AN ASSESSMENT OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) INPROPERTY MANAGEMENT AMONG ESTATE SURVEYORS AND VALUERS IN BENIN CITY

The persistent use of manual methods in property management within Benin City, EdoState, Nigeria, poses significant challenges, including inefficiency, time consumption, and increasedrisk of inaccuracies. This study aims to investigate the applications of Geographic InformationSystems (GIS) in enhancing estate management practices in Benin City by assessing the rateofadoption, identifying commonly used GIS tools and software, and exploring the challengeshindering the implementation of GIS technology. A descriptive survey research designwasadopted, targeting all 66 registered estate surveying and valuation firms in Benin Cityusingatotal enumeration sampling technique. Data collection was carried out using structuredquestionnaires, which were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequencycounts, percentages, means, and standard deviations. Findings indicate that GIS adoption in propertymanagement is low, with only 29.4% of firms reporting its use despite 88.24%of respondentsbeing familiar with the technology. Most firms (70.6%) have not adopted GIS, and 96.1%ofrespondents disagreed that its use is widespread. Staff training on GIS remains limited, with80.4% of respondents stating that their firms have not invested in such programs. However, 68.6% agree that the benefits of GIS are well understood, indicating that barriers to adoptionaredue to technical and financial constraints rather than a lack of awareness. ArcGISandQGISemerged as the most commonly used GIS software, but their utilization remains limitedduetocost and inadequate technical knowledge. The study concludes that while awareness of GIStechnology is high among property management professionals, its adoption is hinderedbyinsufficient training and financial constraints. It recommends that estate management firmsinvest in staff training programs, collaborate with technology providers to access affordableGISsolutions, and adopt policies that encourage the integration of GIS into property management
operations. Further research is recommended to explore the long-term impacts of GISadoptionon property valuation accuracy and client satisfaction.