Dubai Adopts New Property Market Standards

The mission of the International Property Measurement Standards (IPMS) Coalition is to unify property market standards so that investors, developers and policymakers can better know what to expect …

The mission of the International Property Measurement Standards (IPMS) Coalition is to unify property market standards so that investors, developers and policymakers can better know what to expect when it comes to property in various countries, and Dubai is the first country in the world to officially adopt the system. Initiatives include standardizing surveying and land measurements as well as various building parameters, such as where and when different amenities may be added to a structure. It’s hoped that the system will make properties more saleable and processes more transparent. For more on this continue reading the following article from Property Wire

Dubai has become the first country to officially support international property measurement standards (IPMS) which aim to stamp out the problems created in the real estate industry by multiple measurement standards.

The announcement came following a meeting earlier this month between the IPMS Coalition and Dubai Land Department. As well as directly addressing inconsistency in measurement it is hoped that a shared international standard will bring both transparency and confidence to the market that adopt the IPMS.

The Dubai Land Department will form a committee to organize and coordinate their feedback and contribution to the standard setting process. ‘The insight from this important region will benefit IPMS greatly,’ said Ken Creighton, director of professional standards at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, one of the coalition partners.

‘We are proud of this achievement, which we see as being a quantum leap for the Dubai Land Department. Our involvement in this initiative supports our position in raising the benchmark for unifying surveying standards in Dubai,’ said Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, director general of the Dubai Land Department.

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‘The efforts to unify surveying standards should benefit property owners and investors, as it will negate some of the issues and problems that can arise from differing standards used by real estate operators. It will support transparency and trust and will contribute to the convergence of global markets,’ he added.

A second affirmation for the initiative came in the form of the appointment of two new members to the IPMS Coalition, including its first Brazil based member, Secovi, along with US professional body, the Counselors of Real Estate (CRE). Secovi (São Paulo State Housing Syndicate) has been recognized as the home to the Brazilian real estate industry since 1946 and houses several key operating sectors of the real estate production and service chain.

The coalition was created in Washington in May 2013 and it aims to resolve disparities by developing and implementing a set of international property measurement standards that are principle based and internationally applicable, and which will be adopted by all nations across the globe.

Alan Robertson, chief executive officer of Jones Lang LaSalle Middle East and North Africa said it is good news for the region’s real estate markets as for the first time investors will be able to use an internationally agreed standard methodology to measure property assets across the real estate market.

‘At the moment, real estate is measured differently between countries and even between different developers within the same country. This has resulted in the application of different measuring methods for calculating rentable or saleable areas,’ he pointed out.

‘For example whether to include balconies within the saleable area of residential units or whether common areas such as corridors and washrooms should be included within the lettable area of an office building. This creates confusion and a lack of transparency in the market and consequently makes it difficult for both tenants and purchasers to make informed decisions,’ he explained.

‘This is a problem both here across the Middle East where no common standards are used, making it difficult to compare between options on the same basis. This has a direct impact on transparency and what exactly investors are buying or what occupiers are leasing,’ he added.

Indeed, research by the firm shows there is a clear correlation between transparency and investment in the real estate market. ‘The adoption of a more structured approach to measuring buildings should therefore boost confidence and attract more investment into the regional real estate market. Jones Lang LaSalle MENA thoroughly endorses the new approach. We don’t believe there is a requirement to establish separate national codes but we do encourage government authorities and local developers to implement any new international measurement standards that emerge from this initiative,’ concluded Robertson.

This article was republished with permission from Property Wire.

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