Client perception of property investment valuation reports in the UK

Property appraisers and the appraisal/valuation process have recently been the focus of attention in many parts of the world. This paper concentrates on one part of the valuation process: the final valuation report submitted to the client. The paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey conducted in December 1994 of clients who commission valuation reports from external valuers in the United Kingdom (UK). Generally, UK clients are satisfied with valuation reports received from external valuers. Where the users of valuation reports are themselves valuers, the level of satisfaction is more pronounced. However, there is a common criticism that valuers provide more information on the factual elements within a report – for example, the physical location and the layout and measurements of the building – than they do on the valuation methodology and the state of the market. While over half the respondents wanted to see more regulation of valuers through professional institutional guidelines, very few requested more government regulation. The findings imply that there is room for improvement in the provision of information within valuation reports. Valuers need to provide additional information in valuation reports concerning conditions and trends in property and wider markets, and provide comparable transactions data on which the valuation is based. Research should be focused on how such information can be provided in a market that restricts data and where valuers are increasingly litigated against for alleged professional negligence.