O.R. Applications Valuation of urban industrial land: An analytic network process approach P. Aragone ´s-Beltra ´n a, * , J. Aznar b , J. Ferrı ´s-On ˜ate a , M. Garcı ´a-Melo ´n a a Department of Engineering Projects, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain b Department of Economy and Social Sciences, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain Received 27 March 2006; accepted 26 September 2006 Available online 20 December 2006 Abstract In this paper an application of the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to asset valuation is presented. It has two purposes: solving some of the drawbacks found in classical asset valuation methods and broadening the scope of current approaches. The ANP is a method based on Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) that accurately models complex environments. This approach is particularly useful in problems which work with partially available data, qualitative variables and influences among the variables, which are very common situations in the valuation context. As an illustration, the new approach has been applied to a real case study of an industrial park located in Valencia (Spain) using three different models. The results confirm the validity of the methodology and show that the more information is incorporated into the model, the more accu- rate the solution will be, so the presented methodology stands out as a good alternative to current valuation approaches. Ó 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Multiple criteria analysis; Pricing; ANP 1. Introduction Asset valuation is an important issue in any country. It is necessary to estimate the value of the assets in many economic events, such as expropriations, civil judgements, heritage divisions or mortgages. Because of the increasing economic development of the countries, it becomes more and more necessary to make better and more accurate valuations. Classical asset valuation methods can be grouped into comparative methods and capitalisation methods. Comparative methods estimate the value of the problem asset by comparison with other similar assets of known value, called reference assets, which should have been used in recent transactions. The analysis is based on the more significant attributes of the assets, also called explanatory variables. The most widely used comparative methods are the synthetic methods (Ballestero and Romero, 1992), the econometric methods 0377-2217/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2006.09.076 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 96 387 9860; fax: +34 96 387 9869. E-mail addresses: aragones@dpi.upv.es (P. Aragone ´s-Beltra ´n), jaznar@esp.upv.es (J. Aznar), jaferoa@upvnet.upv.es (J. Ferrı ´s-On ˜ ate), mgarciam@dpi.upv.es (M. Garcı ´a-Melo ´n). European Journal of Operational Research 185 (2008) 322–339 www.elsevier.com/locate/ejor