The Importance of Urban Spatial Grid Data in the Building Valuation Process

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to structure information on environmental characteristics that influence housing prices so that it can be effectively used in the valuation process through digital visualization. A suitable data platform for real estate valuation entities should contain information about the spatial data of the urban grid in a structured form that is stored digitally and accessible to all. OpenStreetMap can be considered as such a platform. It is a relatively user-friendly open tool that can be used for spatial and market analysis. This activity is very necessary in the valuation process as it is very time consuming and requires extensive data collection. This paper examines the environmental spatial characteristics in the urban grid to see whether or not they have an impact on the price of housing. These influences are examined using a non-parametric test that allows two groups or conditions to be examined. The Mann-Whitney U test is a test for ordinal data that is similar to a two-sample t-test. Nonparametric tests are used when a certain distribution of the data cannot be assumed. The paper concludes by presenting a systematic approach to incorporating information on the urban grid characteristics under investigation into open data platforms to streamline the property valuation process. The results can be suitably generalized to other commodities and markets