Resolving the data debacle in commercial property. Are property practitioners in opaque markets ready for data sharing and assemblage
| Date | 03 April 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPIF-07-2017-0054 |
| Pages | 295-304 |
| Published date | 03 April 2018 |
| Author | Daramola Thompson Olapade,Abel Olaleye |
| Subject Matter | Property management & built environment,Real estate & property,Property valuation & finance |
Resolving the data debacle in
commercial property
Are property practitioners in opaque markets
ready for data sharing and assemblage
Daramola Thompson Olapade and Abel Olaleye
Department of Estate Management, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Abstract
Purpose –With a focus on Lagos, Nigeria property market, the purpose of this paper is to examine the
willingness of property practitioners towards property data sharing and assemblage with a view to
improving accessibility to commercial property data in Nigerian property market.
Design/methodology/approach –Primary data were sourced through the use of questionnaire
administered on property practitioners (referred as estate surveying and valuation (ESV) firms) in Lagos
property market. In total, 190 ESV firms were selected using stratified random sampling based on their
geographicallocation, frequencydistribution, percentage,and cross-tabulationwere employed for dataanalysis.
Findings –The results showed that majority of the practitioners (68.1 per cent) were willing to share
property data among themselves while 52.6 per cent of the practitioners were in support of data assemblage.
The result also revealed the higher the experience of the practitioners, the more they are averse to data
sharing. It was also revealed that the bigger firm are more averse to data assemblage than the smaller firms.
Meanwhile, majority of the practitioners (93.3 per cent) were in support of creation of a central database.
Practical implications –The study concluded that without the willingness of practitioners to support data
assemblage, the data debacle in property market might not be resolved.
Originality/value –The paper is an attempt towards the possibility of creating database of concluded
transactions, which will improve accessibility to property data in opaque property market.
Keywords Nigeria, Valuation, Commercial property, Data debacle, Opaque market, Property data
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Property data are the driving force that fuel valuation and property investment analysis and
are therefore regarded as the “holy grail”of valuation profession. This is because property
data in form of comparable evidence are the valuer’s main source of valuation data. It is
through the timely availability of property data that valuers will have at their disposal
necessary market referencing for preparation of objective valuation report. The accuracy
and reliability of valuation report, therefore, depends on the availability of property data
(Aluko, 2004; Berloco and Spremulli, 2013; Deveikis et al., 2013). Where the supply of
objectives comparable data is poor or the evidence is incomplete, the valuer is forced to
apply subjectivity which increases the scope of error and could lead to negligence valuation
(Rowley, 1998). Property data are therefore indispensable for good property advice (Smith
and Wyatt, 1996). Apart from the valuation, property data are also germane to the operation
of the property market. This is because the availability of information enhances market
efficiency and reduces uncertainty in the market (Adair et al., 1998). Similarly, the
availability of property data is a key factor in the maturity level classification of property
market which, on the other hand, is one of the influential factors affecting the
competitiveness of a country in the global arena (Cohen and Galinienė, 2014).
Regardless of the usefulness of property data, they are not easily accessible. For instance,
property data such as sales price, lease terms, and any other agreements that are part of a
transaction are usually not available to those who are not parties to the transaction (Fisher
and Martin, 2007), except such are made available to the public. Even in markets where
publicised price indices are available, the index may represent only a subset of the total
Journal of Property Investment &
Finance
Vol. 36 No. 3, 2018
pp. 295-304
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1463-578X
DOI 10.1108/JPIF-07-2017-0054
Received 28 July 2017
Revised 16 November 2017
Accepted 16 November 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1463-578X.htm
295
Resolving the
data debacle in
commercial
property
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