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The existing body of knowledge attributes to informal land transactions in sub-Saharan African cities observed problems in city neighbourhoods. Substantial resources, often backed by donor agencies, are therefore being spent in revamping bureaux and governmental bodies in a bid to solve the problems. This paper examines the economic impacts of this aspect of market intervention. Employing insights from rent-seeking theory, it estimates costs brought to bear on agents by government agencies' involvement in the urban land market of Accra, Ghana. The sum of these wasteful diversions of resources is found to explain a great deal of the haphazard developments that have come to characterise many neighbourhoods in the city. Market-led regulation emerges as the needed focus of future land policy and management strategy. Towards this, the paper calls for the removal of existing unwarranted market interventions and the reorganisation of responsible bureaux in ways that would induce them to operate efficiently.

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Purpose -The purpose of this research is to show how the measurement of the effect of flooding on house value can be invaluable information for professional valuers and homeowners alike. In the UK, even for an event as devastating as the autumn 2000 flood, the number of properties affected in any one town is small and so robust estimation is problematic and methodology applied elsewhere needs modification. A new framework for analysing the effect of flooding on house value in the UK is presented. Design/methodology/approach -Data issues play a crucial role in determining the methodology employed in any analysis. A repeat sales methodology is proposed which allows for the tracking of effects through time. The analysis can be extended to multiple sites via a block design thereby increasing the sample size. Findings -Empirical analysis of one case study site demonstrates the inherent small sample problem and yet reveals patterns that fall in line with expected outcomes in many respects.Research limitations/implications -The case study results are illustrative only. A programme of further analysis is planned which includes comparison of the new framework with more traditional approaches. Originality/value -A novel methodology is developed tracking the temporal variability in flood effect. The minimisation of data requirements inherent in the model allows for transfer to multiple sites and easy updating of the analysis.

The supposition that the availability and cost of insurance will have an effect on house prices is often accepted as fact. However the mechanism for this supposed impact has not been clearly articulated and the hypothesis is far from proven in the UK market.• Measurement of the effect of insurance is complicated by the fact that the parties are acting in the presence of incomplete information and that insurance costs can act as a proxy for other value drivers such as fl ood risk. Models useful in other countries cannot be applied sensibly to the UK market because of the unique properties of the UK insurance regime.• Novel hypotheses are suggested for the three principal ways in which the availability and cost of insurance might infl uence the prospective property transfer. A method for testing one of these hypotheses is proposed using a quasi-experimental approach with the aim of determining whether a relationship between insurance cost and house price does indeed exist.

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