Property buyers and sellers in Mudgee can expect real estate agents new to the industry to be well-trained, educated and offering advice in the best interests of clients in the not-too-distant future, reports the Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW) .
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The practice of people becoming agents after as little as three days of training is being shafted in a shake-up driven by the institute.
In Dubbo on Tuesday, REINSW president Leanne Pilkington said legislation had passed through the NSW Parliament that would see “better quality people making the choice to be part of the industry” because of changes to training and education.
She reported of a “massive” 20 per cent jump in the number of real estate agents in NSW between 2014 and 2016 when outlining reforms expected to be enacted in the second half of 2018.
“The institute has long been concerned that the quality of agents coming into the industry is not what they should be,” she said.
“They don’t have the experience, they don’t have the knowledge and we’ve been fighting with government for over 10 years to get the legislation through.”
Under the new legislation, Ms Pilkington said a certificate of registration was an “entry requirement” for an agent who first had to complete five units of training.
“Then within four years you need to transition to a full licence through more training. You have got to have one year of experience to get your licence and then if you decide you want to be a business owner there’s another qualification called licensee-in-charge that requires some more study and another two years of experience. If you are currently a licensed real estate agent running a business you will be grandfathered into the licensee-in-charge qualification.”
Ms Pilkington said REINSW intended to make a submission to the Professional Standards Council for the industry to be “recognised as a profession”.
