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Documents evidence of a loss of independence in the commercial appraisal industry in the USA. Utilizes a survey methodology to elicit the reactions of commercial appraisers to controlled scenarios of client pressure. This methodology was borrowed from established behavioural research that tested independent auditors for related independence agency issues. Results indicate significant valuation effects related to the amount of business a client brings to the appraisal firm, but no significant effect related to the size of the client‐requested value adjustment, or to the interaction of the amount of client business and the size of the requested value adjustment. Suggests that changes in fee structures and institutional reforms may be necessary to resolve the loss of independence.

Compares the predictive performance of artificial neural networks to hedonic pricing models, a more traditional valuation tool. The results document similar predictive performance evidenced from both techniques, which contradicts some of the earlier studies which support a position of artificial neural network superiority. Demonstrates that at least 18 per cent of the “normal” property predictions and over 70 per cent of the “outlier” property predictions contained valuation errors greater than 15 per cent of the actual sales price. The combination of these substantial errors and the model‐optimization costs incurred motivate a message of caution before artificial neural networks are adopted by the real estate valuation and/or lending industries.

The stock market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is quickly developing and maturing. While the inefficiencies of this market have already been attributed to its mechanics (Abdeen and Shook, 1984; Butler and Malaikah, 1992; Abdelkader, 1993), information concerning the market players has not been available. This research reports descriptive results of 74 interviews with Saudi investors. The results provide insight into the information that is used for investing decisions, support prior evidence of market inefficiency, and encourage more research in this area.

The purpose of this study is to compare the predictive performance of the hedonic multivariate regression model with the probabilistic neural network (PNN)-based general regression neural network (GRNN) model of housing prices in “Pune-India.”

Data on 211 properties across “Pune city-India” is collected. The price per square feet is considered as a dependent variable whereas distances from important landmarks such as railway station, fort, university, airport, hospital, temple, parks, solid waste site and stadium are considered as independent variables along with a dummy for amenities. The data is analyzed using a hedonic type multivariate regression model and GRNN. The GRNN divides the entire data set into two sets, namely, training set and testing set and establishes a functional relationship between the dependent and target variables based on the probability density function of the training data (Alomair and Garrouch, 2016).

While comparing the performance of the hedonic multivariate regression model and PNN-based GRNN, the study finds that the output variable (i.e. price) has been accurately predicted by the GRNN model. All the 42 observations of the testing set are correctly classified giving an accuracy rate of 100%. According to Cortez (2015), a value close to 100% indicates that the model can correctly classify the test data set. Further, the root mean square error (RMSE) value for the final testing for the GRNN model is 0.089 compared to 0.146 for the hedonic multivariate regression model. A lesser value of RMSE indicates that the model contains smaller errors and is a better fit. Therefore, it is concluded that GRNN is a better model to predict the housing price functions. The distance from the solid waste site has the highest degree of variable senstivity impact on the housing prices (22.59%) followed by distance from university (17.78%) and fort (17.73%).

The study being a “case” is restricted to a particular geographic location hence, the findings of the study cannot be generalized. Further, as the objective of the study is restricted to just to compare the predictive performance of two models, it is felt appropriate to restrict the scope of work by focusing only on “location specific hedonic factors,” as determinants of housing prices.

The study opens up a new dimension for scholars working in the field of housing prices/valuation. Authors do not rule out the use of traditional statistical techniques such as ordinary least square regression but strongly recommend that it is high time scholars use advanced statistical methods to develop the domain. The application of GRNN, artificial intelligence or other techniques such as auto regressive integrated moving average and vector auto regression modeling helps analyze the data in a much more sophisticated manner and help come up with more robust and conclusive evidence.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, it is the first case study that compares the predictive performance of the hedonic multivariate regression model with the PNN-based GRNN model for housing prices in India.