Precio del suelo dado por la oferta del mercado y el avalúo municipal: Relaciones y distribución espacial en la ciudad de Cuenca

The paper analyzes the relationship between the market price and the cadastral value of vacant lots, built-up lots, and horizontal property, and its spatial distribution within the urban area of the city of Cuenca, covering an area of approximately 74 km2. The cadastral value of the lots was obtained from the Autonomous Decentralized Municipal Government of the Canton Cuenca. Whereas, the market price was obtained from the published real estate offers in the period September 2019-March 2020. Of the 100,203 lots within the study area, 994 lots, of which the market price and cadastral value are available, were retained in the study. In total 421 unbuilt-plots, 518 built-plots, and 55 horizontal properties were used in the analysis. The land price by the municipal appraisal equals on average 54.15% of the market price, showing that the cadastral value of the properties is undervalued. The spatial autocorrelation between market price and the cadastral value was derived using Moran’s I and Gi* statistics. Lots were observed with a high market price, 5% of the properties presented values higher than 4.82 with a maximum of 11.39. These high values do not have a clear explanation, except speculation given by the market. Given the difference between both measures, municipalities, given society changes at a rapid pace, should modernize and renew the cadastral system, which traditionally is seen as well-functioning but in many cases is outdated.