Following last week’s filing of a class-action petition against the Real Estate Service Act of 2009 or RESA, President of A Better Real Estate Philippines Anthony Leuterio called for unity among all stakeholders in the movement to amend what he calls the law’s “anti-poor, anti-Pinoy and anti-technology” provisions.
“For us to make a meaningful impact on the industry, the effort to amend RESA must be a collaboration between everyone. The real estate brokers, the salespersons, the appraisers, the developers and the Professional Regulation Commission. We must all unite to ensure that any change is a positive one,” said Leuterio.
“Everyone has their own set of concerns, and this movement strives to be one that gives them a voice.”
In a press conference last week, ABREP and representatives from the country’s largest real estate groups convened to discuss some of the more salient issues with RESA’s provisions, including the allegedly prohibitive and onerous Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Management degree requirement, the restrictive 1-is-to-20 rule for real estate brokers and salespersons, and the lack of consideration toward equal opportunity and the role of technology in today’s industry.
According to the Chamber of Real Estate Builders’ Associations’ National President Noel Cariño, the intention is not to seek the abolition of RESA, but to revisit and revise the provisions that had made the practice of real estate difficult for many.
“CREBA has been supportive of the professional practice of real estate, but we have been even more supportive of a more inclusive practice of real estate in making it accessible to as many practitioners as possible,” said Cariño.
“Those prohibitive and onerous provisions need to be reviewed. Hopefully, we can get the ball rolling so that what we have started here in this movement for better real estate will really see fruition. I think this is very warranted and everyone is in agreement that we should move closer to amending this particular law. The sooner we do that, the better it is for everyone.”
The call for unity was echoed by the National Real Estate Association’s immediate past President Benny Cabrieto Jr., who highlighted the struggle in clearing the backlog with the limited number of salespersons available.
“We cannot sell so many real estate units if we do not have enough agents, which is restricted by this 1-is-to-20 rule. The law provides that only those who are graduates of BSREM can apply to become a licensed broker, and less than 100 people graduate from this course, a big number of which are not passing the board exam,” said Cabrieto.
“We would like to attract the best and the brightest to this profession, but the BSREM requirement is not addressing that.”
Veteran realtor and co-founder of Havitas Development Corporation Andy Mañalac said the BSREM is a valuable credential for those pursuing further studies but should not be a restriction for entering the profession. He states that while a license is still important because real estate is a regulated industry, the industry needs to unite to create more livelihood opportunities for Filipinos.
“By having a collaboration among all the stakeholders, the real estate industry will become more productive and generate more jobs in both construction and real estate,” said Mañalac.
Real estate developer Bria Home’s President Red Rosales noted that the lack of the law’s clarity regarding the use of technology in the industry has caused confusion between practitioners and the regulatory bodies, and issue has been exacerbated by the pandemic as agents rely on digital platforms such as Facebook to find leads and sell properties.
“Now that digitization is being highlighted thanks to the pandemic, all of a sudden the PRC is chasing after our people. But the problem is that the biggest market is overseas Filipino workers. How do we reach them?” said Rosales.
“The backlog is still huge, and if we implement the broker management force, its only about 100 graduates per year, and not all of them will push through with this course, maybe only half.
“That is why BRIA homes supports this call, we believe have to amend this law now.”
Renowned real estate practitioner RJ Ledesma further explained the need for more consideration towards the rapid development and use of technology in the industry.
“There are times where the provinces cannot be reached by brokers. There are also buyers abroad who need services from people who can reach them,” said Ledesma.
“We have to give the opportunity for us to allow technology to help the industry scale so that we can address this growing backlog.”
Leuterio said the movement’s call for unity is not a call for anti-regulation. Given the size of the P760-billion industry and the potential malpractice from individuals with ill-intent, regulatory mechanisms are still vital in real estate, said Leuterio, but they can still be improved to ensure that the industry becomes more inclusive and provides more opportunities to Filipinos.