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Spatial indexing is the missing variable in South African mass appraisal
03 July 20267 min read
Why location-aware models outperform comparable-sales heuristics on every ratio study we have run since 2019.
Comparable-sales heuristics assume that similar properties are near each other. Spatial indexing makes that assumption explicit and testable, and in every ratio study we have run since 2019 the spatially indexed model has produced a lower coefficient of dispersion.
The practical implication for a municipal valuer is fewer objections and a roll that survives the Valuation Appeal Board.