Support for appraisal foundation grows

Senior members of the Arab League approved plans of Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) to establish the Arab Appraisal Foundation (AAF), which will spearhead valuation reform in the Arab world.

Backed by the 22 states of the Arab League and with the input of influential real estate professional orgnisations, the AAF has solid grounds to be considered the Arab equivalent of international institutions such as the Appraisal Foundation in the United States and the United Kingdom's Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Rera said.

Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director General of Land Department, said: "The Arab world's commitment to co-operation and to integrating standards and practices can only benefit the real estate sector as a whole. The AAF can take valuations standards to the highest level and by doing so underpin the integrity of real estate markets, further opening these up to international investment. The launch of the AAF is a milestone in the integration of Arab world's real estate markets and international capital markets, a trend pioneered by Dubai."

The session agreed on the foundation's statutes, structure and key personnel. The blueprint submitted and approved will shape the way the AAF operates and the constituent councils whose voices it will represent.

AAF will be empowered to develop and set professional standards for real estate practitioners and encourage integration and the spread of common practices across the regional sector.

Rera CEO Marwan bin Ghalita said: "The new foundation is crucial to the future of the regional property sector. This is a maturing market and the regulatory framework, administrative infrastructure and standards and practices have to show a similar level of development.

"Markets stand and fall on their credibility and integrity. Professional standards are the only way to ensure markets continue to be credible and appeal to investors."

One of the main focuses of the three-day Second Arab Real Estate and Urban Development Conference will be to decide on possible remedies for the changes that have affected the real estate market during the past 12 months and to assess short- and long-term prospects.

Specific proposals are expected to formalise the interaction and communication between investors, developers, key organisations and government bodies and the possible input at the strategic level from Arab world policymakers.

Proposals up for approval are also expected to include forms of partnerships between Arab League nations.

Mahmoud El Burai, Rera's Director of Real Estate Sector Development, said: "It is clear that the Arab world's real estate sector will recover quickly. This is the message that emerged from today's meeting."

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