The Factors Influencing the Changes in Real Estate Values

In the first part of the planned thesis, the author will use previously presented and published conference materials to make generalisations about the specific topic of the doctoral thesis. In doing this, the author will rely on the analysis of real estate value and its various aspects which the author and his co-authors began in 2003 in Kuopio and built on between 2004 and 2007 in Milan, Dublin, Weimar and London; the author will develop and further build on this analysis, focusing primarily on the sources, components and motivational factors of (real estate and buildings) value. This in-depth analysis will focus on the historical aspects of analysis and on the formation of user preferences in determining the sustainability of all the studied aspects, whereas the thesis will clearly distinguish between sustainability and efficiency. These aspects of value to be studied as well as the decisions of their preference are connected to the status quo of the valueís user; therefore, in parallel to what has already been outlined, attention must also be paid to the motivations behind the choices that the users of value (property and buildings) make. An analysis of the motivations will clearly require the author of the doctoral thesis to analyse the factor system and its different structures as a certain coding intended to be read by the users and prepared by specialists in the field (Eco: 1972). Linguistically, both already established languages as well new meta-language mutations of all the various multimedia could be used for such coded presentation of value. Once the researcher has been placed into the role of the reader of the coded messages of a value judgment, the next stages must be the generalised levels of over-coding and re-coding whereby the impact of these on value dynamics is observed, taking into account the multi-complexity of the relevant parameters. The elementary discourse of this entire approach is based on, in addition to the above, on a division into two generalised opposites ñ the components of value are considered as nature or as artefact, and the potential construction of value is considered as a set of signs, as space (semiosphere), or as a set of values, the components of real estate (real estate space - reality). At the same time, following from the suggested topic and its detailed analysis, the attention of the research must be focused on the motivations behind the behaviour of the valueís user, such as (in addition to what has been mentioned above) membership in the society, in identity groups or some specific ethnic factors (Korzenny: 2006). This latter aspect creates a situation where in addition to Wellsí psychographic approach to decision-making, the author will also look at the so-called Zetterbergís eight lifestyle factors and their potential impact on peopleís behaviour, their figurative (post-, co- and pre-figurative) compositions, as described by Margaret Mead in 1970. These specifications and this partially behavioural analysis will take the discussion back to the historical paradigm which attributes significant meaning to places and events (Camus: 1943); since the interpretation of these is a dynamic process, time-wise, we will arrive at a special level of marketing ñ the marketing of value, considering the specifics and the nature of the time. The entire approach to the subject, as planned thus far, fluctuates around the various aspects (as certain descriptions) of value and its development. Therefore, the author considers it important to focus on the movement in time, from a narrative description or judgment of value to certain formalised description practices, and from these back to a developed narrative description as an integrated method for emphasising the various aspects of value. In conclusion, the thesis will determine the connections between real estate space and semiosphere and will also offer additional ways for the description of value and will explain the existing methods, both in terms of the concepts canonised in standards and the concepts legalised in acts of legislation. It must also be pointed out that that the author is convinced that this proposed doctoral thesis will also make it possible to introduce new discourses into the academic study and the teaching of real estate value, so that various professional disciplines can be adequately presented.