Professional Skill Critical to Success in Real Estate

Sean Tompkins, Chief Executive, RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) in an interaction with Shubhra Saini spoke about RICS role towards making real estate market better equipped in skill and calibre.

I have been coming to India for past eight years and I felt Indian real estate market was surrounded by uncertainty as the sector lacked professionalism and a proper regulatory structure. In the past two years things have started to look up with the advent of RERA and GST. The improved regulatory framework has given impetus to REITs and now many global investment firms are positioning themselves to enter this (REIT) market. The demand for qualified professionals will go up in India with the advent of REITs and with global investment giants like Brookfield, Blackstone, GIC, etc. foraying in India. Also read http://realtyplusmag.com/vertical-growth-of-the-cities-is-a-step-in-a-right-direction/ For REITs to be successful:

• International valuation standards needed in the Indian market
• Developers need to create high quality investable assets
• The investable assets will further need proper asset management
• A consistent valuation system.

RICS can ensure that quality and competence of valuation professionals in India meet the expectations of top institutional investors who are looking to enter the REITs market in the coming years. We are therefore taking steps to become a Registered Valuation Organisation (RVO) in India. Also read Havells Makes a Smart Switch Our commitment to the Indian government is to have 10,000 chartered surveyors in the country by 2029. Presently RICS has accredited 2500 such professionals in India and 1200 are pursuing the programme in India. In 2013, RICS in partnership with Amity University established School of Built Environment (SBE) which is supported by leading real estate, construction & infrastructure firms as well as the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India.

“What I have witnessed is that there is a shortage of people with the right skills. India does not have a labour gap or a fiscal gap but a professional skills gap”

What India needs right now is mass skilled talent and for that we need to create a partnership between a professional body like RICS, industry and academia to create a scenario where you can learn and work at the same time. We are looking at ways to digitise learning and education in partnership with employers. People in India still don’t see real estate sector as a choice of career for them. Real estate is one of the biggest job creators in India yet it lacks talent. So, RICS is working towards transforming this industry as a professional, standardised and valuation driven sector.