New national rules ‘dumb down’ real estate says REIA

A new national licence regime for real estate agents will lower educational standards and dump professional development, the Real Estate Institute of Australia said.

The real estate industry, and its more than 100,000 licensed participants, is in the first wave of occupations that the Council of Australian Governments aims to establish national licensing for.

The others are plumbers and gasfitters, electricians, and the refrigeration and air-conditioning industries.

At the moment, there are separate state-based qualifications and licences. Under the national scheme these would be merged into five classifications.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia said it supports national licensing but not one that drops the educational standards to the lowest in the country.

President Peter Bushby said the dumbing down of standards was a big risk for consumers.

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Real Estate: Will a cost-effective renovation add value to WA homes?

TO renovate or not to renovate? That is the question West Australians are asking more than any other homeowners in the country. For those wondering whether a quick, cost-effective update will add value to their home, the experts share their tips on what to do and what not to do. Claire Bickers reports.

WA homeowners are the keenest renovators in the nation, a new survey says – but they also tend to go over budget and over deadline. 

A survey last month showed almost half of the WA homeowners (46 per cent) were planning a renovation compared to 43 per cent nationally. 

Survey spokeswoman Belinda Williamson from Mortgage Choice attributed the trend in “renos” to the popularity of reality-TV shows and the fact Perth’s home prices may be encouraging more people to renovate rather than move.

Despite the popularity of renovations, a survey by the Commonwealth Bank last month revealed that less than half of its clients’ projects had gone to plan, with many forced to cut corners or compromise in order to complete the work.

Of these, the average renovations nationally went over budget by nearly $3000, while in WA the average blowout was more than $6000. 

Projects often took up to 95 per cent longer than expected, proving frustrating for the 81 per cent of homeowners in the west who stayed at home while renovations were being carried out. 

The extra time and costs meant that 56 per cent of WA respondents were forced to make compromises to their projects, such as simplifying their designs (20 per cent) and postponing parts of the renovation (14 per cent), while some had to skimp on the quality of the materials. 

The survey also showed most homeowners had not planned for extra costs, with only 21 per cent seeking financial advice.

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