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The purpose of this study is to describe and analyse the methods and standards of valuation used by Swedish professional property valuers when appraising commercial properties and factors affecting those standards. The study builds on a 2002 comparative study of valuers in four European countries by McParland et al. (2002), but focuses specifically on property valuers in Sweden.

In 2010-2011, a questionnaire was used in face-to-face interviews with about half of the authorised property valuers in Sweden. Another questionnaire was emailed to all authorised property valuers in Sweden 2015 and again about half participated.

Analysis of the results shows some new trends in used and preferred standards and methods. Although Swedish valuers still rely mainly on local guidelines, they now increasingly use international standards and company guidelines, which may indicate a growing, if indirect, form of internationalisation. Swedish valuers still use discounted cash flow as their primary method, but their use of comparative methods has increased.

The data in this comparative study of valuation standards and methods over time used were collected from a specific group of property valuers authorised through the professional Swedish organisation Samhällsbyggarna (Swedish Professionals for the Built Environment), which contributes to an insight in the presiding of the harmonisation of valuation methods and standards.

The purpose of this paper is to explain why some real estate companies choose to have a vertically integrated structure, instead of specializing in only stage of the production chain.

The first stage of the research was an extensive literature review to generate hypotheses. A case study method was then chosen, as more detailed knowledge about the companies were judged to be needed to evaluate the different hypothesis. Documents about the companies were studied and interviews carried out.

In the studies cases, there is no support for theories related to vertical integration as a way to monopolize a market and only marginal support for theories that focus on contracting problems related to the so called hold up problem. The most important factors for the companies were that vertical integration gives information and more options that are important in small number bargaining situations. The companies bargaining power increases when they are better informed about, e.g. costs and profits in nearby activities, and when they can use in-house units, if there are problems to find reasonable conditions on the outside market.

The main limitation is that only three cases were studied.

The study can be helpful both to companies that choose to integrate vertically and those that chose not to. There are similar problems related to information and bargaining power that needs to be handled.

This is the first study that test theories about vertical integration in the real estate sector.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the concepts market value (MV) and exit price should be interpreted in thin markets and how accounting rules may need to change to take this into account.

This is a conceptual paper using hypothetical examples as a base for the conclusions.

In a thin market, actors can have rather different reservation prices. The price will then be set through bargaining and the agreed price could be considerable above the reservation price of the actor with the second highest reservation price. The exit price should then be below what the MV was before the transaction and below the entry price, and according to the current accounting rules, the value in the balance sheet should then be below the price paid. The authors’ experience is, however, that this rarely happens in practice.

The limitation of the paper is that it is a conceptual paper and not based a systematic empirical study of accounting practices.

The results of the paper indicate that there is a need to revise the current accounting rules. Possible changes are discussed.

As far as the authors know, this is the first paper that looks at problems in the current value concepts related to differences in reservation prices in thin markets.

The purpose of this article is to study how fair values in financial reports are audited.

The study is a qualitative case study based on in-depth interviews.

One important finding is that auditors anchor in the figure presented by the company, and despite the auditing efforts, there is a substantial risk of management bias in the fair values reported. There is a risk for confirmation bias.

Relatively, few respondents were employed in this study, but their background and competence lead to the assessment that the study provides a representative picture of what is being investigated.

Auditors may need to develop ways of performing auditing of fair values to reduce the risks identified in this study.

This study presents a perspective of the auditing process enabling an evaluation of the quality of fair value estimates regarding investment properties in the financial reports. This study also provides users of financial reports as investors, bankers and other institutions with an enhanced understanding of reported estimates of fair (market) values.

Very few studies have investigated how auditors evaluate fair values of investment properties. This study contributes by giving users of financial reports an enhanced understanding of the quality of reported estimates of fair (market) values.

The Swedish central government has implemented a radical market‐oriented reform of its real estate management. Authorities are free to rent premises from private firms, and stateowned properties have been allocated to a number of entities that lease their properties to authorities on conditions similar to those on the open market. The background and experience from these reforms are described in this paper. Local authorities and county councils have also reformed their real estate management systems in the same direction, but not as radically. There were many unexpected problems with implementing these systems, related for example to difficulties in writing good contracts for special purpose buildings, conflicts about rent setting and differences in bargaining power between the property‐owning units and the tenants/authorities. The general view is, however, that the reform created necessary economic incentives for the authorities in the public sector to economise on premises, but that it is very important to think through the details and to adjust the system to changing circumstances. An example is that the introduction of school vouchers created problems for some systems of setting internal asset rents.

Notes an increasing interest in valuation of publicly owned real estate, and also controversy about the relevance of different concepts of value, especially for special purpose properties. Argues that it is important to distinguish between different contexts before taking a stand on this issue. Discusses three such contexts: external information, asset management and introduction of buyer‐provider models for real estate services within the public sector. Concludes that there is no type of public property for which the question of asset value is unimportant, and also that the information provided by aggregate values and a traditional balance‐sheet is small.

The purpose of this article is to critically evaluate maintenance strategies and determine to what extent models from other sectors can be applied to building maintenance.

The paper is a theoretical paper based on a number of Swedish studies, both case studies and questionnaires. From these a number of stylized facts have been identified and the purpose is to explain and draw conclusions from these.

The main finding is that there are a number of specific uncertainties that affect building maintenance planning making more detailed long‐term plans less meaningful. A new structure for maintenance is proposed focusing on long‐term strategies goals for various buildings/components and then short run adjustments when new information comes up.

The case for the new model needs to be strengthened by further studies, including studies from other countries.

Maintenance activities will be more important as the large building stock from the 1950s and 1960s needs to be renovated or demolished. A rational structure and realistic expectations concerning maintenance planning is then important.

The most important contribution of the article is to underline the importance of different types of uncertainty for the structure of maintenance planning for building.

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of a number of studies about owning vs leasing in the Swedish public sector and relate this to more general determinants of the choice between owning and leasing.

The empirical results presented are primarily based on a number of case studies.

The research shows that there have been a number of “rational” reasons for moving from owning to leasing: primarily better risk allocation and more efficient management of complex properties with both public and private tenants. In other cases, the excess supply of capital and the need to strengthen the balance sheet seems to have been more important.

The result is based on a rather small number of case studies and this limits the possibility to generalise the results.

The results also indicate that moving from owning to leasing can reduce flexibility and that it is very important for careful analyses about the pros and cons in specific situations.

The paper offers insights into the choice between owning and leasing in the Swedish public sector.

The purpose of this paper is to try to explain how long‐term mismanagement of a housing estate could arise in a country with a strong legal framework aimed at preventing such situations.

Assuming that both tenants and landlords are rational, the paper presents a set of hypotheses that is consistent with the information available.

It is argued that the tenants stayed even though the rent was higher and the quality was lower than in neighboring areas because of a combination of three factors: rents were paid by different forms of welfare payments; lack of alternatives because of queues to other areas; and because some tenants saw an advantage in the “no‐question” asked policy that the slumlord followed. It is further argued that the property owner found this slum‐strategy profitable either because he hoped to find a “bigger fool” to sell to and/or because the decision makers in the company had not invested their own money. Both tenants and investors were, in the end, losers, but not the company managers.

The Swedish legal framework is, to a large extent, based on the idea that tenants should take action when there are problems. For several reasons the tenants in the area did not do that and it indicates that a more active role for the local authorities is necessary.

The paper focuses on an interesting case that most people thought could not occur and tries to explain this within a framework of rational actors.