Institute of Valuers needed

I sympathise with the frustration experienced by Alex Muscat (Property Valuation, March 8) for it proved a point that has always intrigued me and that is, since when does an architect know what a property's sale value is? It may be within his competence to tell how much it will cost to erect or alternatively whether it complies with building regulations but nothing that would indicate how much it will fetch on the market.

As any real estate valuer worth his salt would tell you, the test of value of a property is what it will fetch on the market. Furthermore an indication of such value can only be supported by comparable sales. That is sales of similar properties that have sold in the area.

Such sales of course need to be, as described in the profession, "at arms length". Needless to say there is more to it than this but it will do for a start. It is high time that Malta set up an Institute of Valuers and pushed for an accredited degree course in real estate valuations offered by a local institution/university. The present practice of architect conducted valuations will only serve to feed what are already overinflated property prices. What will happen when the "bubble" bursts and real estate values take a dive. The construction costs of a property is one thing but whether the man in the street will be prepared to pay the price being asked is another.