Owners often assume that a property they enjoy is a property that performs. Sometimes it is. But the qualities that make a building pleasant are not always the qualities that make it liquid, lettable or financeable.
What performance actually depends on
Demand for the property type in that location, the cost of holding and maintaining it, the ease of transferring it, and the depth of the buyer pool matter more to an asset's performance than its finishes.
Where the two align
They align more often than not — good design in the right location usually does perform. The point is that it cannot be assumed, and that a valuation measures the second quality, not the first.