Students told: Study real estate

By Katlene O. Cacho
Tuesday, October 11, 2011

INSTEAD of taking the usual courses in college, high school students are encouraged to take the four-year degree course in Real Estate Management to take advantage of opportunities in the country’s booming real estate industry.

Philippine Association of Real Estate Boards, Inc. (Pareb) president Ariel Martinez said there will be a number of schools and universities nationwide that will start offering Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Management in the next school year.

He said this is an opportunity for the industry to get fresh and skilled graduates to join the growing real estate industry.

“Aside from taking the usual courses in college, we are hoping students to consider real estate management as a profession,” Martinez said at the sidelines of the 51st Pareb National Convention held last week at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

Opportunities

He said there are opportunities in the industry with the numerous real estate developments particularly in key cities in the country today. “There are many real estate service practitioners today now making billions in the industry. If you wanted to have a job where you are the boss, then this is one profession good for you,” he said.

Pareb is the oldest and largest real estate service organization in the country founded in 1960. It is the umbrella organization of 58 local member boards nationwide with membership of almost 4,000 licensed real estate professionals.

Martinez said that apart from professionalizing the real estate service management, the course offered will also help the industry get rid of “colorum” or unlicensed real estate practitioners.

Before the Real Estate Service Act (Resa) 2009 was passed into law, real estate practitioners were handled by the Department of Trade and Industry under the Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection.

“There was little regulation that time. The proliferation of unlicensed real estate practitioners has hindered the industry from becoming globally competitive. But with Resa coming into the picture, the profession has been uplifted,” he said.

Martinez said people who want to become a real estate service practitioner should pass the examination and get a license from the Professional Regulatory Board on Real Estate Service.

“The law is created not only to uplift the profession but also to protect the buyers and the public in real estate transactions,” he said.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 12, 2011.