Stephen E. Roulac

Brand+beauty+utility=property value

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the significant role that brand, beauty and utility play in defining property value.Design/methodology/approach – Beyond introducing the idea that property value is composed of brand, beauty and utility, the factors that comprise these three components of property value are explored. The relative contributions that brand, beauty and utility make to understanding the source of property value are examined through empirical research evaluating the perceptions of the relative contributions that each of these three factors make to property value, based on the analysis of data on some 55 single family residential properties drawn from throughout the world.Findings – The findings explain reasons why certain properties command premium prices, relative to other properties. As commerce prioritizes branding in merchandising generally – and especially for luxury goods – that brand would assume a growing significant role in property markets is not surprising.Original...

The appraisal of urban regeneration land

Purpose – The value of land for development is normally estimated by the use of the comparative method or the residual approach. The aim of the paper is to examine appraisal practice, in particular the bases of valuation, availability and utilisation of data, reporting of the value figure and the management of risk.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports the findings of a survey of valuers from leading practices throughout the UK, bank lenders and developers. An example of an appraisal of an urban regeneration site is included in order to highlight the key issues within the discussion.Findings – A variety of reporting practices is found from a tightly drawn range of values to single‐point estimates along with a detailed explanation of the assumptions employed. Developers and lenders favoured the latter, but they appeared to be open‐minded about a range of values or an expression of uncertainty being reported, provided that there is a clear and well supported justification. Risk management approach...

Corporate Real Estate Strategies and Financial Performance of Companies

This study analyzes the relationship between Corporate Real Estate (CRE) strategy and the financial performance of major companies in the UK for two time periods, 1998 and 2003. The identification of specific CRE strategies is based on the seminal work of Nourse and Roulac (1993). The results indicate that more than 75% of the companies examined had a CRE strategy that could be mapped to the Nourse and Roulac framework and that certain CRE strategies made a contribution in enhancing the financial performance of companies. The relationship was stronger for companies in 2003 than for 1998. This was tested for both share price and profit margin as the dependent variable. This study concludes that CRE strategy can make a limited contribution to company financial performance.

Property and Ptolemy, Copernicus and commerce

Today, every enterprise, investor and household with property involvements is functionally involved in the international real estate markets, by virtue of the influence that global forces and participants in the multiple segments of the real estate markets have on local spatial patterns and therefore the demand for, and supply of, property goods and services. Property involvements for many reflect a Ptolemaic view of the universe, proceeding from the premise that the particular property is the focus and locus of concern, with other forces, factors and properties metaphorically rotating around the particular local property. A Copernican concept of commerce, by contrast, proceeds with the premise that property involvements follow from consideration of the dynamic interdependent interaction and implications of ideas, initiatives, and involvements, from multiple regions and perspectives. Even though involved in multiple markets with offices throughout the world, many employ multiple local insular strategies, being guided more by a Ptolemaic than Copernican perspective. With a strategic perspective for global property involvements, no longer is the operative paradigm built on the primacy of focus on the single local property.