Data Selection as the Basis for Better Value Modelling

The article is a voice in the debate on the scope of the application of statistical methods in real estate appraisal, written from the comparative perspective. It presents the results of an illustrative valuation of housing units with the use of databases of various sizes, constructed on the basis of publicly available data from the register of property prices and values. Against this background, the article presents an analysis of differences between the objectives and published results of valuations, which exemplify broadly understood property price modelling or property value modelling, as well as of activities focused around appraising a specific object. The conducted experiments demonstrated that, for the purposes of real estate appraisal itself, the selection of data is more useful than searching for a price model.