The rate of home ownership is expected to improve after a two per cent commission rate was imposed on the sale of properties that were valued at less than $500,000.

Fiji Real Estate Association made the comment following the fourth national real estate conference.

During the day-long conference, Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the rate of home ownership in Fiji was low.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum was chief guest at the event, which was held at Tanoa International Hotel, Nadi.

He said there was a public outcry over the manner in which properties were sold, and commissions were earned.

Real estate agents were among the top three most distrusted professions, and called on the industry to work together and hand in hand with the Government.

Integrity
The Government had continued to monitor the real estate sector over the years and called for more integrity among practitioners, Mr Sayed- Khaiyum said.

“It’s a question of a profession seeking to ensure that its credibility is maintained with members of the public.”

He called for sustenance within the profession.

“How you are perceived by the public and organisations such as the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service, the Financial Intelligence Unit, accountants, lawyers, and various other institutions is important.”

“It is important to protect your industry with a particular level of caliber of people – when they join the profession, there should be some continuing up-skilling of professional standards.”

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum cited two examples that warranted concern in the sector.

One such example where the market value of a property was $600,000, but the property owner had sold it for $300,000.

“Where the balance of $300,000 went and how it was paid is anyone’s guess,” he said.

Another example, was where a property was sold for a certain amount, bought by a close relative of the real estate agent, and in a matter of months, the property is sold again for a higher market value.

Soul Searching
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum urged real estate agents to carry out some soul searching over their modus operandi.

As an example, there was an instance when someone would have lost his job in another profession, and been given some work in the real estate industry.

Strata titling was an area Fiji’s real estate sector lacked, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.

“Nobody is thinking, nor have we heard from any real estate agent, about strata titling and selling to ordinary Fijians,” he said.

“There are incentives in it.”

The asset-based problem, which limits people’s means of taking out large sums of money through loans in commercial banks, must be addressed, he said.

“The best way to do that is to own a property,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.

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