Editorial

Citation

Warren, C.M.J. (2018), "Editorial", Property Management, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 250-251. https://doi.org/10.1108/PM-04-2018-0027

The third issue of Property Management for 2018 once again demonstrates the wide diversity of property management-related research that is being undertaken by academics and industry researchers around the world. This issue presents research undertaken in leading institutions in Australia, Africa and the Middle East. The papers also tackle a wide range of issues relevant to the property management profession ranging from issues of education for the next generation and the changing nature of the property profession to residential estate design and management. As Editor of Property Management, it is pleasing to see the variety of papers being submitted and particularly encouraging to receive research from developing regions of the world where English is not the first language of the authors. This issue, for example, has papers from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

The first paper in this issue comes from Tazviona Richman Gambe from Great Zimbabwe University, Zimbabwe. The paper is entitled: “Rethinking the tenant eviction process in Harare, Zimbabwe.” The paper explores the protracted process for the eviction of delinquent lessees in the residential property market in Harare, Zimbabwe. Using a qualitative methodology, the author presents data gathered from residential property managers. The paper provides an interesting insight into the residential property management market in Zimbabwe and perhaps a challenge that many residential managers face.

The second paper is by Leyla Alkan-Gökler from the Gazi Universitesi, Ankara, Turkey. The paper examines the rise in popularity of access-restricted developments, or gated communities within the Ankara residential market. The paper is entitled: “Factors affecting site selection of access-restricted residential communities in Ankara.” The research findings, not surprisingly, show that factors such as distance from the CBD and quality of neighborhood factors significantly influence the site selection by developers. While the paper does not provide findings that would not be expected, it does analyze the development market within Turkey for which there has been very limited previous research published. It is always interesting to compare and contrast research findings from regions that are underrepresented in the property management literature.

The third paper is from the Middle East and is presented by Bakhter Ihsan and Adel Alshibani from the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia. Their paper is entitled: “Factors affecting operation and maintenance cost of hotels.” The research seeks to identify the key factors that contribute to the operational outcomes of three- to five-star hotels. Focused on the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, the researchers used a qualitative methodology with online questionnaires from 23 experts located in the region. Perhaps not surprisingly the cost of climate control and the associated energy demand are identified as having the highest impact within this hot climatic zone. Associated contributing factors such as the energy efficiency of climate control plant and the design of external facades also contributed to the operational efficiency and customer perceptions of the hotels. The paper provides some intriguing data on the operation of quality hotel accommodation and the issues faced by property managers in the hospitality industry.

For the fourth paper, we return to Africa and this time to Nigeria for a research collaboration between Chioma Abere and Terzungwe Dugeri from the Kaduna State University, Nigeria together with Olusegun Ogunba from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. Their paper is entitled: “An evaluation of property markets in Southwestern Nigeria.” The aim of the research is to evaluate the maturity of key Nigerian cities for investment purposes. The authors focus their research on the major cities of Lagos, Ibadan and Osogbo and adopt established benchmarks against which industry experts score the relevant markets. The findings show that the markets present emerging and immature maturity levels which are commensurate with the behaviour exhibited by the investment market. While the research is focused on some specific markets in Nigeria, the methods adopted and findings will be of interest to any investors or property managers working in developing regions of the world.

The fifth paper is presented by Sara Wilkinson and Hera Antoniades, both from the University of Technology Sydney Australia, and Dulani Halvitigala from RMIT, Melbourne, Australia. Their paper is entitled: “The future of the Australian valuation profession: new knowledge, emerging trends and practices”. This paper looks at the changing nature of the valuation profession and the impact of technology on the profession and their governing bodies. Using a qualitative methodology, employing focus groups drawn from various sectors of the property industry, the authors report on the challenges faced by the profession.

The sixth paper is written by Alirat Agboola from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. Alirat’s paper looks at introducing Austrian economics as a means of evaluating property markets. The paper is entitled: “Entrepreneurial discovery in property market processes: an Austrian economics contribution to property market.” It is argued that the driving force of property market process is provided by entrepreneurial and profit-seeking speculative activities in the face of incomplete information in an uncertain property market. The author suggests that Austrian economics offers a sound and practical alternative theoretical approach to the study of property market within its socio-economic context.

The final paper is also from Nigeria and is presented by Solomon Akinbogun from the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria. This paper is entitled: “Admission into real estate undergraduate education in Nigerian universities; the clog in the wheel.” The paper examines the impact of a compulsory pass in physics on undergraduate admission into estate management programs in Nigeria. The research shows that 18 percent of applicants would be denied access to property programs due to a lack of a pass mark at “O” level in physics. This paper gives an interesting insight into the education system in Nigeria and is a thought-provoking piece when considered as a potential entry threshold in other regions of the world.

I trust that you find the research presented in this issue of Property Management interesting and thought provoking. As always, I look forward to receiving your research papers for the publication in the future issues of the journal.