Issue 06 - 2012

Rating Valuation Model for Residential Properties in Sri Lanka: Case Study in Homagama

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Rating Valuation Model for Residential Properties in Sri Lanka: Case Study in Homagama Wasantha, A .V .U.; Weerakoon, K .G .P .K.; Wickramaarachchi, N.C. Similar to the most countries, the property tax is the main source of income in local government authorities in Sri Lanka. Property taxes include a variety of taxes on land, building & other immovable property. Rating is one form of property taxes and it is the major property tax in Sri Lanka. The current practice of rating levying in the country is on the basis of Annual Value of the property. However, in some developed countries such as United Kingdom, it is calculated on the basis of the capital value. Hence, the aim of this research is searching for an alternative approach for rating valuation based on the capital value of the property. Data collection was mainly done with the help of Rating Cards maintained by the Government Valuation Department of Sri Lanka. Results indicate that six main factors significantly influence in calculating the capital value. Hence, the final model, which is based on both land and building values was calculated according to the six factors that were significant in the analysis.

Urban Governance for Risk Reduction and Climate Change Resilience – Considerations with special attention to Southeast Asia and India

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Urban Governance for Risk Reduction and Climate Change Resilience – Considerations with special attention to Southeast Asia and India Woiwode, C. Urbanisation, climate change and development combine some of the major challenges for the 21st century. One aim of this paper is to identify key intervention areas to address climate change with special reference to Southeast Asia and a focus on India. Another concomitant aim is to point out where the currently prevalent approaches to urban climate change resilience are still blind. Thus in the beginning the nexus of urbanization and climate change is briefly outlined by describing the current state and implications. This is followed by discussing issues of intervention and, deducting from that, key themes for an action-oriented approach to urban climate change resilience. In the conclusion, however, several blind spots of the current approach highlight the needs for further research and rethinking at policy level.

The Impact of Money Market Indicators on Real Estate Finance in Nigeria

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Impact of Money Market Indicators on Real Estate Finance in Nigeria Olawande, O.A; EMOH, F. I.; IJASAN, K. C. Money supply in an economy is significantly affected by the money market indicators and, by implication, the funds available to the real estate sector. This study examines the relationship between money supply in the economy and some money market indicators with respect to their impacts on finance for real estate development in Nigeria. Secondary data were obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria covering five-year study period (2006 to 2010). The Pearson product moment correlation and multivariate regression models were adopted for data analysis. The study found that there is statistically significant relationship between broad money supply (M2) and explanatory variables with P-values < 0.05 except inter-bank call rate (0.7085), and prime lending rate (0.7554). Furthermore, the principal component analysis revealed that interbank call rate, inflation, and monetary policy rates are three components with eigenvalues >1.0; they account for 77.01% of variability in M2. Also, stepwise regression of the variables showed that inflation, monetary policy rate, saving deposit rate, and Treasury bill rate have statistically significant impact on broad money supply in Nigeria. The implication is that money supply in the economy from where funds are made available for real estate development is significantly affected by the indicators and consequently the real estate sector by dwindling financial allocation to the real estate sector. It was recommended that real estate investment trust may possibly be the best option to financing the real estate sector of the Nigerian economy, while the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers has great role in birthing the investment vehicle.

An Evaluation of Success and Failures in Hambantota, Siribopura Resettlement Housing Program: Lessons Learned

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

An Evaluation of Success and Failures in Hambantota, Siribopura Resettlement Housing Program: Lessons Learned Perera, TGUP; Weerasoori, I; Karunarathne, HMLP Resettlement of displaced communities both developments induced and disaster induced has been a subject widely discussed for the last three decades. Among them this study reviews the experience of Siribopura resettlement housing program in Hambantota Sri Lanka, a city which has witnessed a number of evictions and resettlements during the past half a decade. Accordingly this article presents the findings of factors that contributed to the success and failures of the resettlement housing programs implemented in Hambantota during the period of 2004–2011. Autonomy of designing own houses, appropriate counseling and facilitating the resettlers to adapt to new environments, proper linkage of socio cultural aspects with real estate and economic aspects and availability of formal property rights are presented as crucial factors for the success of the resettlement in the case materials provided within this study. It is expected that the lessons learned from this research may provide a systematic feedback that can be utilized to increase effectiveness of planning and operation of resettlement programs in other emerging cities in Sri Lanka.