This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
NEW artificial intelligence-powered technology could transform the way Australian property is valued, and is set for a six-month large-scale pilot with financial institutions and government through the remainder of 2023 before a wider release next year.
The technology has been developed by Value Australia, part of PEXA Group, and is the result of five years of research and development collaboration led by the University of NSW Sydney and spatial mapping not-for-profit FrontierSI.
PEXA said that unlike existing manual or automated valuation methods, Value Australia’s technology applies “state-of-the-art data analytics and artificial intelligence to enriched property datasets, delivering highly accurate and consistent results in real-time, with evidence-based reporting for every individual residential property”. The technology will pull in data about schools, transport, community infrastructure and natural disaster risks that may all affect values.
The technology has already been used to calculate that land values around a potential high-speed rail network along the east coast may rise by up to $140 billion, and the uplift could be used to help fund the project.
“Accurate land and property valuations are the bedrock of the Australian property industry and are critical to state governments and councils in terms of calculating rates and land taxes,” Value Australia CEO Mark Nassif said.
“A staggering $70 billion of property taxes and stamp duties are collected in Australia, with valuations also essential for extracting the maximum value out of infrastructure projects and developments through measures such as betterment levies.
“Much of this money is pumped back into essential services, including vital new housing, yet the process of valuing property carries a huge administrative cost servicing objections and appeals.”
“Our tool calculates accurate value assessments in minutes and post the trial will be available to homebuyers, investors, financial institutions and governments so they can make more informed decisions on the future of our cities.”
The technology had been tested through a trial by the NSW Valuer General, and is now ready for a larger-scale pilot over the remainder of 2023.
“Value Australia’s fully automated technology has the ability to learn inherent relationships and patterns between land value and sales price by analysing a complex set of land, property, locational and market movement data,” Nassif said.
“We are confident a six-month pilot will clearly demonstrate not only the accuracy of our technology but the potential for ongoing efficiency gains in strategic workforce planning, streamlined digital dispute resolution, auditing capabilities and quality assurance for land registries.”
Earlier this month, PEXA and Value Australia signed an MoU with the Australian Property Institute.
PEXA acquired a 70% stake in Value Australia in August last year. The valuation services sector alone was worth $710 million in revenue in FY22, with $258.5 million from mass land valuations.
PEXA itself was born out of a COAG collaboration to provide a digital solution for property lodgements and settlements.
PEXA Group CEO Glenn King said Value Australia’s technology has the potential to “transform the land and property valuation process, delivering highly accurate valuations faster and at a lower cost than other methods”.
