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This study presents a structured investigation of the most important causes for delay in commercial real estate transactions. It assesses the potential of digital technologies such as “Blockchain”, “Property Passports” or “Automated Valuation Models” to make transactions faster and cheaper.

The authors conduct a focus group interview to identify the individual steps and the parties involved in real estate transactions. Subsequently, the authors discuss the prospects of digital technologies based on semi-structured interviews with real estate professionals and PropTech executives, and a comprehensive screening of technological solutions offered by PropTech firms.

The lack of an up-to-date, single pool of standardised property information turns out to be the most critical cause for delay in real estate transactions. However, the most promising technologies to mitigate this problem, in particular digital property passports summarising all relevant building information, face substantial barriers to adoption. The real estate industry has so far not been willing to more openly share data, which is a pre-requiste for the successful introduction of property passports. In addition, the principle of caveat emptor makes a lengthy due diligence process essential for buyers.

The authors conclude that industry-wide collaborations are necessary to help major efficiency gaining technologies to break through. Insurance products should accompany property data log books to guarantee the quality of data provided.

This study considers the potential impact of technologies in the wider context of the complete real estate transaction process. It identifies the major phases of that process and the associated bottlenecks. The authors gather evidence both from industry experts and PropTech executives and contrast their views regarding the potential of digital technologies to remove those bottlenecks.

Starts from the basic principles of property investment and shows that the initial yield conceals estimates of a risk premium, expected income growth and expected depreciation. Suggests that an explicit valuation procedure which can be used at any level ranging from a single property to the aggregate market may be constructed. Concludes that the surveying profession is under threat from those able to meet the growing demand for such explicit analyses.

Responds to “A note on ‘The initial yield revealed: explicit valuations and the future of property investment’” published in an earlier issue of the Journal of Property Valuation & Investment. Addresses issues raised and develops and extends the organizations of the original paper, in particular: definitions of certain concepts; the determination of value; the need for explicit valuations; price formation in the property market; and the influence of valuation on price. Reiterates the purposes of the original worked example of valuations; produces a corrected version; and in an appendix presents extended solutions and a fuller discussion of the central issues.

The aim of this paper is to examine the degree to which it is possible or practicable to make the analysis and valuation of property investments an explicit exercise. This is in direct contrast to the closed implicit nature of the practice which currently prevails, and which is epitomised by the use of the ‘all‐risks yield’ as a single gauge of the complex relationships of advantages and disadvantages within a particular investment. To what extent can the ‘all‐risks yield’ be purified, and to what extent will comparison with non‐property investments be facilitated as a result?

This study attempts to compare the National Library of Malaysia (NLM)'s cataloguing in publication (CIP) records with their permanent records in the NLM's online public access catalogue (OPAC) database.

The study compares the description of records in the NLM CIP versus NLM OPAC in terms of similarities and differences in the bibliographic elements for each record. The study selected the NLM's CIP records from January to April 2000, allowing more than 5 years for publishers to publish the registered CIP titles and also the NLM to make the records available in their OPAC database.

The findings indicate that libraries that use NLM's CIP records in their copy cataloguing activity should not rely 100 per cent on the records. Verifications and modifications need to be carried out to ensure accuracy and quality of their catalogue records.

That Malaysian experience confirms research carried out previously elsewhere.

The findings of the study are significant in terms of giving data about whether NLM's CIP records are trustworthy sources for the practical task of copy cataloguing or not.

Although comparison studies of the accuracy and consistency of CIP records versus OPAC records are commonplace, having been conducted extensively since the 1980s in a variety of contexts, such a comparison study of CIP records versus OPAC records has never been conducted in Malaysia. With the increased usage of web‐based OPACs as one source option for copy cataloguing, it is imperative to ensure the records copied are consistent and accurate to avoid post‐alteration of the bibliographic description.

In his article ‘The Valuation of Reversionary Freeholds: A Review’ Andrew Baum drew a comprehensive picture of conventional and modern valuation approaches to this topic. His conclusions were well founded, but appeared to be a bit harsh on the basic Discounted Cash Flow Approach which, in his article, seemed to emerge as the Rational Model of Sykes. This article hopes to show that the basic Discounted Cash Flow Approach can deal adequately with complex reversions without being cumbersome or without requiring major adjustments, as Baum's article implies, and that it has the benefit of being more explicit than the Real Value approach which still hides rental growth in ‘i’, the inflation‐proof discount rate.

A preceding paper by Baum examined the valuation of reversionary freehold interests, distinguishing between conventional and modern approaches. This paper applies the same approach to the valuation of leaseholds, and falls into two parts. Part 1 examines conventional leasehold valuations and the criticisms that may be made, concluding that both dual rate and single rate conventional valuations should be abandoned except in limited circumstances. Part 2 identifies three alternative modern approaches — real value, rational model and DCF — and compares their use in three general variations of leasehold valuation. The results are compared, and recommendations for their use are made. Finally an overview of the application of modern approaches to investment property valuation is presented.

A preceding paper by Baum examined the valuation of reversionary freehold interests, distinguishing between conventional and modern approaches. This paper applies the same approach to the valuation of leaseholds, and falls into two parts. Part 1 examined conventional leasehold valuations and the criticisms that may be made, concluding that both dual rate and single rate conventional valuations should be abandoned except in limited circumstances. Part 2 identifies three alternative modern approaches — real value, rational model and DCF — and compares their use in three general variations of leasehold valuation. The results are compared, and recommendations for their use are made. Finally an overview of the application of modern approaches to investment property valuation is presented.

The valuation of short leasehold investments has become a subject of debate over the past few years. Concern has been centred upon the suitability of conventional valuation techniques, the unique nature of the short leasehold investment and its affinity with gilts rather than the mainstream property market. This paper is the result of a seminar at ISVA headquarters in late 1985 to which Butler and Baum contributed, and examines the nature of short leaseholds as investments, the market for short leaseholds, characteristics affecting values and both principles and practice of short leasehold investment valuations. Three case studies are presented in illustration.