The REINSW has called for the introduction of a dedicated state minister for property to address major issues, such as professional standards, housing affordability and supply, and stamp duty reform.
Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) CEO Tim McKibbin is part of the push. He argues the industry urgently needs a dedicated property minister within the State Government.
“We need a commissioner for the property services industry that has come from industry, that understands the industry. Unfortunately with Fair Trading, we are in a constant state of conflict because of their views on competition. They erroneously believe that competition is the panacea of all that ails any market,” Mr Mckibbin told WILLIAMS MEDIA.
His comments come after the REINSW resigned from the Real Estate Reference Group (RERG) earlier in September.
Related reading: REINSW resigns from Real Estate Reference Group
One of the drivers behind the resignation were constant delays in implementing industry education and training reforms.
“The problem we have with Fair Trading is they principally regulate industries with high frequency transactions of low dollar value. Property on the other hand, is a high value transaction that is done very infrequently.
“Fair Trading sets education requirements. When we said to Fair Trading that we want to increase education and experience (in the property industry), they said we are being “protective” of our industry, and our suggestions would be “barriers to entry”.
“As a consequence, we find we have a lot of people being able to get into real estate who find that it is way too demanding, and leave within 12 months.
“About 80 per cent of people exit the industry in the same year they come in - that just tells you these people who want a career aren’t being properly supported. We aren’t doing the right thing by them and we aren’t doing the right thing by consumers,” Mr McKibbin said.
Earlier in the year, NSW Fair Trading proposed to de-license auctioneers, a move Mr McKibbin says is "dangerous".
"That to me demonstrated the philosophical views that exist at Fair Trading where they just don’t understand the property industry. Auctioneering is not theatre - it is the making of a contract for a very valuable piece of property. Not only is that dangerous to the consumer, it also demonstrates very clearly that Fair Trading don’t understand the industry."
Mr McKibbin recently sent a letter to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, requesting a meeting to discuss the issue.
In the letter, Mr McKibbin writes, "I do not need to emphasise the obsession New South Wales has with real estate, particularly the residents of greater Sydney. We respectfully suggest that those very same people would be horrified to learn of the level and quality of support the industry receives from Government and the risk this exposes them to as consumers in comparison to the supportive regulatory structure provided to the industry in the other States and Territories of Australia.
"The contemporary property consumer has an expectation of immediacy and a variety of additional services and service delivery channels. For the Industry to respond, it must be nimble and proactive. That is however impossible if it is being burdened with the archaic practices, imposed upon it by a regulatory authority that has lost touch with the contemporary market and its needs."
Mr McKibbin told WILLIAMS MEDIA it would be "grossly negligent" for Ms Berejiklian to ignore the issue.
"We (the real estate industry) are the biggest industry in this state and this country. We make a greater contribution to state revenue than any of the other industries. I would be very surprised if the Premier would ignore a dissatisfied property industry - I think that would be grossly negligent to discard our position," Mr McKibbin said.
"When you have one of your major stakeholders unhappy you may be able to explain that. But when you have all of your major stakeholders prepared to commit their dissatisfaction in one letter that must be taken seriously."
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