Examining Subdivision Layouts against Market Values

Abstract

The internal properties of land parcels in land subdivision layouts are known to impact land demand. Several layout options exist for the same land, in most cases. Accordingly, the study focuses on indexing the internal parameters of land parcels in the subdivision layout against their market value. An analytical hierarchical process (AHP) was used to develop the Weighted Index (WI). A structured questionnaire was used for data collection from experts in the residential real estate sector in Sri Lanka. The consistency ratio of the feedback was 0.096. The results show that eleven internal parameters mainly affect a land parcel’s market value. The highest significant parameter was ‘number of sides open to nature’ (0.244), and the lowest significant parameter was ‘compactness value of the land parcel’ (0.016). To validate the results, a residential subdivision layout of 55 land parcels was selected from the western province of Sri Lanka, to be analysed for the correlation between the calculated weighted index and actual market value. Results show a significant positive correlation between the calculated weighted evaluation index and per perch (25.29 m2) market value. Re-subdivision by eliminating the drawbacks associated with internal parameters shows a 2% increase in the market value of the proposed layout.