Savills China has announced that Savills Real Estate Valuation (Guangzhou) has been granted a Grade 1 qualification in real estate valuation by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department, as well as a nationwide qualification in land valuation by the Ministry of Land and Resource Department in China. These qualifications are the highest in the real estate and land valuation industry, indicating that Savills China Valuation has entered a new era, providing comprehensive services to both international and local clients.
Savills China Valuation Granted Grade 1 Qualification in Real Estate Valuation and Nationwide Qualifications in Land Valuation
Savills China has announced that Savills Real Estate Valuation (Guangzhou) has been granted a Grade 1 qualification in real estate valuation by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department, as well as a nationwide qualification in land valuation by the Ministry of Land and Resource Department in China. These qualifications are the highest in the real estate and land valuation industry, indicating that Savills China Valuation has entered a new era, providing comprehensive services to both international and local clients.
Significance to the mainland real estate market
Savills not only has the highest level of local real estate and land resource valuation qualifications, but international valuation experience that provides an all-round comprehensive valuation service to its clients. There are very few companies that manage to achieve this. These unique qualifications will allow Savills to further expand their services, including collaborations with mainland enterprises and financial institutions, offering professional advice for the domestic real estate industry, assisting funds and investment trusts in their IPO processes, and strengthening the cooperation with local governments and associations.
Charles Chan, Managing Director of Greater China Valuation and Professional Services, Savills said, “The real estate market in China is developing rapidly, attracting both local and overseas investors, as well as developers. We need to ensure that our valuation reports are not only recognised by local authorities, but also meet international standards. There is an increasing number of overseas funds investing in domestic property, and more and more local investors entering overseas property markets. Therefore, the companies holding both local and international valuation qualifications have become an inevitable choice for customers.”
Hong Kong’s valuation scenario
The rapid growth of the real estate and financial industries in the past 20 years has drawn huge demand from clients for property valuations and related services. In addition, real estate investment trusts (REITs) have started to take the spotlight in the investment market. Of a total of 11 REITs undergoing public listing, Savills has assisted in valuations or research consultancy services for over half of them.
Since the handover of Hong Kong, the real estate market has been very active, and the government has set new ordinances related to the development of the real estate industry in accordance to market momentum. In this case, the change has brought a new type of business for general practice surveyor firms. Savills has become the “compulsory sale expert” and has assisted in over 170 cases of application for compulsory sale order under the Land (Compulsory Sales for Redevelopment) Ordinance.
The introduction of the Residential Properties (First-hand Sales) Ordinance one year ago also brought new opportunities to surveyor firms in Hong Kong. Savills has been actively involved in editing and proof-reading over 50 new property sales brochures and relevant information for established developers.
There are over 60 surveyor firms in Hong Kong, providing valuation and consultancy services to clients. Apart from pricing, the quality of assessment reports is also suffering from the fierce competition.
Charles also states, “Usually our fees are based on the scale and complexity of the project. Unfortunately there is no uniform charge within the industry and occasionally there is a huge variance in the fee quotes between firms. With regards to assessments, some surveyors may be complying with unreasonable demands from clients to gain business, such as providing property valuations which are higher or lower than market levels.”
A reliable and professional valuation service is very important to Hong Kong as an international financial centre. Charles believes that setting up a government regulatory authority for the valuation industry, such as the Financial Reporting Council for the accounting industry, will ensure the international recognition of Hong Kong’s valuation profession.