We have been involved in developing industry education, and a certificate course for residential property valuers has now been finalised, and the draft unit standards for a range of estate agent certificates and diplomas have been published for comment, after which they, too, will be finalised," Rawson says. He and IEA vice-president Arnold Nel have both been appointed members of the Services SETA's Property Chamber, and Rawson is also a trustee of the SA Property Education Trust, which publishes industry textbooks. Rawson highlights membership growth, progress in education and transformation, healthy strategic alliances, and the impact of new legislation as having been particularly significant in the past year.
The IEA consists of eight regional institutes co-ordinated by a national office. Overall, the regions achieved a 5% net growth in membership during the past year. Membership is open to all legally licensed practising estate agents. Transformation of the industry as a whole remains slow, says Rawson, but the IEA made substantial progress with internal transformation through a mentoring project piloted by the Western Cape region earlier this year.
The project, in which IEA directors mentor previously disadvantaged estate agents, was successful and will shortly be extended to the rest of the country. The American-based International Real Property Foundation has shown an interest in helping the Institute of Estate Agents and the industry achieve its transformation goals, and the IEA is currently discussing the proposal with them. "We maintained favourable media publicity throughout the year," said Rawson.
Legislation had a noticeable impact on the industry during the year. The IEA took part in the parliamentary committee discussions on the draft Property Rates Bill, and helped its members to implement the Financial Intelligence Centre Act and the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act for defaulting tenants. Rawson concluded his report by pointing out the challenges facing the IEA in the coming year: the formation of employers' and employees' organisations, the expansion of the mentoring programme, and the establishment of a national training programme in line with the new qualifications.
