Big changes await the property industry in South Africa during 2008. It is said that all estate agents will have to earn the new designation: Further Education and Training (FET): Certificate Real Estate (level 4) and the National Certificate: Real Estate (level 5). The property industry now also needs to comply with the training and education requirements introduced by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) Act 58 of 1995 and the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) that is envisaged by the Act. All agents in SA will have to get this new qualification by the year 2011 in order to remain an active agent.
For more than 30 years, the Council of Residential Specialists (CRS) has offered premier educational opportunities to real estate agents. For almost 15 years the CRS courses were presented in South Africa by one of the top trainers, Ed Hatch. It soon became clear that to fly top trainers all over the world would not be cost effective. A course has been developed by the Council of Residential Specialists in response to the requests by international real estate professionals for a comprehensive summary course based on United States residential real estate practices. The instructors are all experts in the real estate industry and speak from experience.
During December 2007, 15 trainers from all over the world attended a training session called REAP – acronym for Real Estate Advanced Practices. Five delegates from SA were fortunate to be part of this elected group of trainers. They are Peter Venter, Neil Mc Laggan, Juanita du Plessis, Victor Scherman and Jo-Anne Strydom. The REAP course represents the full CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) designation based on International criteria that compromises the 4 core REAP modules with additional electives.
This course will be presented to new and established agents and will form part of the new training dispensation. A few administrative tasks must still be completed where after the five new trainers will be able to start offering the REAP designation. An agent who has completed the REAP course will also earn certain credits towards the new qualification.
The FET: Certificate Real Estate entails earning 157 credits, choosing from core, fundamental and elective unit standards. Once an agent receives his qualification, it will also have to be maintained with a certain amount of credits per year.
Free seminars and road shows will be organised through EAAB and the Institute of Estate Agents to help implement the new qualification More information will follow in media articles in due course, after the new qualification was
INSTITUTE GARNERS GLOBAL RECOGNITION (01 January 2008)
International accolades are coming in thick and fast for the Institute of Estate Agents (IEASA) – among them the election of an IEASA representative to the executive committee of the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations (ICREA) for the next three years.
“This is a real feather in our cap,” says IEASA national president Dr Willie Marais, “because we are one of the newest and most junior members of ICREA. It is also significant because it means that we are internationally recognised as the representative organisation for estate agents in our country, and because we also represent the continent of Africa in ICREA.” Marais will represent IEASA on the ICREA exco.
The appointment was announced at the recent US National Association of Realtors (NAR) convention in Las Vegas, where IEASA was also praised for the manner in which it conducts its courses for the Certificate of the Residential Specialist designation.
“In fact,” notes Marais, “our CRS model is now going to be rolled out internationally and five of our SA trainers have just attended CRS train-the-trainer sessions in the US. They are Peter Venter, Victor Scherman, Joanne Strydom, Juanita Parsons and Neil McLaggan. ”
At the NAR convention, he says, delegates from around the world also demonstrated a growing interest in SA and the country’s property market. “Hundreds of people flocked to our table during the international meet-and-greet session to ask for information about SA and to discuss opportunities in the local real estate market.
“Their interest was partially sparked by the prospect of the Soccer World Cup in 2010, but there were many others who were keen to explore their perception of a peaceful country with a good economic future.”
Nine IEASA members were also recognised and applauded during the “International Night Out” function at the NAR convention for obtaining the Certificate of the International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation.
The CIPS course was presented for the first time ever in SA during the IEASA 70th anniversary conference earlier this year, and the effort garnered the Institute yet more recognition – the CIPS Course Sponsor of the Year award.
“We were surprised at this but of course delighted,” says Marais, “and it adds fuel to our plans to be able to offers the CIPS designation through SA trainers within the near future.”
Issued by the
Institute of Estate Agents of SA
www.ieasa.org.za
Instituut kry internasionale erkenning (01 Januarie 2008)
Internasionale erkenning stroom in vir die Instituut van Eiendomsagente (IEASA) – onder meer die feit dat ‘n IEASA-verteenwoordiger verkies is om vir die volgende drie jaar op die uitvoerende komitee van die International Consortium of Real Estate Associations (ICREA) te dien.
Dit is ‘n groot pluimpie vir ons,” sê IEASA se nasionale president, dr Willie Marais, “omdat ons een van die jongste en mees junior lede van ICREA is. Dit is ook beduidend aangesien dit beteken dat ons internasionaal gereken word as die verteenwoordigende organisasie vir eiendomsagente in ons eie land, asook die Afrika-kontinent se ICREA-verteenwoordiger.” Marais sal IEASA op ICREA se uitvoerende komitee verteenwoordig.
Die aanstelling is by die onlangse konvensie van die Amerikaanse vereniging, NAR (National Association of Realtors) in Las Vegas aangekondig. IEASA het by dié geleentheid ook lof ontvang vir die wyse waarop dit kursusse vir die internasionale Certificate of the Residential Specialist (CRS) aanbied.
“Ons CRS-model gaan inderwaarheid nou internasionaal gebruik word en vyf van ons Suid-Afrikaanse opleiers het pas die sogenaamde CRS ‘train-the-trainer’sessies in die VSA bygewoon. Hulle is Peter Venter, Victor Scherman, Joanne Strydom, Juanita Parsons en Neil McLaggan.”
Hy voeg by dat afgevaardigdes vanoor die hele wêreld tydens die konvensie groot belangstelling in SA en die land se eiendomsmark getoon het. “Honderde mense het tydens die internasionale kennismakingsessie na ons lessenaar gestroom om inligting oor SA te kry en om geleenthede in die plaaslike eiendomsmark te bespreek.
“Hulle belangstelling was deels te danke aan die vooruitsig van die Sokkerwêreldbeker in 2010, maar daar was talle ander wat graag hulle indrukke oor SA as ‘n vreedsame land met ‘n gesonde ekonomiese toekoms wou bespreek.”
Nege IEASA-lede het ook erkenning – en applous – ontvang tydens ‘n funksie genaamd ‘An International Night Out’ by die NAR-konvensie omdat hulle die International Property Specialist (CIPS) titel verwerf het.
Die CIPS-kursus is vir die eerste keer in SA aangebied tydens IEASA se 70ste herdenkingskonferensie vroeër vanjaar en dit het die instituut nog ‘n eer te beurt laat val – die CIPS-kursus se Borg van die Jaar-toekenning.
“Ons was regtig verras,” sê Marais, “en dit spoor ons aan in ons planne om opleiding vir die CIPS-titel binnekort deur Suid-Afrikaanse opleiers te verskaf.”
Uitgereik deur die
Instituut van Eiendomsagente van SA
www.ieasa.org.za
Agents should ‘look on the bright side’ (14 January 2008)
With inventories up and transaction numbers down, the real estate industry is understandably jittery going into the new business year.
But, says Dr Willie Marais, national president of the Institute of Estate Agents (IEASA), agents should be focusing instead on bolstering consumers’ confidence, and doing more to help them understand the underlying strength of the SA property market.
“As an industry, we should make it our business to counter all the negative reports on the property market with factual, positive news. There is still a lot of business being conducted in this market and behind every transaction is a consumer ‘success story’ that other consumers need to see and hear.
“Whether that story is about a next-door neighbour, someone from another suburb or someone from another part of the country, consumers should be taking heed of the many real life examples of people who are doing well in the current market.
“We also need to remember that most people decide to sell or buy a home based on a major event in their life such as a marriage, the birth of a child or a change of job, and that market conditions at any given time generally take a back seat to these individual needs.”
And, says Marais, there are other good reasons for agents to be positive about the market, too, including the fact that employment is rising. “Thousands of new jobs have been created in the past two years and there are more to come as the state continues to invest in infrastructure and encourage entrepreneurism.
“This will boost spending power and the demand for housing, as will the fact that the delivery of new rental stock has slowed dramatically. Rentals are already rising as a result and will in the medium term reach a point where it once again makes more sense to consumers to buy than to rent.”
Meanwhile, he says, despite several increases, interest rates are still nowhere near the historic highs of the late 1990s – “and people were still buying homes then.
“The point is that a ‘bad market’ will become a self-fulfilling prophecy if we allow it. So instead of complaining, agents should be actively engaging consumers and helping them to see the real opportunities that do exist in this market – and at the same time laying the groundwork in their businesses, especially in terms of training, in time for the next upturn.”
Agente behoort optimisme te behou (14 Januarie 2008)
Met groeiende voorraad en minder transaksies kan die eiendomsbedryf met reg bekommerd wees oor die vooruitsigte vir die nuwe jaar.
Maar, sê dr Willie Marais, nasionale president van die Instituut vir Eiendomsagente (IEASA), agente behoort nou daarop te konsentreer om vertroue by verbruikers aan te wakker en meer te doen om hulle oor die onderliggende gesondheid van die SA eiendomsmark in te lig.
“As ‘n bedryf moet ons daadwerklik optree om al die negatiewe publisiteit rondom die eiendomsmark met feitlike en positiewe nuus te weerlê. Daar is steeds ‘n groot mate van aktiwiteit in die mark en agter elke transaksie is ‘n suksesstorie waarvan ander verbruikers behoort te hoor.
“En ongeag of die storie oor ‘n buurman, iemand van ‘n ander buurt, of iemand uit ‘n ander deel van die land handel, moet verbruikers ag slaan op die ervarings van mense wat by die heersende mark baat.
“Ons moet ook onthou dat die meeste mense besluit om ‘n huis te koop of te verkoop gegrond op ‘n groot gebeurtenis in hulle lewens, soos ‘n huwelik, die geboorte van ‘n kind of ‘n werksverandering, en dat marktoestande op enige gegewe tydstip gewoonlik tweede viool speel in sulke omstandighede.”
En, sê Marais, daar is ook ander goeie redes dat agente positief oor die mark behoort te wees, insluitene die feit dat indiensneming styg. “Duisende nuwe werksgeleenthede is die afgelope twee jaar geskep en daar is meer in die vooruitsig danksy die staat se voortgesette belegging in infrastruktuur en volgehoue aanmoediging van entrepreneurskap.
“Dit sal besteding en die vraag na behuising aanwakker, gekoppel aan die feit dat lewering van nuwe huureenhede dramaties verstadig het. Huurgeld styg gevolglik reeds en sal in die mediumtermyn ‘n punt bereik waar dit weer vir verbruikers meer sin sal maak om eiendom te koop as om te huur.”
Terselfdertyd, sê hy, is rentekoerse, ondanks verskeie stygings, steeds nie naby aan die historiese hoogtepunt van die laat 1990s nie – “en selfs teen daardie koerse het mense steeds eiendom gekoop.
“Die punt is dat ‘n ‘swak mark’ ‘n selfvervullende voorspelling kan word indien ons dit toelaat. Pleks van te kla, behoort agente daadwerklik met verbruikers in gesprek te tree en hulle daarop te wys dat daar steeds goeie geleenthede in die mark is – en kan hulle terselfdertyd hulle ondernemings op ’n stewige grondslag lê, veral ten opsigte van opleiding, vir die volgende oplewing in die mark.”
IEASA international ties benefit SA consumers
South African home sellers are already deriving benefits from the decision by the Institute of Estate Agents earlier this year to join ICREA – the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations.
These benefits include the opportunity to have their property featured on WorldProperties.com, the global property showcase operated by ICREA which attracts more than 25 000 international users a month.
South African estate agents who are members of IEASA are now entitled to upload their properties for sale to WorldProperties.com and thus give these homes exceptional international exposure,” says IEASA president Dr Willie Marais. “This is another good reason for consumers to deal with agents who are members of the Institute.”
The website now also has a specific portal for developments, which will enable SA agents to display the best new homes and resort properties on offer to a huge international audience of potential buyers, he says.
In his report back on a recent meeting of ICREA members held in Portugal, Marais notes that there is also now a new area on the website that will contain market data for each country represented in the consortium. This will help agents to better assist SA consumers keen to invest in or relocate to other countries.
Through ICREA, SA agents are now also able to obtain several international qualifications that represent another benefit to local clients in terms of the agents’ ability to attract and deal with foreign buyers.
These include the Certificate of the International Property Specialist (CIPS), and the Transnational Referral Certification (TRC) qualifications, both of which lead to agents being placed on a database of certified professionals that can be searched by foreign investors looking to buy property in SA.
The CIPS course – which is in the process of being SAQA approved – covers marketing to diverse cultures, finding international clients, and the development of an international referral network as well as all the practical aspects of international brokerage such as capital flow, currencies and government regulations.
It is to be presented in SA at least once a year, says Marais, as is the TRC course, which is designed to help agents make and receive referrals for foreign buyers and covers the use of the ICREA referral system and related services at WorldProperties.com.
More agents to be ‘specialists’
Today’s homebuyers and sellers, who have a huge amount of information and knowledge at their fingertips, also expect more from real estate professionals than ever before.
And to meet this new standard, an increasing number of agents in SA are now seriously starting to explore specialisation, a phenomenon in which an agent will only sell golf estate properties, for example, or only deal with first-time buyers.
“This is already a strong trend in the US and other parts of the world,” says Dr Willie Marais, national president of the Institute of Estate Agents (IEASA), “ and it makes sense just as it does in certain branches of science or law.
“Homebuyers and sellers today expect the best. They also expect specialised services tailored to their needs. This is an increasingly powerful motivator when they are deciding which agent will represent them in a real estate transaction.”
He says specialists can of course focus all their attention and training on one area or one market niche and can thus do more to help clients in that niche than any “general practitioner”.
“This, in turn, makes it more likely that they will build a strong reputation for success in their chosen area, and that they will get more personal referrals from satisfied customers – which are the gold nuggets of real estate.”
Marais says that as a specialist, an agent must really be able to offer unique value to his or her clients. “Agents that label themselves specialists without any formal advanced training run the risk of putting their clients in jeopardy and violating their fiduciary duties.
“However, agents who do invest in training and education within their niche will increase their chances of success in their chosen field and as time goes by will be chosen more over their competition.
“In addition, the SA property market is becoming a lot more clearly segmented as it becomes more sophisticated so I believe we will see a lot more specialisation among agents in the next few years.”
Meer agente gaan spesialiseer
Hedendaagse huiskopers en -verkopers het onmiddelike toegang tot hope inligting oor en kennis van die mark - en verwag dus toegevoegde waarde van eiendomsagente.
En om aan dié nuwe standaard te voldoen, begin al hoe meer agente in Suid-Afrika spesialisering oorweeg, waarvolgens ‘n agent byvoorbeeld slegs eiendom in gholflandgoedere sal bemark of uitsluitlik eerste kopers sal bedien.
“Dit is reeds ‘n algemene verskynsel in die VSA en ander dele van die wêreld,” sê dr Willie Marais, nasionale president van die Instituut van Eiendomsagente (IEASA), “en dit maak sekerlik sin, net soos in sekere vertakkings van die wetenskap of regte.
“Kopers en verkopers verwag deesdae net die beste. Hulle verwag ook gespesialiseerde dienste wat by hulle eiesoortige behoeftes pas. Dit speel ‘n al groter rol wanneer hulle ‘n eiendomsagent kies om hulle in ‘n eiendomstransaksie te verteenwoordig.”
Hy voeg by dat spesialiste vanselfsprekend al hulle kundigheid en aandag op een gebied of nismark kan fokus en kliënte dus van ‘n baie meer omvattende diens kan verseker as ‘n ‘algemene eiendomspraktisyn’.
“Dit sal meebring dat hulle ‘n naam op hulle gekose gebied kan maak en dat hulle meer persoonlike verwysings van tevrede kliënte sal kry – ‘n prys waarna elke eiendomsagent streef.”
Marais sê as spesialiste moet eiendomsagente unieke waarde aan kliënte kan bied. “Agente wat sonder enige gevorderde opleiding daarop aanspraak maak dat hulle spesialiste is kan hulle kliënte blootstel en hulle vertrouenspligte as agente in gevaar stel.
“Agente wat egter in opleiding in hulle gekose nismark belê, verhoog hulle kanse op sukses en sal mettertyd hulle mededingers uitstof.
“Boonop is daar duidelike tekens dat die plaaslike eiendomsmark besig is om te segmenteer namate die mark meer gesofistikeerd raak en ek glo dat ons dus in die volgende paar jaar baie m eer spesialisering onder agente gaan sien.”
Information session for all Estate Agents 28th January 2008-01-30
Wow, what a turn out!
The waiting area was filled with agents waiting to register and enter the hall of information. There was a vibe in the air as to everyone’s curiosity……………………what’s happening in the market with regards new qualifications???????????????????
Who and what is involved????????????
Please see attached links as to the material that was discussed at the session
Thank you to all who turned up for this very important session and look forward to seeing you at our courses/training and events
Enjoy this very exciting and eventful New Year!!!
Basic layout of the morning events |
