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EAAB investigation: move seen as catalyst for change   Article Date :30 Nov 2005 Renewal coming in estate agency sector. The government's decision to call for tenders through the Department of Trade and Industry from suitably qualified independent investigation experts into the role and effectiveness of the Estate Agency Affairs Board could lead to a radical transformation of the estate agency sector, says Bill Rawson, chairman of the Institute of Estate Agents of South Africa. Stressing that the institute had actually initiated and given birth to the board (EAAB), Rawson said that they had asked for a regulatory body - but in time this had become a consumer representative organisation - and in recent years had seldom performed even this role as efficiently as the institute would have expected. "We in the institute will be using the review period to undertake our own comprehensive review, after which we will make our own proposals on how the industry should be run," he said. "Together with the thorough Department of Trade and Industry report these should provide a powerful catalyst towards the setting up of better systems." Rawson said that the institute had employed two prominent academics who would canvas a wide spectrum of property and associated industries, including financial institutions, the legal profession and mortgage originators. They will report in January. This report, said Rawson, would cover much the same ground as the departmental investigation, namely the effectiveness of the estate agents' regulatory framework, a comparison of South African estate agents' regulatory models against those of other countries and an examination of the laws governing the real estate sector. The important aspect of the institute's investigation, said Rawson, was that it would encourage the public to make proposals via local institute branches - and that these proposals would be publicised. Asked if the process could lead to the abolition of the EAAB, Rawson said that some estate agents favoured this, but it would probably be preferable for the board to remain in place with a number of people on it voted there by the estate agency sector. He said the board was not making full use of the experience of agencies. CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE MAIN NEWS PAGE