The regulation of real estate agents in Fiji required urgent attention.  This followed an outbreak of unregulated operators in the real estate industry thereby ruining the confidence of the genuine licensed operators.  More than 70 illegal real estate companies with more than 150 real estate agents operated illegally in the country and were not registered with the Real Estate Association.  In addition, the Chinese operated real estate businesses that had infiltrated the industry and had since formed a parallel real estate association.  The Real Estate Association President, Vyas Deo Sharma, during the recent press conference held at their Headquarters emphasized the need for urgent action against the illegal realtors in order to protect the industry from ruin.

Sharma informed the audience that the matter was already receiving the necessary attention from the Licensing Board and soon the unregistered operators would be firmly dealt with. The meeting heard that the unsuspecting clients lost colossal sums of money at the hands of those unlicensed realtors whose sole motive was to generate money by hook or crook.  The real estate industry in Fiji could compete favorably with that of New Zealand and Australia in the region and was capable of generating revenue to boost the country’s economy.

In closing remarks the Association President cautioned the unsuspecting clients to take extra care when engaging in real estate transactions. He also urged clients to contact the Real Estate Association to verify the license numbers of operators in the industry before engaging in any form of real estate transactions.

Further the Association President informed the meeting that other benefits of registering with the Association was that registered agents would have access to free training in real estates and provide a recognized code of conduct in the industry.

In the concluding remarks Sharma presented the agenda of the Extra-ordinary Annual General Meeting to the participants. The items on the agenda included the following:

Date of next meeting – 8^th December 2017

Agenda

The finalizing of the code of ethics in the Real Estate Industry.

Amendments to the Association’s Constitution.

Possible location for set up of National Office.