Comments on the announcement by the Council for the Property Valuers Profession



The announcement that the Council for the Property Valuers Profession (CPVP) has decided to establish a registration category of "Single Residential Property Assessor" to accommodate estate agents is good news for the property industry, says Bill Rawson, national president of the Institute of Estate Agents. "It will enable estate agents to provide full-on property valuations, as distinct from the comparative market analyses which our industry currently uses. Registration will also make estate agent valuers accountable, which is good news for the consumer. "It will also enable estate agents to diversify. We know of several for whom this has opened up a whole new career path, because they will be able to 'retire' from the sales rat-race and continue their property careers as valuers, which is less demanding but still lucrative." The question of estate agents valuing properties became something of an issue when capital gains tax was introduced in October 2001. Up to that point, only CPVP-registered valuers could "determine" the value of property, and all estate agents could do was "estimate" value. Though this may seem like a small distinction, says Rawson, it made a big difference if a valuation was integral to a legal matter such as a divorce settlement or a tax dispute. However, when CGT was introduced, the SA Revenue Service stated that anyone could value a property, provided, of course, that the SARS accepted the valuation. That announcement created a desire among estate agents to add property valuation to their range of services, and led to discussions between the IEA (representing the estate agent industry), the CPVP and the SA Institute of Valuers, on the formal recognition of estate agents as valuers. The outcome was a decision, in principle, to establish the "Single Residential Property Assessor" category, and to determine the necessary qualifications for registration. It will be some time before the new category is actually brought into being, as rules must still be approved, and the necessary training courses must be prepared. "We hope that by this time next year we will see the first 'Single Residential Property Assessors' in action," says Rawson."