Transparency of land markets: not only a matter of market outcomes

Publication

What can be done to understand land markets better? As a result of the financial crisis, in many countries pleas are being made for more accurate valuations of real estate and land. Policymakers want land markets to be more transparent. Although it is obviously worthwhile to improve valuation practices, it needs to be realised that there are limits to the accuracy of valuations.

These limits relate to the very nature of land as an immobile and durable good. But more importantly, the question is: do better valuations lead to more transparent markets? This article claims that we should not be preoccupied with market outcomes, such as prices and values of land. More transparency is achieved when we gain a better view on the market processes and the institutions that lead to these outcomes.

Authors

Edwin Buitelaar

Specifications

Publication title
Transparency of land markets: not only a matter of market outcomes, Experiences from the Netherlands.
Publication date
16 November 2012
Publication type
Publication
Magazine
études foncières n.159
Product number
982