ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role that property valuation plays within the economy and across the wider community. It provides an overview of the general principles and practice related to the assessment of the market value of real property assets. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors similarly issues and regularly updates its Valuation Professional Standards, known as the ‘Red Book’, the latest iteration taking effect on 1 July 2017. The best evidence of value is derived from the market place through an analysis of transacted sales of comparable properties. The valuation principle is called ‘the primacy of sales evidence’ which is self-evident and reinforced both in statute and court precedent. Similarly, the valuation of regional and sub-regional shopping centres, the sites for such developments and for certain national chain outlets provides further examples of such markets. The key observation is that, in valuation practice, the use of sales evidence is not confined to the comparison between entire, freestanding properties.
