The development of municipalities property management as a financial tool: An empirical investigation

Abstract

Purpose

The concept was that municipal real estate was an asset which consisted of a combination of measurable and hard-to-estimate returns (including social benefits) rather than a public good. Many local government organizations attempted to capitalize and assess real estate, with a view to generating revenue for local authorities. Others proceeded to use direct private sector financing for the construction of municipal infrastructure, in exchange for the right to use public land for commercial development purposes. In Greece, the institutional framework for local government organizations prevented local government from playing an essential role, because of their limited powers and financial resources. There are two key questions coming up within this context, which are the main subject of the research: What are the financing instruments used by municipalities today? What are the financing instruments that municipalities would like to use today? No research has been done so far on the above questions at such sample level as used in the research, i.e. all the municipalities in the territory of Greece. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents the literature review of the property management and the methodology of an empirical research through structured questionnaire that was sent to the entire population of Greek municipalities.

Findings

The main findings regard the financial instruments used by the Greek municipalities and funding schemes from various sources. Apart from these funding sources which Greek cities actually use, the present research has investigated the sources of funding that municipalities would like to use.

Practical implications

The paper consists a detailed road map for practical public management.

Originality/value

The questionnaire was sent to the entire population of Greek municipalities, characterized in this way with considerable heterogeneity. The sample equals the whole population, which has been investigated for the first time, regarding the Greek Paradigm.

Citation

Pallis, C. and Pallis, P. (2014), "The development of municipalities property management as a financial tool: An empirical investigation", Journal of Property Investment & Finance, Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 78-93. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPIF-09-2013-0054