SANTO DOMINGO – The price per square meter often becomes the primary reference point for buying, selling, or investing in property. A simple search on a real estate website reveals homes advertised at vastly different prices, even within the same neighborhood. But this figure, which guides massive negotiations and sometimes involves large sums of money, doesn't come from a fixed table or rule.
Behind every valuation lies a technical process that combines a multitude of factors, such as market analysis, urban planning criteria, legal aspects, and the property's physical characteristics. The price per square meter isn't improvised; it's constructed.
To understand how that figure is reached, El Inmobiliario consulted Milagros Concepción, a civil engineer and real estate appraiser, and Armando Mario García, from the firm Tasesores, who explain what elements are involved in determining the value of a property.
The market offers a reference point, but not a definitive answer
One of the most common mistakes, explains Armando García, is thinking that the value of a property can be determined solely by comparing it with others offered in the same area.
Although recent transactions and the behavior of supply and demand constitute an indispensable starting point, the appraiser's job consists precisely in identifying what makes each property different and how those differences impact its value.
This analysis includes variables such as the state of conservation, construction quality, distribution of spaces, functionality of the design and the dimensions of the land, factors that can generate important differences between properties located in the same environment.
According to the specialist, the market ultimately validates itself through actual transactions between buyers and sellers, so a property owner's price expectations do not always match market behavior.
The potential of a property also has a price
Beyond the visible characteristics, Milagros Concepción maintains that one of the most important elements in an appraisal is what a property can become.
It refers to the buildability and the land use permitted by current regulations, two aspects that determine the development potential of a plot of land and that can significantly increase its value.
A plot of land is not only valuable for its size or location, but also for the possibilities offered by urban planning regulations to develop housing, businesses, offices or higher density projects.
"Location defines a starting point in the valuation of a property, but legal and technical regulations and land use are key to establishing its true value," explains the professional.
The documents are also part of the process
The analysis doesn't end with the land or the building. Before issuing an appraisal, it's also necessary to review the legal status of the property.
Pending boundary demarcation processes, overlapping cadastral maps, encumbrances, or other situations that affect legal security represent risks that decrease the value of a property, regardless of its location or physical characteristics.
For Concepción, thislegal regularization is one of the most decisive aspects within a professional valuation, since it reduces uncertainty for those who buy or finance a property.
Technology and the market must meet
Both appraisers agree that an appraisal is not about assigning a price subjectively. García emphasizes that the market ultimately validates the value through real transactions, while Concepción points out that this value can only be understood when the urban planning, legal, and technical conditions of each property are analyzed together.
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