What may deregulation of the real estate professions bring?

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In 2013 the government introduced a deregulation of three professions related to real estate management. The changes affect mainly real estate agents and managers. In case of real estate appraisers, only the access to the profession is affected by the changes, its other aspects remain regulated.

When it comes to modern commercial real estate, as opposed to housing market, individual brokers and small agencies are rarely involved. As a rule, in Warsaw and other main regional cities, commercial real estate market, including office buildings, is supported by large Polish and international companies, the staff of which usually hold Polish or international licenses such as RICS or CCIM. This is the reason why for the enterprises using the services of broker companies the new regulations concerning the professions related to real estate management won’t change anything. The choice of real estate consultant is usually dictated by the reputation and experience of the company, as well as its knowledge of the market, so lack of a license will not affect the way the market works.

 

The prices of real estate brokers and property management services will probably remain unchanged, due to the competitiveness of the market. In such a business, the experience of the company and its staff in contacts with the tenants is crucial. Delegating responsibilities of this type of unqualified personnel may result in loss of revenue or even reduction in property values.

 

From the point of view of renown companies offering mediation in the real estate industry, deregulation of the real estate agents and managers professions will not cause any significant changes. Despite the lack of license, they will work as usual thanks to inner procedures concerning employees training, knowledge of the relevant procedures, regulations and rules of operation. Companies regulated by RICS follow the directives and standards of RICS for agents and brokers (REABS) and managers (GPMS). Being a part of a professional organization will gain a new significance, especially when it comes to those which have very precise and high expectations of their members in terms of competences, education, knowledge and ethical standards.

 

The appearance of the licenses implemented by professional organizations such as PFRN and PPRN is also a very positive phenomenon. Introduction of new professional regulations which gained importance in the face of deregulation of the real estate professions, the system of continuing education and training as well as recruitment of new members are all good changes. The threat, however, is non-uniformity of the requirements for membership in the self-regulatory organizations, which may lead to a situation in which the brokers and managers will be looking for a federation whose expectations are lowest. Nonetheless, in the long term the market will pursue the uniform self-regulation, which will bring in the trust of the business partners.

 

Past costs associated with obtaining a license will no longer apply. Additionally, taking into consideration the fact that the scope of the past license education did not include a number of elements related to practicing those professions and required additional training in that respect, it is also a chance for strengthening the position of professional organizations of managers and brokers.

 

Deregulation of the professions related to real estate management carries also some dangers. The biggest risk is lack of knowledge and skills needed in these industries. However, those factors will be probably verified quite quickly by the market and the customers, who will pay even more attention to the membership of people and companies in the self-regulatory organizations. Absence of a unified managers and brokers verification system means, that in the next years professional standards for managers and brokers will have to be developed. It will result in the increase of competitiveness among different professional organizations. In the short term, it can lead to diminishing membership requirements by some organizations, however, the market will probably verify this aspect of deregulation as well. Prospective members will choose the organizations which will provide them with contacts with professionalists and experts in the real estate market, access to international standards, guidelines and good practices such as, among others, RICS has and spreads, as well as the advantages of the internal relations between members of the organization and access to training at the highest level, which will guarantee competitiveness on the labor market to the members of such organizations.

 


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