The offices of the appraisal committees receive all contracts by which someone undertakes to transfer ownership of a property in return for payment, including by way of exchange, or to provide a heritable building right. These contracts are collected and evaluated with regard to the various circumstances affecting the value of a property.
The collection of purchase prices is in principle not public and may be inspected, including the documents sent, only by the members of the expert committee and the employees of the office exclusively for the performance of their duties. Information is provided upon request, provided that a justified interest in this is proven. This applies, for example, to authorities, publicly appointed and sworn as well as certain certified experts who are involved in the valuation of real estate. Information may only be provided if it is required for the purpose of the valuation. Property-related information (i.e. including the parcel number) may only be provided subject to certain conditions; the names and addresses of the contracting parties may not be disclosed.
Finally, the appraisal committee determines the standard land values on the basis of the collection of purchase prices and publishes them in the collection of standard land values (for more information, see "Standard land values; standard land value information" under "Related Topics"). The appraisal committees also prepare appraisals of the value of developed and undeveloped land upon request (for more information, see "Land Values; Determination" under "Related Topics").