Reference and Anchor Points in Property Negotiation: What Influence Has the Estate Valuer?

In a bid to at least satisfying individual or collective interest in property negotiations, vendors and buyers tend to place yardsticks which inform their decision. These yardsticks have been described as the anchor and reference point in property negotiation. While the former affects the counteroffer a negotiator makes, the latter determines how an offer is perceived either as a loss or gain. The aim of this work is to determine the influence of the Estate Valuer in determining these yardsticks. A study of 92 Property development companies cutting across the various strata in the study area formed the sample size of this work. The respondents were grouped into two equal groups of vendors and purchasers. It was revealed by the use of the Relative Important Index that record of past similar sales and the total cost of the subject property form the anchor and reference point for vendors respectively, while record of past similar purchases is both the anchor and reference point for the purchasers. The study reveals that Estate Valuers have little or no influence in determining these decisive points and that at best they serve as Estate Agents during negotiations. The researcher opines that the regulatory bodies of The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and valuers (NIESV) and The Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON) should sponsor a research where Estate valuers in the academia can come up with comments on daily price indices as a multiplier to the exact day to day value of real estate, thereby bringing the relevance of the Estate valuer in property negotiation to the forefront particularly when sales dates are conceded as the date of actual transfer of interest and not the commencement of negotiation