The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has questioned whether the government's plans for the introduction of a new licensing system for real estate professionals are presently the best way to move forward.
REIA president Pamela Bennett argued the proposed Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) from the government raises some serious concerns.
She commented: "[It] dumbs down standards in the real estate profession, removes the requirement for commercial agents to be licensed and abolishes compulsory professional development for agents."
As a result, Ms Bennett noted it is unclear why the REIA and other affected trades were not invited to recent talks regarding the matter with minister for tertiary education, skills, science & research, senator Chris Evans.
The REIA recently published data highlighting a 1.4 per cent increase in median house prices across the eight Australian capitals for the three months to June 2012.
Ms Bennett claimed the news provides a sense of "muted optimism" for the Australian property industry at present.
Posted by Steve Douglas