Brokers back Rera move to end 'grey' market

Published Tuesday, July 31, 2012

By Parag Deulgaonkar

Real estate brokerages in Dubai say it is a challenge, but they are gearing up to register all their inventories on Simari.ae — the Real Estate Regulatory Agency’s (Rera's) new multi-listing website — ahead of the August deadline.

Brokerage firms, however, believe the new listing website will have a positive impact on the market, bringing an end to the ominous clan of unregistered brokers and their underpriced property adverts.

Cecilia Reinaldo, Managing Director, Fine and Country, told Emirates 24|7: “Simsari will have a positive impact on the market since will help educate sellers, will assist on the listings transparency and will hopefully help to further regulate the market.

“We are working to achieve its deadlines, compliance is a very important part of our business.”

Parvees Gafur, Chief Executive Officer, PropSquare Real Estate, adds: “The system we envisage could develop better communication and understanding between Dubai Land Department and the brokers.

“It says apart from listings, brokers could complete transaction on the system as well which could be a positive aspect.

“But challenge is always the awareness of rules and these systems to the sellers and buyers. As much as there is definitive strategy for brokers, there is a need to have strict parameters for sellers and buyers as well.”

He states that it is a challenging task to establish in this short deadline, but they are gearing up to their best to comply by the regulations.

Even though Simsari.ae may result in a direct competition to property listing websites, Lukman Hajje, Commercial Director, propertyfinder.ae, welcomes the move.

“We welcome this initiative and in fact any move that leads to better transparency in the Dubai real estate market, helps eradicate unlicensed operators and empowers consumers in their renting and purchasing decisions.”

On July 29, Emirates 24|7 reported that Dubai’s Rera ordered all approved property brokerage firms to register all their available properties on Simsari.ae – the region’s only authenticated and trusted multiple listing service – by August-end, or face penalties.

Asked if the move will end fake adverts in Dubai, Gafur says it could provide a good platform to classify listings in the market between registered broker's properties against a party that is non-registered.

Reinaldo agrees, saying: “There are a great number of online adverts today that are not directly connected to one specific property, in addition adverts that are under market price to instigate calls. This causes confusion in the market place between buyers and it creates a negative impact on the agency work.”

Hajje mentions: “Despite hundreds of requests, Propertyfinder has never allowed listings from unlicensed operators nor private advertisers.

“This policy was designed to protect the consumer and to support the professional real estate industry here in the UAE.

“Any steps the Land Department can take to reduce the instance of multi-listings and ghost listings would be of benefit to us.”

Brokerage firms, however, state they are not yet aware about the charges.

(Home page image courtesy Shutterstock)

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