Professional Approaches to Valuation of Development Land in Emerging Urban Areas of South West Nigeria

This study examines the professional approaches employed by estate surveyors in valuing development land in emerging urban growth areas of South West Nigeria, specifically focusing on expanding residential and mixed-use development zones in Ogun, Osun, and Oyo States. Development land valuation presents distinct professional challenges compared to the valuation of completed properties, requiring assessment of planning consents, infrastructure availability, market demand projections, development costs, and developer profit margins within the residual land value framework. The study employs a professional practice research design, drawing on structured interviews with 30 estate surveyors who specialise in land valuation in the three states, supplemented by analysis of 20 anonymised valuation reports for development land parcels. Assessment dimensions include method selection, comparable land transaction data access, treatment of planning risk, consistency of residual valuation inputs, and adherence to the NIESV Red Book Guidance. Findings show that while the residual method is widely understood in principle, its application is frequently inconsistent, with significant variation in developer profit margin assumptions, sales absorption rate estimates, and infrastructure cost treatment. Comparable land transaction data are poorly recorded, forcing reliance on informal market intelligence that reduces reproducibility and challenge resistance of valuations. The degree to which planning risk is explicitly reflected in discount rates varies widely. Recommendations include developing NIESV guidance notes specifically for development land valuation in Nigerian growth areas, facilitating a shared land transaction database among NIESV members, and introducing a specialist development land valuation module in the institution's CPD programme. Keywords: development land valuation, residual valuation, professional practice, South West Nigeria, estate surveyors.