F04

This project investigates the emergence, implementation and impact of property valuation standards in Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany between 1970 and, roughly, 1995. Theoretically, it thus discusses the question of the correlation between practices of comparing and processes of standardisation. At an empirical level, it examines the debates on valuation standards for real estate in Great Britain (sub-study 1) and the Federal Republic of Germany (sub-study 2) in their international context.

In so doing, the project assumes firstly, that discussions on property valuation standards have emerged in both countries since the 1970s, which have been closely related to shifts in the market situation, to liberalisation tendencies and to the opening up of the real estate sector to movements of international capital. Secondly, the project assumes that the concrete effects of these factors varied significantly in Great Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany. The standardisation of practices of comparing was pursued by different communities of practice and thus produced different results in spite of similar objectives. Thirdly, these differences had direct repercussions on the comparisons made in valuations, something which led to substantial consequences for market transparency and volatility in the real estate sector in the two countries.