On 11 May, staff and guests celebrated the launch of Dr Manya Mooya’s book Real Estate Valuation Theory: A critical appraisal. The book is only the second book to be published in the Department of Construction Economics and Management. It was published by Springer, an esteemed publisher in the scientific world.

Dr Mooya is part of the Next Generation Professoriate programme which is a new initiative aimed at addressing the lack of senior black academics. “The publication of his book announces Dr Mooya’s arrival in this part of the world and globally,” said Professor Morrell, who is responsible for the Next Generation Professoriate programme.

Dr Manya Mooya and Mr Christopher Gavor, Valuer General.

The Valuer-General, Mr Christopher Gavor was the guest speaker at the launch and said, “Building on his many years of teaching the theory of valuation and his research, Dr Mooya has written a seminal book on the theory of property valuation. He tackles theory heads on, and proposes an alternative in its place.”

In the book Mooya deals with key problems that are relevant to the practice of valuation, such as valuation accuracy, client influence, and valuation under uncertain market conditions. “Mooya’s alternative perspective on these problems will, or should provoke intense debate,” said Gavor.

Over the years, Mooya has made immense contributions to the valuation profession in South Africa. He wrote the policy document on which the Property Valuation Act is based, and which led to the establishment of the Officer of the Valuer General. His technical expertise is behind the translation of Section 25 (3) of the Constitution into an operational framework. He was also responsible for developing the regulations that will provide the legal basis for this framework.

Mooya has been running CPD courses for the valuation profession for a number of years. “These courses are highly regarded in the valuation profession in South Africa,” said Gavor. “Through these courses, practising valuers have access to training of a quality that is comparable to the best in the world.”

Rob McGaffin, a colleague in the Department of Construction Economics and Management, critiqued the book. He said that when he had first started reading the book, he thought that the contents of the book did not appear to reflect in the title of the book. He was looking for 'land economics' as is expected of valuation books, and then he realised that was the point Mooya wanted to make. “That we go back and question the underlying economic and philosophical basis upon which we define value today,” said McGaffin. “Mooya has shown an intellectual ability and bravery by giving us a succinct, logical and very well written framework to question the current status quo. The challenge is on us to do so.”

The book is available on Amazon.