Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Faiyaz Siddiq Koya, says the real estate sector must continue to explore ways to make housing affordable to all Fijians.

Speaking at the inaugural Real Estate Agents Licensing Board (REALB) National Workshop in Nadi yesterday, he said Government was already working towards this and thus the sector must do the same.

“Whilst the growth of the industry is important, it is also critical to provide affordable housing to all Fijians, as is provided for in the Fijian Constitution. This is a key priority for the FijiFirst Government,” Mr Koya told participants.

“We are aware of the rising demand for housing, especially in the major urban centres.

“Therefore, over the past year, various policy changes have been undertaken to ensure that affordable residential properties are available to ordinary Fijians.”

This, Mr Koya said, has been done, amongst other initiatives, including rental freeze on residential properties the Help for Homes Initiative and so on.

“Hence, whilst the Government is taking steps to make affordable housing available for Fijians, it is also your duty as real estate agents to work within the ambits of the law and ensure that your industry is clean of unscrupulous dealers,” he said.

A platform

The workshop is a result of consultations between the board and stakeholders with the theme ‘Recognising your roles and responsibilities in the real estate industry’ and is the first of similar workshops to be held in all divisions.

Real Estate Agents Licensing Board chair Abdul Hassan said the workshops provided real estate agent a platform to further explore laws and policies in the real estate and establish a fair and just system in the context of the contemporary world.

“The vision of the board is to develop and administer a more vibrant real estate in Fiji with a mission to create and sustain an environment of professionalism, expertise, integrity and quality in the sector.”

Mr Koya also noted that in the Western Division alone for the first three months of 2015, 355 sales transactions were worth over $180 million.

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