Moving into 2016, REINSW has a clear set of goals which will be hit hard, heavy and often, according to REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin.
“We need to achieve our goals for the profession, consumer and state’s economy. No other industry in this state individually or by way of aggregation, makes the contribution to the economy that property does,” Mr McKibbin said.
The three goals Mr McKibbin hopes to achieve in 2016 include:
1. The property industry having its own commissioner
Given the importance of the property industry to the state’s economy, REINSW believes that the industry deserves its own dedicated Commissioner who would be dedicated to the needs of the property industry.
REINSW believes NSW Fair Trading has too broad a portfolio of industries to deal with and accordingly to date has not, and cannot develop an understanding of the complexities of the property market and property transactions. This means that it therefore fails to deliver on consumer expectations.
“The Property Services Commissioner would be similar to the Legal Services Commissioner that the law society works with. The profession needs a cooperative and constructive relationship with the regulator.”
2. Education standards
The Institute is firmly of the view that the main issues that attract the attention of the regulator, and frustrate consumers, can be resolved by substantially improving the education standards of property professionals.
The first step in doing so is through an overhaul of education and training standards, as put forward in a recent submission from REINSW.
“The complete education, which involves both classroom and on the job training, particularly in a service industry such as real estate is not so much desirable, but essential. Without it the service provider is ill-equipped to respond to the demands and disciplines of the profession,” Mr McKibbin said.
3. Working with disruptors
Technology has very quickly become central to everything that we do. The rate of change is rapid, and it will only continue to accelerate. Businesses need to adapt to this rapid change, or they will soon be left behind. For this reason it is important for the profession to embrace the opportunity to change, and use the challenges posed by digital disruption as opportunities to move forward.
“REINSW wants to lead the re-equipping of the profession through things such as electronic signatures,” Mr McKibbin said. “Again we are lobbying the Government on this use, and have made a strong submission to remove the uncertainty that currently exists with the use of electronic transactions in some circumstances.”
“I believe that people are now developing technology solutions that are designed to replace agents. This is bad for agents, but also bad for the consumer. In order to stop this from happening, we need to position the profession to be a part of and add value to the contemporary technology, as opposed to allowing the technology to leave us behind.
“We must look at the opportunities and position the profession’s services to compliment and assist that technology otherwise the technology will replace us.”
REINSW will continue to update members on the progress of the Institute’s goals throughout 2016.
To view our recent submission on improving education standards, click here >>>
To view our recent submission on electronic signatures, click here >>>