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PurposeThe paper seeks to ascertain if there exists a uniform approach towards reporting on contaminated land in practice standards employed in Australia and the UK. The UK is a highly industrialised country and Australia is less so. The paper also tries to find out if the practice standard in a less industrialised country is less stringent than the practice standard in a highly industrialised country.Design/methodology/approachThe paper compares the valuation practice standards in Australia and the UK. In the former country, formal guidance on contaminated land valuation was first published in 1994 by the Australian Institute of Valuers and Land Economists (now the Australian Property Institute) in the Contaminated Land Practice Standard. This document was subsequently downgraded from a practice standard to a guidance note, "Guidance Note 15 Reporting on Contaminated Land" of Professional Practice 2002. In the UK practice standards are contained in the RICS guidance note Contamination and Environmental Matters their Implications for Property Professionals. (RICS, 2003a).FindingsBoth Australia and the UK have developed significant and detailed guidance notes on contamination and environmental matters. The respective guidance notes reflect the varying socio‐economic backgrounds of the two countries in particular differing industrial legacies. Despite a high degree of similarity in the approaches and procedures adopted there are nonetheless significant differences across the two sets of standards. The extended guidance in the UK highlights the increasing knowledge on contamination and environmental matters as it affects all types of chartered surveyors rather than focussing solely on the valuation function. In contrast the Australian guidance note appears to be more prescriptive concentrating on the details of the valuation role.Originality/valueContaminated land is an environmental problem that causes great concerns among the general public, landowners, occupiers, investors and financial institutions. Despite the negative image of contaminated land, valuers are from time to time instructed to assess its market value. In this regard, valuation institutions in most developed countries have prepared a practice standard to help members report on contaminated land. Each country has its unique socio‐economic background. The various practice standards will no doubt reflect the respective conditions in their country and the reporting standards will be different. Thus, it can be inferred that there is a substantial difference in the reporting standards between highly industrialised countries and less industrialised countries.

The problem of obtaining suitable comparables has been recognised as the principal weakness in the direct comparison method of valuation. This paper utilising a data‐base derived for Northern Ireland highlights the degree of statistical variability that exists in residential property values. It is shown that knowledge of variability can aid the valuer in looking wider for comparables in certain property types while also bringing attention to situations in which spurious comparables are statistically more probable. In conclusion the case is forwarded for a 'pooled' data base in which the level of information available for the valuer could be greatly enhanced.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the role of Asian real estate companies with regard to their "value‐added" performance and portfolio diversification benefits in Asian mixed‐asset portfolios, as well as in international real estate securities portfolios over 1996‐2005.Design/methodology/approachFirst the risk‐return performance for all 13 Asian as well as the US and UK real estate securities markets is compared. For each country, next the correlation profiles between real estate, common stock, bonds and cash are assessed. The value‐add benefits of Asian real estate securities in an unconstrained and constrained mixed asset portfolio are then assessed in relation to portfolio return, risk and terminal wealth. Finally, the paper explores whether there are benefits derived from international diversification with a universe of Asian real estate securities from the perspectives of the US and UK investors.FindingsIt was found that, whilst there is little evidence of diversification benefits and superior risk‐adjusted performance of Asian real estate companies in Asian mixed‐asset portfolios, diversification into Asian real estate stocks can provide positive portfolio implications for international investors. Thus investing in Asian real estate securities portfolios rather than investing in Asian mixed‐asset portfolios may be seen to be the more effective diversification strategy over this period.Originality/valueThe study has provided some interesting and important insights into the dynamics and performance of Asian real estate securities. With an increased emphasis on international property investment and as the regional upturn becomes more evident, Asian real estate companies potentially provide an important real estate investment opportunity for international property fund mangers.

First published in 1997, this volume emerged in response to the need for material on the research, development, use and application of mass appraisal techniques for ad valorem property tax systems. The primary paradigms discussed include regression, base home technique, adaptive estimation procedure and artificial neural networks. Intending to address a wide range of property types, the authors explored residential, condominiums, retail, office and industrial property as well as agricultural and forestry land.