Lynne Armitage

The value of built heritage: Community, economy and environment

Janine Irons et al. — Mon, 23 May 2011 08:37:29 PDT

Whilst legislatures at all levels of Australian government have been slower to establish heritage protection than many other OECD countries, the community’s commitment predates identifiable involvement by government in the conservation arena by more than two decades as illustrated by the foundation, in Sydney in the mid 1940’s, of the National Trust of Australia (AGPC 2006). It was not until the 1970’s that formal frameworks were established through statutory control mechanisms for the identification and protection of Australia’s rich stock of heritage places (Irons and Armitage 2010). Similarly, at the professional level, the relatively recent emergence and dissemination of standardised approaches to valuation and management practices for heritage property (e.g. IVSC 2007; API 2008; RICS 2009) across international boundaries is an acknowledgement of their special value and – to some extent – demonstrates a recognition of characteristics which are shared by diverse cultures (Armitage and Yau 2008).

Set within the context of Australia’s commitment to the Kyoto protocols, requiring signatory countries to meet mandated reductions in the use of non-renewable resources, the potential opportunity cost savings achievable by the more effective use of existing built structures has re-emerged as an area of interest. The objective of this paper is to review the multifaceted elements which contribute to our perceptions of heritage reflecting values which incorporate yet transcend the merely economic (Ashworth 2002) within this contemporary perspective of the role of heritage property identified above. This paper draws upon a rigorous study (Irons 2008) which investigates in detail the effect of local heritage listing on the single family dwelling. The paper identifies the framework of heritage management in Australia and considers the many meanings of the relevant terminology. Concepts of cultural heritage, of place and of significance are discussed providing a preface to a review of the value of heritage from a number of perspectives. In an age of increased sensitivity to profligate resource consumption, this traditional view is then extended to consider the potential environmental benefits of heritage conservation, contributing a contemporary commentary to some economic, social and professional concerns and reflects upon the challenges of the journey yet to come.

Understanding the diversity of non-specialised units within Australian property degrees

Connie Susilawati et al. — Mon, 23 May 2011 08:37:23 PDT

Building on the recommendations of the Bradley Review (2008), the Australian Federal government intends to promote a higher level of penetration of tertiary qualification across the broader Australian community which is anticipated to result in increased levels of standardisation across university degrees. In the field of property, tertiary academic programs are very closely aligned to the needs of a range of built environment professions and there are well developed synergies between the relevant professional bodies and the educational institutions. The strong nexus between the academic and the professional content is characterised by ongoing industry accreditation which nominates a range of outcomes which the academic programs must maintain across a range of specified metrics. Commonly, the accrediting bodies focus on standard of minimum requirements especially in the area of specialised subject areas where they require property graduates to demonstrate appropriate learning and attitudes. In addition to nominated content fields, in every undergraduate degree program there are also many other subjects which provide a richer experience for the students beyond the merely professional. This study focuses on the nonspecialised knowledge field which varies across the universities offering property degree courses as every university has the freedom to pursue its own policy for these non-specialised units. With universities being sensitive to their role of in the appropriate socialisation of new entrants, first year units have been used as a vehicle to support students’ transition into university education and the final year units seek to support students’ integration into the professional world. Consequentially, many property programs have to squeeze their property-specific units to accommodate more generic units for both first year and final year units and the resulting diversity is a feature of the current range of property degrees across Australia which this research will investigate. The matrix of knowledge fields nominated by the Australian Property Institute for accreditation of degrees accepted for Certified Practising Valuer (CPV) educational requirement and the complementary requirements of the other major accrediting body (RICS) are used to classify and compare similarities and differences across property degrees in the light of the streamlining anticipated from the Bradley Review.

The management of built heritage: A comparative review of policies and practice in Western Europe, North America and Australia

Tracy Pickerill et al. — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:59:01 PST

Internationally, patterns of government policy are trending away from traditional approaches to the conservation of the built heritage involving direct public funding, limiting subsidy and acquisition to the most cherished exemplars of national character. The evolving contemporary approach is one of partnership between stakeholders in the public and private domain to leverage their relative strengths whilst recognizing the constraints of market conditions and public sector imperatives.

As a consequence of the limited ability of the untrammelled property market to incorporate values of cultural heritage which accord with those held by the broader voting public a continuum of legislative regimes has been generated across diverse jurisdictions to protect such buildings and places in accordance with local preferences. The physical - and often dramatic last minute - on-site confrontations with bulldozers which accompanied many early instances of saving built heritage have metamorphosed into less visible but often equally committed encounters in the milieu of the legislature or courtroom.

Building on Pickerill's (2002 & 2007) work in North America and Western Europe, this paper compares funding mechanisms, stakeholder involvement and area based heritage conservation models from Western Europe and North America with those of Australia. More specifically, the domain of enquiry will consider Pickerill's bifurcated model of the new governance of financing for conservation which recognizes the duality of tool knowledge and design knowledge. Examples from practice in Europe, America and Australia will provide an illustration of these mechanisms.

Property market analysis in the valuation process: A survey of Australian practice

Lynne Armitage et al. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:09:01 PST

The nature of property valuation/analysis is examined in respect of the property market and, in particular, the extent of property market analysis undertaken by practitioners when carrying out property valuations. An empirical survey is described of a sample of 240 valuers throughout Australia and their practices in valuing investment grade property. It is shown that, although the valuers are fully aware of the need for property market analysis, and collect appropriate data to do the analysis, the analysis itself is seldom conducted in other than a cursory manner.

© Copyright Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 2003

Barriers to building partnerships between major stakeholders in affordable housing investment in Queensland

Connie Susilawati et al. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:04:13 PST

The recent housing boom experienced across Australian metropolitan markets has attracted many new investors and resulted in increasing prices across the full range of residential sub-markets for both owner-occupation and investment categories. Of particular concern from a social perspective is the consequential pressure generated in the affordable housing rental market. This paper reports the results of a survey of affordable housing providers drawn from a range of backgrounds. Using in-depth interviews, it compares the opinions of these supply side groups regarding their experiences of the barriers to entry to affordable housing partnerships. The findings show agreement across the sector that partnerships have failed to produce better outcomes than would have been expected without the partnership.

© Copyright Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 2005

Student preferences for career mentoring in property and construction

Liz Everist et al. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:58:22 PST

Although career mentoring is well established across many professional areas, its application in the field of property and construction is at an emergent stage. As part of ongoing quality review aimed at enhancing student engagement with their educational program, a survey was undertaken among first and second year students enrolled in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning's Bachelor of Planning and Design (Property and Construction). The study investigated student preferences regarding involvement in a career mentoring program including mentoring program options and mentoring style preferences. Several differences emerged between property and construction student cohorts and in particular between male and female students. The findings demonstrate the importance of examining mentoring preferences from the perspective of the mentee.

© Copyright Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 2005

Indigenous property rights: Custom and commerce at the interface- A case study of the Ahi People's land, Morobe Province, PNG

Lynne Armitage — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:05:14 PST

Extract:

Land resource management in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been experiencing substantial pressure over the last few years in response to economic and social development and change. Customary tenure is the dominant form of tenure yet it has received very little attention as a resource which underpins such development. Over recent years, the economy has sought to manage the impacts of external influences, such as globalisation and a decline in commodity prices, whilst beset by many internal political upheavals.

Within the context of such structural readjustment, this paper examines the interrelationship between customary and alienated tenure systems, their background, status and prospects in relation to the development process. More specifically, it pursues the theme of appropriate management techniques for customary land in the light of recent and anticipated social and legislative change, with particular reference to the situation of the Ahi People’s peri-urban lands in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG).

© Copyright Lynne Armitage, 2002

The future of office property

Janine Irons et al. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:58:26 PST

The following paper considers the question, where to office property? In doing so, it focuses, in the first instance, on identifying and describing a selection of key forces for change present within the contemporary operating environment in which office property functions. Given the increasingly complex, dynamic and multi-faceted character of this environment, the paper seeks to identify only the primary forces for change, within the context of the future of office property. These core drivers of change have, for the purposes of this discussion, been characterised as including a range of economic, demographic and socio-cultural factors, together with developments in information and communication technology.

Having established this foundation, the paper proceeds to consider the manner in which these forces may, in the future, be manifested within the office property market. Comment is offered regarding the potential future implications of these forces for change together with their likely influence on the nature and management of the physical asset itself.

Whilst no explicit time horizon has been envisioned in the preparation of this paper particular attention has been accorded short to medium term trends, that is, those likely to emerge in the office property marketplace over the coming two decades. Further, the paper considers the question posed, in respect of the future of office property, in the context of developed western nations. The degree of commonality seen in these mature markets is such that generalisations may more appropriately and robustly be applied. Whilst some of the comments offered with respect to the target market may find application in other arenas, it is beyond the scope of this paper to explicitly consider highly heterogeneous markets. Given also the wide scope of this paper key drivers for change and their likely implications for the commercial office property market are identified at a global level (within the above established parameters). Accordingly, the focus is necessarily such that it serves to reflect overarching directions at a universal level (with the effect being that direct applicability to individual markets - when viewed in isolation on a geographic or property type specific basis – may not be fitting in all instances).

© Copyright Janine Irons & Lynne Armitage, 2003

Affordable housing: Who supply it?

Connie Susilawati et al. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:50:23 PST

At the present time, Queensland is experiencing severe demand pressure on housing stock in the South-Eastern metropolitan region and in many regional and coastal centres. Whilst median house prices are still well below Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s third largest housing market is showing no signs of slowing in the current economic climate of low interest rates and stable levels of employment. Despite the comparatively good affordability of the Queensland housing stock, access for low income and other disadvantaged and minority groups in the state is being eroded rapidly, partly by increased demand and partly by a loss of base level stock through renovation and redevelopment.

This paper will discuss the current situation regarding the stock of affordable housing by reference to current literature and pilot surveys of stakeholders in the public and private sector. A particular focus of the paper will be a discussion of the expectations and limiting factors, nominated by supply side participants, in respects of the partnership arrangements which facilitate their involvement.

© Copyright Connie Susilawati & Lynne Armitage, 2004

Barriers to expanding partnerships for affordable rental housing investments

Connie Susilawati et al. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:43:43 PST

The recent housing boom, experienced across Australian metropolitan markets, has attracted many new investors and resulted in increasing prices across the full range of residential sub-markets for both owner-occupation and investment categories. Of particular concern from a social perspective is the consequential pressure generated in the affordable housing rental market. Moreover, high vacancy rates and modest rental growth in rental housing has caused a deterioration in the investor’s rental yield given these increasing house prices (Powall and Withers, 2004, p.7).

In this difficult situation, traditional delivery methods for rental housing are unlikely to continue to attract more investment in this area. Although some innovative proposals - such as public private partnerships in the affordable housing area - have been put forward as solutions, many stakeholders continue to hold doubts about the specious attractions of such approaches (Susilawati and Armitage, 2004).

This paper reports the results of a survey of affordable housing providers drawn from a range of backgrounds: namely the private sector, government and non-for-profit organisations. Using in-depth interviews, it compares the opinions of these supply side groups regarding their experiences of the barriers to entry to such partnerships. The findings show agreement across the sector that, for a range of reasons, they have failed to produce better outcomes than would have been expected without the partnership. Further analysis using two-way and three-way cross-tabulation is then used to investigate the importance level between sub-groups.

© Copyright Connie Susilawati, Lynne Armitage & Martin Skitmore, 2005

Managing cultural heritage: Heritage listing and property value

Lynne Armitage et al. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:59:17 PST

Local governments across Australia are often placed in the invidious position of acknowledging the long term value to the community of a property or place by including it in a heritage register whilst alienating some current, often vocal, sectors of that community who raise concerns over an actual or perceived loss of individual, usually proprietary, rights. Whilst such conflicts of interest are inevitable, the necessity to manage such situations sensitively and effectively remains the lot of the local authority. In order to assist with the appropriate management of such situations, a study has been undertaken into the effects of heritage listing on property value in the context of the management of Queensland’s cultural heritage. This has been achieved through a review of key domestic and international studies and seven themes – impacting upon a range of stakeholders across the community - have been elicited from the research and are reported in this paper. Despite the diversity of the material reviewed, a number of defining variables were nominated by the studies as providing useful bench marks – such as geographical context, building type and other variables, and a range of methodologies. A matrix has been generated which is one original contribution of this research and which it is anticipated will be developed from the subsequent field research. The methodologies identified in the literature fell into three main groups – macro, micro and attitudinal – and it is proposed that this broad structure will be used as the basis of the second stage of this study.

© Copyright Lynne Armitage & Janine Irons, 2005

Multi-stakeholder partnerships in affordable rental housing: An investigation using soft systems framework

Connie Susilawati et al. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:48:11 PST

Queensland Department of Housing has proposed partnerships as one possible option to deliver affordable housing. Although this initiative is supported by other stakeholders, many constraints have impeded its implementation for real projects. It might be applicable for mixed housing projects with some relaxation on tax and/or planning requirements. In general, affordable housing has not been seen as a valuable investment. Moreover, the partnerships require stakeholders to work across boundaries and outside their comfort zones.

This initial study examines the use of Soft System Framework to explore stakeholders’ views of multi-stakeholder partnerships in affordable rental housing. A series of in-depth interviews with major stakeholders representing housing providers, regulators and users in Queensland has been conducted.

Soft System methodology has been used to express the unstructured problem by using systematic thinking to develop a conceptual model to solve the problem. A complex problem is broken down into role analysis, social and political system analysis. This study provides an example of using systematic thinking in solving conflicting problems. The gap between conceptual model and implementation in the real world situation was also investigated. Major changes in the socio-cultural aspects of our community as well as between stakeholders were required to implement further developing multi-stakeholder partnerships for affordable rental housing.

© Copyright Connie Susilawati, Martin Skitmore & Lynne Armitage, 2005

Housing organisations in Australia and the Netherlands: A comparative analysis

Connie Susilawati et al. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:42:52 PST

Dutch housing associations are private organisations with a public responsibility which are managed effectively to fulfil the social objectives of providing affordable rental housing. In the Australian system, community housing organisations are categorised as not-for-profit organisations and are mostly characterised by small organisations with very limited resources. This study aims to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Australian and the Dutch housing association models. A series of interviews with representatives of community housing organisations in Brisbane, Australia, will be compared with the results of similar interviews with representatives of social housing associations in the Netherlands. In addition to differences in management structure, the second principal variation is that of government financial involvement: in the Dutch system, a social housing guarantee is provided by the state government, which reduces the risk of borrowing and, hence, the interest rate accordingly. Furthermore, the encouragement of mixed-housing types in the Netherlands avoids an undesirable concentration of low cost housing in one locality as well as allowing residents to have more housing options and continue to live in the same neighbourhood throughout their life. Adapting the highly subsidised Dutch housing model to fit the Australian context is an opportunity considered in this paper.

© Copyright Connie Susilawati & Lynne Armitage, 2006

Heritage protection in the built environment in Hong Kong and Queensland: A cross cultural comparison

Lynne Armitage et al. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:32:01 PST

Comparative study of the conservation policies or practices in different places is certainly a useful means of achieving a better approach to the conservation of the built cultural heritage in urban areas. In spite of the abundant literature in this field, it appears that the cultural dimensions of the issues have always been neglected. With this background, the origins of this study lie in two sets of ideas. First, protection of built heritage is a people-centred exercise so it is largely influenced by the culture of the community. Second, the effort to transfer heritage protection ideologies from the West to the East (or vice versa) may be in vain because of the pre-existing perspectives of people or the cultural impasse. A comparative study of the policies for the protection of the built heritage in Hong Kong and Queensland was thus conducted. The two centres selected for study are a representative sample because they experienced colonial regime by the same sovereignty while they are dominated respectively by Eastern and Western cultures.

It is found that the Chinese approach to conservation is building-centric whereas it is setting-centric for the Western one. This difference can be attributed to the divergent cultural beliefs in the East and West. The Eastern wisdoms rooted in Confucianism and Taoism advocate a self-to-the-state model for heritage protection. Therefore, declaration of buildings as monuments is always done on a building-by-building basis and there is a lack of area conservation provision in heritage protection laws in Hong Kong. Contrary to this approach, and in addition to the listing of individual properties, designation of conservation areas or districts is accorded legal backup in Queensland with a view to conserving both building and the substance (i.e. the setting) in a more macroscopic manner. In addition, as prescribed by the traditional Chinese wisdoms, harmony in personal relationships is emphasized so the Hong Kong government tends to engage in lengthy negotiations with the property owners in cases of disagreement rather than to resort to the court, even though this option is reserved in the legislation.

Based on these findings, we contend that community education is the vital prerequisite for the integration and assimilation of conservation ideologies from places with different cultural backgrounds. In the case of Hong Kong, the success in applying conservation policies imported from Western countries rests on the sense of ownership of the culture in the community. Only by making people appreciate that conservation is a household affair, concrete support can be obtained from the public to drive an effective conservation campaign. The same principle for conservation ideology exchange can apply to other parts of the world.

© Copyright Lynne Armitage & Yung Yau, 2006

Building better suburbs: Design controls in master planned communities:- An Australian perspective

Henry Nguo et al. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:22:07 PST

Master planned communities in Australia are an increasingly popular form of residential development responding to localised pressure of population increase. They are characterised (Minnery and Bajracharya, 1999; Gwyther, 2005) as private sector driven, large scale, integrated housing developments located on greenfield sites, most frequently on the outskirts of major metropolitan areas. Whilst the conception, planning and provision of such communities lies in the hands of the major stakeholders – developers and state and local government – the provision of the unit of consumption, the dwelling, is the purview of housebuilders and also, at the level of final consumption, the concern of an individual purchaser which is most often a family. Whilst stakeholders at the statutory level may have principled concern about three key dimensions of governance mechanisms, housing market context and the nature of community as discussed in Bajracharya et al. (2007) the views of the residents are less well specified.

The objective of this paper is to report upon an original survey of residents of three separate communities in the northern suburbs of Melbourne which investigated respondents’ satisfaction in respect of the implementation of design controls within and between their communities. In addition, the research sought to define common design control measures and explore the reasons for their use and role in effecting the outcome of master planned residential development.

The paper provides a review and discussion of the findings which offers some insights into the residents’ satisfaction with the design controls and their effectiveness in achieving the developers’ intentions. Whilst residents’ degree of support varied between developments, it was found that controls which exhibited greater clarity facilitated a more certain outcome; and the more stringent the controls, the more positive was the impact on property value with the greater conformity of design being viewed as a measure of quality which rewarded residents with a better return on their investment than that achieved in less strictly controlled developments.

Issues in property management: Caravan parks- Housing on the fringe- The Frankston view

Lynne Armitage et al. — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:18:48 PST

Whilst investment pressure from excess funds generated by compulsory superannuation contributions is creating opportunity for major international investment in property, at the current extreme of the property investment continuum lies the caravan park. Here, owners and investors also seek a positive return on investment but are stymied by a complex web of concerns which differ in character, though sometimes not in substance, from those of better recognised property investment vehicles.

Across Australia ownership of such parks is widely distributed amongst generally small investors many of whom are owner-operators of the park. This piecemeal pattern of ownership and the very broad range of business operations which are encompassed by the term ‘caravan park’ create a series of challenges from the perspective of the management of the property asset with the interests of park operators, the residents and statutory interests often pulling in different directions.

Caravan park operators face a range of physical, operational and financial property management pressures but frequently lack the resources to employ professionals skilled in the property aspects of the business. Their immediate clients may comprise a hybrid of tourist and residential occupants with somewhat non-compatible expectations. In addition, the contribution of often unclear tenure and, particularly in well-located coastal environments, an inexorable pressure for higher order use through redevelopment also add to the complexity of issues.

After providing some background to the industry, this paper will identify and discuss a number of the pressures which impinge upon the property management aspects of the caravan park asset. It draws upon a comprehensive range of recent literature and is informed by empirical illustration from an established caravan park in Victoria which is identified (fictitiously) as The Frankston Caravan Park.

Valuation accuracy and variation: A meta analysis

R. Martin Skitmore et al. — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:16:34 PST

This paper provides a first order approximation of the accuracy of commercial property valuations for comparison with the ±5-10% threshold of tradition, convention and judicial acceptance. The nature of ranges is considered in relation to the uniform and normal probability density functions and the effects of bias considered. Summary statistics are examined for gross differences (differences between property valuations and subsequently realised transaction prices) recorded in the Investment Property Databank (IPD) database and significant yearly changes noted in both the means and standard deviations. A meta analysis of previous work is presented which shows all other results involving gross differences (GDs) to be reasonably consistent with statistics yielded by the IPD database. The results for the two main studies of net differences (GDs adjusted for the lag in time between valuation and transaction dates) also suggest yearly trends of a similar nature to the GDs. The role of intravaluer variability is also examined. The variability associated with the time lag is then estimated and applied to the IPD figures to give the approximation sought, suggesting ±5-30% to be a realistic range in place of ±5-10%.

© Copyright Martin Skitmore, Janine Irons & Lynne Armitage, 2007