Unit Synopsis
This unit is an introduction to professional property valuation. The unit examines property markets, market value, factors influencing market value, the nature and role of various stakeholders and the valuation process applied to freehold property interests. Practical aspects of property valuation are introduced including data collection, valuation report writing, the practical implications of professional ethics and codes of professional practice in property industry with specific focus on simple residential property.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 4 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2026
Term 1 - 2027 Profile
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 50% |
| 2. Take Home Exam | 50% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: Formative comment from student evaluation Term 1 2025
Student feedback, 'I found this course to be interesting and relevant seeing several properties close to mine are either on the market or recently sold and having had a real estate background it was interesting to see how real estate thinking differed from the thinking, theory and practice of Valuation. My Lecturer was approachable, helpful and provided workbooks and resources that were able to be read and viewed without feeling overwhelmed. I enjoyed learning about how property has achieved value over the ages and think a career in valuation would be very interesting.'
Continue the current, case study rich, teaching approach.
Case studies and authentic assessment are the focus of the 2 summative assessment tasks.
Source: Formative comment from student evaluation Term 1 2025
Student feedback, 'as someone currently working in an administration role in a valuation firm, I found this unit extremely beneficial and relevant to my studies.'
Retain the focus on valuation with clear connection to the current markets.
Focus on current market and its application in assessment task one is critical and retained in future offerings.
Source: Student evaluation results
One in four students did not find that the unit requirements were clear.
Weekly online classes are to retain a focus on the property markets and allocate appropriate time to help students with the assessment tasks.
Weekly classes (workshops) retained for learning and assessment purposes.
Source: School of Business and Law and scholarship research
Generative AI has been shown to successfully complete some forms of authentic assessment, challenging traditional assumptions about the capacity of assessment tasks to reliably demonstrate individual student achievement.
The assessments in this unit, particularly Assessment Task 1, are progressively developed and applied to individual real-world properties. Consistent with contemporary industry practice, some components can be effectively supported by generative AI tools. However, key aspects still require the professional judgement, analysis, and expertise of a human valuer. To better reflect these distinctions, the assessment instructions and rubric will be refined to place greater emphasis on the human-centred elements of the valuation process, including selecting appropriate valuation approaches, critical analysis, professional judgement, and the interpretation of evidence.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Describe and evaluate the theory and principles of property valuation and property market economics.
- Communicate and interact productively with various stakeholders in the property industry using various media channels.
- Apply and review ethical arguments and cultural implications related to property economics and valuation processes.
- Conduct a valuation of less complex property types by selecting and applying appropriate methods and preparing a professional property valuation report.
This unit fulfils part of the property valuation content within the "Valuation" field of the Australian Property Institute's accreditation guidelines. After successful completion of this unit students will be able to conduct valuations of residential and other less complex real property types at a professional standard.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Take Home Exam | • | • | • | |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • |
| 5 - Team Work | • | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | • | • |
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | • | ||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |