Login
iscover
A former president of both the Queensland and national institutes has opposed the REIQ’s impending resignation from the REIA.
RE/MAX managing director Michael Davoren said it is wrong for the Real Estate Institute of Queensland to quit the Real Estate Institute of Australia, which Real Estate Business reported yesterday it is poised to do.
Mr Davoren said the industry needs a “national unified front” because the issues that affect Queensland increasingly come from outside state and often national boundaries.
“Foreign investment review, federal taxation, money laundering, and ASIC and ACCC regulatory guidelines and laws are just the tip of the iceberg,” Mr Davoren said.
“Technology is one of the greatest pressures to bear on the industry. There should have been a 100 per cent industry-owned portal well before now, for instance.”
Mr Davoren said the REIQ is being “extremely short-sighted” in thinking it can handle national and international affairs.
“While I do not support the path the REIQ has chosen … the REIQ’s actions leaves the door wide open for an alternate peak-performing national body to replace what has gone before. If this occurs, it could attract a lot of support from the industry,” he said.
The current real estate institute model, which operates with a federation-style structure, hasn’t been relevant for years, according to Mr Davoren.
“As a past president of both REIQ and REIA, I have been involved in many discussions over many years relating to how our Australian real estate industry should have evolved,” he said.
“The Australian real estate industry’s natural progression should have been toward a fully-funded and fully-resourced peak body, which is a model that has served a number of industries well.”
Mr Davoren said such a model would allow the industry to present a unified national position and give it the best chance to deal with a range of major challenges.
Sam Saggers, the Brisbane-based chief executive of Positive Real Estate, said one issue he wants the industry to push for is a national licensing system.
Mr Saggers said his business was unlikely to be affected if the REIQ was to resign from the REIA.
However, he told Real Estate Business that it might be harder for the REIQ to fight for the interests of Queensland agents without the support of the national body and other states.
“I would imagine they would find it a little bit tougher if they don’t have the ability to have direct conversations anymore,” Mr Saggers said.
[Related: Naysayers were wrong about commissions, says Davoren]
Newsletter
