How relevant is Spencer's case 100 years on? The need for a new valuation definition: 'The most probable price'

The global financial crisis has exposed flaws in the traditional valuation concept of ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ and on the use of comparable valuations. Declining real estate prices combined with the uncertainties of the current economic conditions it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to be confident of a current valuation based on traditional criteria. The concept of ‘the most probable price’ provides a positive realistic definition that is different from the court approved definition found in Spencer’s case. In these ever-changing times there will need to be changes in the education of valuers to enable them to work in changed economic conditions utilising concepts such as ‘the most probable price’ and other concepts to solve problems from first principles.