominantly as a cost saving strategy; to address mounting issues of connivance, compromise and corrupting influences; the need to promote retail/consumer banking and the unwieldy number/proliferation of valuation firms The study recommended amongst other remedial steps that despite the existing challenges,Valuers should uphold professional ethics by sustaining quality and professional standards while collectively avoiding undue soliciting for valuation briefs especially in unfriendly and tilted conditions, while upholding bidding professionally even in a competitive setting. Also the symbiotic nature of the relationship between banking and valuation sectors demand a proactive regulatory intervention by concerned regulators in order not to compromise the strategic risk management function of valuation.