What is the difference between assemblage and plottage?

Assemblage is the physical process of combining two or more adjacent parcels of land into a single, larger parcel under one ownership. This action is often undertaken to create a parcel more suitable for a specific development. Plottage, also known as plottage value or plottage increment, is the resulting increase in the unit value of the land. This economic principle holds that the combined larger parcel is often worth more than the sum of the individual parcels' values because its size and shape allow for a higher and better use, thus creating enhanced utility and value.

A. Plottage is the increase in value from combining parcels, not the act of splitting them, which is known as subdivision.

B. Plottage is a concept of added value resulting from assemblage; it is not a procedural step in the subdivision process.

C. Assemblage is the act of combining land parcels, not constructing a building on them.

1. The Appraisal Institute. (2015). The Dictionary of Real Estate Appraisal (6th ed.).

Assemblage: "The combining of two or more parcels, usually but not necessarily contiguous, into one ownership or use; the process that creates plottage value." (p. 16)

Plottage: "The increment of value created when two or more sites are combined to produce greater utility." (p. 171)

2. Crawford, P. J., & Follain, J. R. (2012). Real Estate Principles. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.

In the module on "Valuation and Appraisal," the text distinguishes between assemblage as the process of combining lots and plottage as the value enhancement that results from the combination. (Chapter 10, Section on "Principles of Value").

3. Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), Real Estate Board. (2023). Virginia Real Estate Board Licensing Regulations.

While not defining the terms directly, the curriculum requirements for salesperson pre-licensing education under 18VAC135-20-340 mandate instruction on "Principles of real estate," which includes the concepts of assemblage and plottage as fundamental to property valuation.