Towards a taxonomy for real estate and land automated valuation systems

Purpose Automated valuation models have been in use at least for the last 50 years in both academia and practice, while automated valuation recently re-emerged as very important with the rise of digital infrastructure. The current state of the art, therefore, justifies the dual contributions of this paper: organising existing knowledge and providing a new framework. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides much-needed analysis and synthesis of the accumulated body of knowledge by proposing an updated classification of automated valuation approaches based on two criteria, and a taxonomy adapted to new trends. The latter requires a paradigm shift from models to automated valuation systems. Both classification and taxonomy arose after literature review. Findings This paper provides a framework for an explicit context under which automated valuation is carried out. To do so, authors propose a definition of automation valuation systems; contextualise the differences among theories, approaches, methods, models and systems present in automated valuation and introduce a classification of automated valuation approaches and a non-hierarchical taxonomy of automated valuation systems. Research limitations/implications Perhaps, a systematic literature review process instead of a selective list of 100 references could additionally validate the proposed classification and taxonomy. Practical implications The new framework, underlying various dimensions of the automated valuation process, can help practitioners surpass judging models based purely on their predictive accuracy. Also, the automated valuation system is a more generic term that can better accommodate future research coming from a multitude of disciplines, more diverse business areas and enlarged variety of practical users. Originality/value This is the first paper that develops a taxonomy of automated valuation systems.