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Real Estate Landscapes: Appraisal, Accounting and Assessment

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2020) | Viewed by 50175

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Salvatore Giuffrida

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Universita degli Studi di Catania, Via Santa Sofia, 64, 95123 Catania CT, Italy
Interests: real estate market, urban regeneration, real estate ethics, urban planning valuation, landscae accounting and assessment, historic city preservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last decades, real estate, as well as many other economic industries, has been deeply affected by the information and communication revolution, i.e. by input of knowledge and output of “shape”.

On the side of supply and “products”, such innovation has driven the evolution of sustainable building technologies, structured finance and professional marketing.

On the side of demand, quality has gradually established itself, in particular as for segment (accommodation and valuable dwellings over traditional housing, commercial and industrial), location (downtowns, waterfront, touristic districts), investors (real estate funds).

The third issue, specifically involving information as shape, concerns the effects of the massive real estate development processes on the frail neighbourhoods and cities where regeneration programs deeply and irreversibly modify the original urban and societal arrangement, in many cases involving territory as well.

Then, "real estate landscape" can be assumed as the conceptual dimension for critically framing the real estate issues within a normative perspective (what to do?) assuming social and urban values as the basis for accounting in the appraisal process, and for assessment in planning and taxation.

This special issue of Sustainability encourages the reflections of researchers and scholars, welcoming theoretical, methodological and application contributions focused on the relation between real estate dynamics and city, territory, environment in the perspective of societal and urban sustainability.

Prof. Salvatore Giuffrida
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

real estate market dynamics
real estate market analysis
property appraisals
real estate investments
property management
property taxation
real estate ethics
real estate and old towns
right to the city
real estate ethics

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 15837 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Real Estate Market Dynamics in the City of Naples: An Integration of a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and Geographical Information System

by Pasquale De Toro, Francesca Nocca, Andrea Renna and Luigi Sepe

Sustainability 2020, 12(3), 1211; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031211 - 7 Feb 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4494

Abstract

Urban development and regeneration projects produce multidimensional impacts on the city, on its environmental, economic, and social systems. An aspect that can be considerably affected by urban dynamics is linked to the real estate market. So, analysing real estate dynamics is useful to support decision-makers in the elaboration of urban regeneration plans and projects, and thus orient their choices. Focusing attention on the city of Naples (Italy), the purpose of this paper is to analyse in detail the real estate dynamics in this city through the integration of a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method and Geographical Information System (GIS). This integration allowed us to map and analyse the territory, linking a specific issue (the real estate dynamics) to the territory itself, and to analyse it according to specific criteria. This aims for a better understanding and interpretation of real estate dynamics, representing a useful tool for orienting and supporting urban planning strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Real Estate Landscapes: Appraisal, Accounting and Assessment)

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23 pages, 4128 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Vibrancy: An Emerging Factor that Spatially Influences the Real Estate Market

by Alice Barreca, Rocco Curto and Diana Rolando

Sustainability 2020, 12(1), 346; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010346 - 1 Jan 2020

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 6216

Abstract

Urban vibrancy is defined and measured differently in the literature. Originally, it was described as the number of people in and around streets or neighborhoods. Now, it is commonly associated with activity intensity, the diversity of land-use configurations, and the accessibility of a place. The aim of this paper is to study urban vibrancy, its relationship with neighborhood services, and the real estate market. Firstly, it is used a set of neighborhood service variables, and a Principal Component Analysis is performed in order to create a Neighborhood Services Index (NeSI) that is able to identify the most and least vibrant urban areas of a city. Secondly, the influence of urban vibrancy on the listing prices of existing housing is analyzed by performing spatial analyses. To achieve this, the presence of spatial autocorrelation is investigated and spatial clusters are identified. Therefore, spatial autoregressive models are applied to manage spatial effects and to identify the variables that significantly influence the process of housing price determination. The results confirm that housing prices are spatially autocorrelated and highlight that housing prices and NeSI are statistically associated with each other. The identification of the urban areas characterized by different levels of vibrancy and housing prices can effectively support the revision of the urban development plan and its regulatory act, as well as strategic urban policies and actions. Such data analyses support a deep knowledge of the current status quo, which is necessary to drive important changes to develop more efficient, sustainable, and competitive cities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Real Estate Landscapes: Appraisal, Accounting and Assessment)

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20 pages, 1215 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multidimensional Assessment for “Culture-Led” and “Community-Driven” Urban Regeneration as Driver for Trigger Economic Vitality in Urban Historic Centers

by Lucia Della Spina

Sustainability 2019, 11(24), 7237; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11247237 - 17 Dec 2019

Cited by 54 | Viewed by 4985

Abstract

In the current scientific debate, cities represent the contexts in which resources, capital, skills, and talents are concentrated and, at the same time, they are places where many challenges are concentrated regarding environmental (pollution, waste, climate change), economic (unemployment, social exclusion, well-being), political (instability in governance processes, lack of strategic planning), and cultural (training, creativity and innovation) dimensions. The city and historic centers in particular, are able to experiment the paradigm shift from a linear economy to a circular economy, in which synergic, fair, and inclusive processes capable of activating new forms of urban productivity and social and economic innovation are promoted. In particular, the European Commission identifies cultural heritage as the main driver of development and supports strategies in which it is considered as one of the founding elements of possible transformations, which can be activated through mixed top-down/bottom-up approaches, in the short and long term. In this perspective, cultural heritage can play a decisive role in terms of the urban strategy capable of generating new economic, cultural, and social values, which trigger innovative dynamics of local development. To address current urban challenges, this paper attempts to use a multi-criteria analysis to decision support, starting with a Multi-Stakeholder Decision Analysis (M-SDA), in order to assist decision makers in choosing suitable scenarios to trigger circular development processes, taking into account the role of cultural heritage in a systemic landscape perspective. The result is a hybrid methodological approach for designing complex urban regeneration processes able to assess which new uses/functions and potential actions, identified by the involved community, can trigger a circular development model which could be more suitable to implement a model of “culture-led” and “community-driven” development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Real Estate Landscapes: Appraisal, Accounting and Assessment)

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21 pages, 5837 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Towards a Valuation and Taxation Information Model for Chinese Rural Collective Construction Land

by Zhongguo Xu, Yuefei Zhuo, Guan Li, Rong Liao and Cifang Wu

Sustainability 2019, 11(23), 6610; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236610 - 22 Nov 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2945

Abstract

To promote rural revitalisation, China’s central government revised the land administration law to allow rural collective construction land (RCL) to be traded in the market and attract private and financial capitals into rural investment and development. However, the land value appreciation income of the market access is closely related to geographical location. Hence, the value appreciation of RCL is enormous in villages around cities and towns. By contrast, the land value appreciation of RCL is low in villages away from cities and towns. This marked difference will lead to a significant impact on the rural social structure. To avoid the excessive widening of the income gap in rural areas, China’s central government attempted to conduct land value capture by revising and implementing land tax laws and reasonably distributing the value appreciation income of market access amongst the state, collectives and individuals. In response to the requirements of land reform, this study firstly identifies the legal constraints on the taxation of RCL in China through the structured retrieval and organisation of legal documents on land taxation. Thereafter, the technical constraints are analysed through the structural retrieval and organisation of the technical specifications of China’s land valuation. Lastly, this study proposes a land administration domain model (LADM) valuation and taxation information model on the basis of the aforementioned constraints. The major contents of the proposed model encompass improving the information management of taxpayer identity registration, supplementing land valuation methods and strengthening valuation information of the large-scale influencing factors. The proposed model is the technical basis to prompt the interconnection between the real estate registration and real estate taxation systems, which will be conducive to the efficient collaboration of the two systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Real Estate Landscapes: Appraisal, Accounting and Assessment)

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21 pages, 1696 KiB

Open AccessArticle

EPC Green Premium in Two Different European Climate Zones: A Comparative Study between Barcelona and Turin

by Federico Dell’Anna, Marina Bravi, Carlos Marmolejo-Duarte, Marta Carla Bottero and Ai Chen

Sustainability 2019, 11(20), 5605; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205605 - 11 Oct 2019

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 4745

Abstract

Energy performance certificates (EPCs) are important tools aimed at improving buildings’ energy performance. They play a central role in the context of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) which asks member states (MS) to take the necessary measures to establish a complete certification system. In this study, an application of the hedonic price method (HPM) assessing the effect of energy labels derived from the EPC on real estate market value is presented. The estimation methodology was applied to two European cities characterized by different climate conditions. The analysis was based on two datasets of listing prices referring to multi-family residential markets in Turin (Italy) and Barcelona (Spain). Four models for each dataset were applied to capture the marginal price of green attributes, but also to control for the spatial autocorrelation among values. The findings showed how the EPC has been applied in the two countries and how it has influenced the real estate market. Turin’s buyers pay more attention to the EPC label, while in Barcelona, they value much more single characteristics, such as air conditioning and a swimming pool, considered popular attributes among contemporary buildings in this climate zone. From the results, it is possible to deduce that the implementation of the EPC schemes is still irregular in EU countries and must be strengthened through a standardized rating model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Real Estate Landscapes: Appraisal, Accounting and Assessment)

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21 pages, 4943 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multivariate Dynamic Analysis and Forecasting Models of Future Property Bubbles: Empirical Applications to the Housing Markets of Spanish Metropolitan Cities

by Francesco Tajani, Pierluigi Morano, Maria Paz Saez-Perez, Felicia Di Liddo and Marco Locurcio

Sustainability 2019, 11(13), 3575; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133575 - 28 Jun 2019

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2475

Abstract

The cogency of evaluation models able to predict future trends and to monitor the consequences of scenarios different from those initially expected has been determining a growing scientific interest for the development of financial sustainability methods. With reference to quarterly time series collected for the metropolitan area of five Spanish cities, in this research an innovative methodology has been implemented, in order to make explicit, for each case study, the main functional relationships between the housing prices and the socio-economic factors. The models obtained are characterized by both high statistical performance and compliance with the expected market phenomena, highlighting the decisive role in the housing price formation of the factors that indirectly represent the population’s income capacity (market rents, unemployment level, mortgages). Then, an empirical procedure for the construction of the future property value trends has been developed. The results point out the forecasting and monitoring potentialities of the methodology used, as a fundamental decision support tool in the urban planning policies of the local administrations, interested in anticipating and checking future housing bubbles through appropriate economic policies, and for private operators, in the phases of selection of the most attractive territorial areas for new property realizations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Real Estate Landscapes: Appraisal, Accounting and Assessment)

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22 pages, 9223 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Monitoring and Analysis of the Real Estate Market in a Social Perspective: Results from the Turin’s (Italy) Experience

by Rocco Curto and Elena Fregonara

Sustainability 2019, 11(11), 3150; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113150 - 4 Jun 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3579

Abstract

In Italy, it has always been difficult to collect reliable data on real estate given the opacity of the information available. Keeping into consideration the actual availability of data and information, the possibility to have a structure for permanently monitoring and analysing the real estate market is fundamental. Focusing on developing and disseminating knowledge related to practices in this context, in this paper the Turin’s (Northern Italy) experience is presented, through the Real Estate Market Observatory (TREMO): This structure is based on a data-warehouse, implemented over time, with databases that lead to historic price observations of the residential market. The data warehouse is the basis for investigating methodologies and analyses, assuming the spatial requisites of the data and its georeferencing as the main discriminant in choosing among descriptive statistics, multi-varied or spatial analysis methods. In twenty years, several studies have been developed, allowing us not only to explore the applicability of models and operative modalities, but also to obtain results with a high potential impact under a social viewpoint. In this paper, the methodologies developed for implementing the monitoring structure are presented, specifically the “quality process” and computerized analysis procedures, followed by some representative research experiences with reference to aims, models and results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Real Estate Landscapes: Appraisal, Accounting and Assessment)

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18 pages, 1228 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Real Estate Investment Choices and Decision Support Systems

by Vincenzo Del Giudice, Pierfrancesco De Paola, Torrieri Francesca, Peter J. Nijkamp and Aviad Shapira

Sustainability 2019, 11(11), 3110; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113110 - 2 Jun 2019

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 6731

Abstract

The evaluation of real estate assets is currently one of the main focal points addressed by territorial marketing strategies, with the view of developing high-performing or competitive cities. Given the complexity of the driving forces that determine the behavior of actors in a real estate market, it is necessary to identify a priori the factors that determine the competitive capacity of a city, to attract investments. The decision support system allows taking into account the key factors that determine the “attractiveness” of real estate investments in competitive urban contexts. This study proposes an integrated complex evaluation model that is able to map out and encapsulate the multidimensional spectrum of factors that shape the attractiveness of alternative real estate options. The conceptual–methodological approach is illustrated by an application of the model to a real-world case study of investment choice in the residential sector of Naples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Real Estate Landscapes: Appraisal, Accounting and Assessment)

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Review

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37 pages, 11777 KiB

Open AccessReview

People and the City: Urban Fragility and the Real Estate-Scape in a Neighborhood of Catania, Italy

by Maria Rosa Trovato, Claudia Clienti and Salvatore Giuffrida

Sustainability 2020, 12(13), 5409; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135409 - 4 Jul 2020

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3617

Abstract

Urban/social fragility is the main focus of most studies on civil economy involving the commitment of politics in the prospect of integrating and somehow guiding an ordered development of and ordered communities. The contemporary city is strongly influenced by the incommunicability between the social system and environment, the latter more and more, including urban and societal components. This study tries to outline a comparative social-urban profile of Picanello, a popular central neighborhood of Catania, in Sicily, Italy, characterized by the combination of different urban and social life-quality levels, thus expressing a heterogeneous vulnerability/resilience profile. The analysis is placed in the urban planning context and aims to: (1) Denotative a pattern that considers the different fragility/resilience descriptive indices; and (2) connotative a pattern of the human and urban dimensions of the social capital asset. This analysis was performed by implementing a multidimensional pattern allowing us to place the neighborhood in a ranking of the neighborhoods of Catania, thus highlighting strength and weakness under different respects. Furthermore, the monetary measurements of this vulnerability/resilience profile, was carried by means of the structured observation of the real estate market. Fuzzy k-medoids cluster analyses have been comparatively performed—showing and mapping the relationships between urban value density and real estate market prices tensions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Real Estate Landscapes: Appraisal, Accounting and Assessment)

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14 pages, 661 KiB

Open AccessReview

Mass Appraisal Models of Real Estate in the 21st Century: A Systematic Literature Review

by Daikun Wang and Victor Jing Li

Sustainability 2019, 11(24), 7006; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11247006 - 8 Dec 2019

Cited by 52 | Viewed by 9445

Abstract

With the increasing volume and active transaction of real estate properties, mass appraisal has been widely adopted in many countries for different purposes, including assessment of property tax. In this paper, 104 papers are selected for the systematic literature review of mass appraisal models and methods from 2000 to 2018. The review focuses on the application trend and classification of mass appraisal and highlights a 3I-trend, namely AI-Based model, GIS-Based model and MIX-Based model. The characteristics of different mass appraisal models are analyzed and compared. Finally, the future trend of mass appraisal based on model perspective is defined as “mass appraisal 2.0”: mass appraisal is the appraisal procedure of model establishment, analysis and test of group of properties as of a given date, combined with artificial intelligence, geo-information systems, and mixed methods, to better model the real estate value of non-spatial and spatial data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Real Estate Landscapes: Appraisal, Accounting and Assessment)

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