More needs to be done for greater consumer protection – MIEA new president

• “We need to adapt and embrace technologies. We have to be innovative and creative to serve our clients. Training and education for our agents is a crucial factor driving professionalism. We will engage with the public to create awareness on how real estate agents can add value to the transaction while elevating the profession's professionalism and perception.”

KUALA LUMPUR (July 28): Tan Kian Aun knows he has many things on his plate after taking the helm as president of Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) on July 1, but he is undaunted by the challenges.

“I feel excited and eager as I can't wait to start things,” said Tan.

First, the 49-year-old Tan wants to protect consumers by bringing in greater professionalism.

“There is a lack of awareness of the Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Act (Act 242). The public is not aware of the importance and significance of the Act. Thus, ‘property scammers’ or ‘Illegal’ agents are taking advantage and practising with poor manners of conduct,” he told EdgeProp.my in an exclusive interview.

Interestingly, Tan did not start out his career in the property industry. He was in the IT hardware and electronic consumer products, logistics & air express, and pharmaceutical industries before he found his calling to the real estate field with CH Williams Talhar & Wong in 2009.

After gaining a few years’ experience in Malaysia, he moved on to Australia and spent five years as a licensed estate agent in Melbourne. Besides being armed with a Bachelor of Commerce from Curtin University (in Western Australia), a degree in Marketing & Management, and diploma in Estate Agency, it is his experience in the real estate industry of both Australia and Malaysia that gives Tan a clear insight on how to lift and improve the local industry.

“In Australia, the profession is highly regulated. The law and rules require practitioners to be highly competent to carry out their duties. It requires a minimum entry level of qualification to conduct estate agency practice,” Tan pointed out.

“The responsibilities and accountability of the agent's representative (known as ‘negotiator’ in Malaysia) are crucial, and they are not allowed to work and conduct activities ‘independently’ without supervision. In Malaysia, the enforcement of unregistered agents is relatively poor, and this has caused a lot of mistrust and irregularities of practice in Malaysia,” he revealed.

Tan added that the authorities in Australia take a very strict view regarding consumer and public protection.

“For example, an agent in Melbourne is legally required to obtain a letter of appointment and a vendor statement to show potential buyers before an agent can advertise the property. Many agents in Malaysia are providing ‘inaccurate’ advertisements that mislead the public but are not penalised. Due to particular limitations, in Malaysia, many unregistered real estate agents continue to carry out the estate agency practice.

“Another main difference (between Australia and Malaysia) is the mode of selling. Private auction is still a popular method, unlike in Malaysia, where an auction property is perceived as a distressed property. In Australia, the purchaser has stronger rights, such as a cooling-off period. Most of the new projects/developments are based on the build-then-sell concept, while house and land packages are also common.”

Leading MIEA to new heights

After the announcement of his new role in MIEA, Tan had said he was ready to lead the real estate association to “new heights”, which he thinks is crucial as the market is changing and evolving rapidly.

“We need to adapt and embrace technologies. We have to be innovative and creative to serve our clients. Training and education for our agents is a crucial factor driving professionalism. We will engage with the public to create awareness on how real estate agents can add value to the transaction while elevating the profession's professionalism and perception,” said Tan.

“More public relations exercises and awareness activities will be carried out to promote the association and educate the public about our role, responsibilities and how the public can benefit and protect themselves.

“I want to collaborate and work with the government to elevate the professionalism of the industry. We need to create awareness and run campaigns to educate the public to protect their interests, especially when dealing with unscrupulous, unregistered agents,” he added.

Overcoming unaffordability issues   

Tan also touched on the current homebuyer sentiment, which is impacted by issues such as unaffordability, high cost of entry into the market such as stamp duty on memorandum of transfer and legal fees, inflation and high cost of living, loan application obstacles, and property maintenance charges.  

“In terms of the business sector, it is now challenging with the [rising] cost of material, labour and land. The weakening of the ringgit also means the cost of imported goods will increase. These will translate to higher buying prices.”

In response to these challenges, Tan opines: “The government can encourage homeownership by providing affordable rental schemes and better housing policy, such as those that cater to certain working-class people with suitable types of property.

“Flexible loan policies from the private banks and government-owned banks to provide access to financing will help greatly. Also, control of the interest rate.

“In addition, watch out for over-development in certain areas, build more satellite cities rather than overcrowding the urban area, control speculation by implementing certain taxes to prevent property hoarding, revive certain abandoned projects and rezone areas.

“We want to engage with the authorities such as the Ministry of Local Government Development, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living, the Ministry of Communications and Digital, and the Ministry of Finance to play an active role in policy making.”

A profession to make a difference in lives

Meanwhile, as a veteran in the industry, does he encourage young people to try out the real estate segment as a career?

“Yes. Take this industry as a career and with a mindset to serve professionally, not as a get-rich-quick scheme. We are here to make a difference in people's lives and fulfil their needs and dreams,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Tan is also an associate director with Hartamas Real Estate (M) Sdn Bhd and he feels that his experience in running the successful agency will be an asset that can be used to lead MIEA.

“We need to build and understand our mission and vision on why we exist and our role and purpose in the fraternity. Training, education and knowledge are key to the profession. We must look at ourselves and put ourselves in the customers' shoes to understand them. As members of MIEA, we must always conduct ourselves with the greatest professionalism to add value and provide excellent service to the clients,” Tan reiterated.

Tan’s appointment will be celebrated in an installation ceremony at the 15th edition of MIEA’s National Real Estate Awards this Saturday (July 29).