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The purpose of this paper is to apply boosted regression trees (BRT) to a heterogeneous data set of residential property drawn from a jurisdiction in Malaysia, with the objective to evaluate its application within the mass appraisal environment in Malaysia. Machine learning (ML) techniques have been applied to real estate mass appraisal with varying degrees of success.

To evaluate the performance of the BRT model two multiple regression analysis (MRA) models have been specified (linear and non-linear). One of the weaknesses of traditional regression is the need to a priori specify the functional form of the model and to ensure that all non-linearities have been accounted for. For a BRT model the algorithm does not require any predetermined model or variable transformations, making the process much simpler.

The results show that the BRT model outperformed the MRA-specified models in terms of the coefficient of dispersion and mean absolute percentage error. While the results are encouraging, BRT models still lack transparency and suffer from the inability to translate variable importance into quantifiable variable effects.

This paper presents a useful alternative modelling technique, BRT, for use within the mass appraisal environment in Malaysia. Its advantages include less intensive data cleansing, no requirement to specify the predictive underlying model, ability to utilise categorical variables without the need to transform them and not as data hungry, as for example, MRA.

This paper adds to the knowledge in this area by applying a relatively new ML model, BRT to residential property data from a jurisdiction in Malaysia. BRT has shown promise as a strong predictive model when applied in other disciplines; therefore this research empirically tests this finding within real estate valuation.

The purpose of this research is to explore from a mass appraisal perspective how the effects of location are reflected within valuation models. The paper sets out to detail the various techniques and the efficacy of their application.

The approach adopted is analytical and based upon the development of locational attributes. An extensive literature base is synthesized with methods being evaluated in their application to mass appraisal.

This research has identified that the three main groups interested in residential property valuation, namely, academia, industry and commerce have to a certain extent been unfamiliar with the research developments occurring in the other groups. The impact of this is important, given the need for integration and collaboration in terms of future model development.

The research underpinning this paper will provide a solid basis for further research into this area. The importance of measuring the effect that location has on value is of major significance in the determination of objective estimates of property value.

Those within the assessment community could be described as pragmatists working in a situation that requires feasible and suitable solutions to the problem of measuring location value. It is our contention that the third generation techniques of spatially varying parameter models and spatial autocorrelation models will require greater industry verification before their use becomes more widely accepted.

This paper provides a detailed analysis of methodologies used to reflect the value of location over the last 50 years. The debate is taken forward by describing what will be the contribution to the development of the next generation of location‐specific modeling techniques.

The aim of this paper is to attempt to measure the effect of location on residential house prices and to endeavour to integrate spatial and aspatial data in terms of developing a hybrid predictive model. The research methodology investigates the traditional hedonic approach to modelling location using multiple regression techniques. Alternative approaches are considered which specifically model the spatial distribution of house prices with the objective of developing location adjustment factors. These approaches are based on the development of surface response techniques such as inverse distance weighting and universal kriging. The results generated from the surfaces created are then calibrated within MRA.

The purpose of this research is to show how the Slovenian government has recognised the need for local government fiscal autonomy and to enhance this has instigated the introduction of an ad valorem property tax. Since independence in 1991 Slovenia has embarked on a path of administrative and fiscal decentralization. Local government has been subject to significant reform in terms of the creation of additional municipalities and the allocation of devolved expenditure responsibilities.

The paper provides an in‐depth analysis of central and local government statistics to demonstrate the potential role of the property tax in any future decentralisation of responsibilities and funding to the local level.

This study finds that in terms of both municipal revenue and expenditure there remains a high degree of centralised control by the state. On the positive side with the introduction of the new property tax there is an expectation for greater local fiscal autonomy, however, on the negative side progess towards the introduction of the new tax has been extremely slow. The study concludes that while the proposals are likely to provide for a more stable and uniform local tax, there appears to be lethargy in implementing the property tax.

It is argued in this paper that accession to the EU has created pressures for Slovenia to adopt a financing model which gives greater fiscal autonomy to local government. Currently, the high level of centralization is seen as a barrier to greater devolution of powers which in turn has a negative effect on the introduction of the new property tax.

Within the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe, radical and far‐reaching programmes of reform are taking place. Central to these are the processes of privatisation and decentralisation which require the newly‐created tiers of local government to develop their own sources of locally‐based revenue. The property tax represents what is, from an international perspective, the most important, stable source of revenue for local government. The majority of the new emerging democracies have introduced or are in the process of introducing ad valorem‐based property taxes. This paper begins by focusing on those key elements which are central to the successful implementation of such systems and then gives a brief summary of developments in two transitional countries, namely, Armenia and the Czech Republic.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a segmentation technique based on geostatistical modeling methods utilizing geographically weighted regression (GWR) to identify submarkets which could be applied within the mass appraisal environment.

Given the spatial dimension within which neighbourhoods/submarkets exist, this paper has sought to utilize the geostatistical technique of GWR to identify them.

The efficacy of the procedure is established by demonstrating improvements in predictive accuracy of the resultant segmented market models as compared to a baseline global unsegmented model for each of the study areas. Optimal number of segments is obtained by measures of predictive accuracy, spatial autocorrelation in the residual errors and the Akaike information criterion.

The three datasets used allowed for an evaluation of the robustness of the method. Nonetheless it would be beneficial to test it on other datasets, particularly from different regions of the world.

Many researchers and mass appraisal practitioners have established the benefit of segmenting a study area into two or more submarkets as a means of incorporating the effects of location within mass valuation models. This approach develops the existing knowledge.

The research ultimately is developing more accurate valuation models upon which the property tax is based. This should create an environment of fair and acceptable assessed values by the tax paying community.

The contribution of this work lies in the methodological approach adopted which incorporates a market basket approach developed through a process of GWR. The importance of the research findings illustrate that submarket segmentation need no longer be an arbitrary process.

It is argued within this paper that domestic rates, which represent an important and significant source of local government revenue for district councils in Northern Ireland, should be reformed. There are currently issues pertaining to the present system which adversely affect both fairness and equity. The rating system for both domestic and non‐domestic property has its origins in the early nineteenth century, when the basis of assessment was centred on hypothetical rental values. It is a contention of this paper that the use of annual rental values for domestic property taxation is no longer tenable owing principally to the lack of open market rental evidence and the transparency of the system. Given the absence of regular revaluations, significant disparities and inequities are now inherent in the rating system which can only be addressed by undertaking a further revaluation based on capital values. This paper examines, at both the macro and micro levels, the impact of the assessment lag on effective tax rates and the effect of a change in the basis of the tax.

This study aims to evaluate the property tax base under the local government property taxation in Nairobi City and its implication on revenue adequacy of the city. Nairobi has grown both in population and in physical extent resulting to increased demand for urban services. The city faces challenges of adequate infrastructure service provision against increasing demand. Property taxation if fully exploited can be a major source of city government revenue, which has been dwindling.

Literature review of property tax bases in the world and examination of best practices was done to highlight the inadequacies of property tax base administration in Nairobi. Primary data were gathered through interviews of officers in Nairobi City involved in the land rating process. Secondary data were obtained through documentary search and field survey of the study area.

The study established that Nairobi relies on a dual system of taxation, namely, site value rating and area rating. Tax is on vacant land only and excludes improvements. There are many legal exemptions and administrative exclusions from the tax base. The property tax registers do not include all the taxable properties and there is no regular updating of the tax registers. Nairobi relies on an outdated valuation roll whose values have no relation to the current market values.

These factors have resulted to a narrow tax base, which affects the revenue potential of the city and its ability to adequately provide infrastructure services.

This is an original research, which relied mainly on primary data. To establish the property tax bases and the exempt properties in Nairobi, the researchers interviewed the officers at the Nairobi city land valuation and property management directorate using structured questionnaires. To address the third objective on whether the property tax base is complete and all-inclusive, the research relied on primary data. The research population was residential properties in Buruburu, Kilimani and Riruta areas of Nairobi city. The sample data on property details were collected from the Ministry of Land and Physical Planning (MLPP). The researchers then examined the records at the Nairobi City to evaluate whether the properties, which are registered at the MLPP, are charged land rates at the city level and at what amounts. This included properties under site value rating and area rating.

This chapter seeks to illuminate the interconnectedness of procedural justice, use of force, and occupational culture in relation to police legitimacy.

The authors review the existing literature and offer an integrated methodological approach that would better assist researchers in their quest to enhance police legitimacy.

Using a systematic design that assesses police legitimacy from a variety of sources has the potential to help answer critical questions with regard to improving police practice.

This is a novel study approach, which has yet to be implemented but which may offer great insight with respect to improving police legitimacy.

Buildings contribute significantly to CO₂ production. They are also subject to considerable taxation based on value. Analysis shows that while similar attributes contribute to both value and CO₂ production, there is only a loose relationship between the two. If we wish to use taxation to affect policy change (drive energy efficiency behaviour), we are unlikely to achieve this using only the current tax base (value), or by increasing the tax take off this current tax base (unlike extra taxation of cigarettes to discourage smoking, for example). Taxation of buildings on the basis of energy efficiency is hampered by the lack of current evidence of performance. This paper aims to model the now-obligatory (at sale or letting) energy performance certificate (EPC) data to derive an acceptable appraisal model (marked to market, being the EPC scores) and deploys this to the entire population of properties. This provides an alternative tax base with which to model the effects of a tax base switch to energy efficiency and to understand the tax incidence effects of such a policy.

The research uses a multiplicative hedonic approach to model energy efficiency utilising EPC holding properties in a UK jurisdiction [Northern Ireland (NI)] as the sample. This model is then used to estimate discrete energy assessments for each property in the wider population, using attributes held in the domestic rating (property tax) database for NI (700,000+ properties). This produces a robust estimate of the EPC for every property in its current condition and its cost-effective improved condition. This energy assessment based tax base is further used to estimate a new millage rate and property tax bill (green property tax) which is compared against the existing property tax based on value to allow tax incidence changes to be analysed.

The findings show that such a policy would significantly redistribute the tax burden and would have a variety of expected and some unexpected effects. The results indicate that while assessing the energy performance of houses can be a complex process involving many parameters, much of the explanatory power can be achieved via a relatively small number of input variables, often already held by property tax jurisdictions. This offers the opportunity for useful housing stock modelling – such as the savings possible from power switching. The research also identifies that whilst urban areas display the expected “heat island” effect in terms of energy consumption, urban properties are on average more efficient than suburban/rural properties. This facilitates spatial targeting of policy messages and initiatives.

Analogous with other studies, data deficiencies introduce the risk of omitted variable bias. Modelling of the energy efficiency in the sample is limited to property attributes that are available for the wider population of properties. While this limits the modelling exercise, it is a perennial issue facing mass appraisal worldwide (where knowledge of the transacted sample attributes generally exceeds knowledge of the unsold properties). That said, the research demonstrates the benefits of sharing data and improving knowledge of the housing stock, as taxation databases would be stronger, augmented with EPC-derived property attributes for example.

The EPC lead in time for wide residential coverage is likely to be considerable. The paper contributes to emerging literature and policy debate surrounding the effect, performance measurement and implementation of energy efficiency certification, through a greater understanding of the sectorial and geographical dispersion of energy efficiency. It provides high level research to help guide policy and decision-making, identifying key locales where there is more of a physical problem and locations where there is more to gain in terms of targeting energy improvement and/or encouraging behavioural change. The paper also allows a glimpse of the implications of a change towards a taxation regime based on energy efficiency, which contributes to the debate surrounding the “greening” of property based taxes.