INTRODUCTION
According to M-Kawu (The Ground Work Of Property Valuation) Market value is easy to determine when the consumer goods are involved. The sellers and the buyers are in close contact and are therefore aware of what is happening in the market.
No professional is required to advise on the price of a measure of rice in any market. One does not require an expert to tell him the price of an elephant blue detergent in the market. The value or price of the items will come out naturally through the interaction of buyers and sellers.
In the case landed properties the situation is different. The interaction of demand and supply is not obtains in the consumer goods market. The technicalities and imperfections thus necessitate the need of an expert to assess and advise on the price or the market valve of properties. His assessment is an estimate. The accuracy of the estimate depends on the expertise of the valuer. The expertise is in his own professional judgement based on the circumstances surrounding the property and those in the market.
DEFINITION
Therefore valuation which is said to be the art or science of estimating the value of a specific purpose of a particular interest in property at a particular moment in time, taking into account all the features of the property and also considering all the underlying economic factors of the market, including the range of alternative investments which is focusing on the estimation of market value which is just one series of values a property may have. It suffices here to say valuation is the art of estimating the monetary worth of an interest in a property for a particular purpose at a particular point in time taking into consideration all features of the property and any other factor likely to affect the value being estimated.