AREBI to tie up with S'pore realtors

AREBI to tie up with S'pore realtors

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Association of Real Estate
Brokers (AREBI) will cooperate with the Association of Singapore
Realtors to help develop each other's marketing skills.

AREBI chairwoman Cynthia G. Sonneville said the cooperation
agreement, to be inked Saturday, was aimed at improving the
skills of Indonesian brokers.

She said that Indonesian brokers were less competitive than
overseas rivals.

"Through this agreement, we'll also exchange information,
experiences in legal aspects and other affairs related to real
estate companies," she said.

Cynthia said some of its members had complained that
developers and property owners often refused to pay commission
fees that were tacked onto transactions.

"Developers tend to forget about brokers after particular
deals. There have been reports that some developers have not paid
commission fees to local brokers," she said.

According to her, property developers always paid the
commission fees to foreign-affiliated brokers. She said she did
not know why developers and property owners rejected to pay the
commission fees to local brokers.

"But we admit that in some cases brokers have not had the
proper documentation," she said.

According to Cynthia, as a nonprofit organization, AREBI would
help its members settle their disputes with developers. "We'll
take legal action if necessary," she said.

AREBI, which was set up five years ago, currently groups 115
real estate firms. The association will hold its second general
meeting next week to elect a new chairperson.

At the meeting, to be held at Hotel Ciputra Nov. 22, there
will also be a seminar and exhibition.

State Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tandjung is expected to
deliver a keynote address at the seminar. Other speakers will be
Ciputra, the chairman of the Ciputra and Jaya groups, economist
Sjahrir and Jaya Suprana.

"The association still has companies as its members, not
individuals, only to make everything easier if there's a case,"
said Cynthia, who is also president of PT Arkajasa Propertindo.

She said that AREBI had also allied with Realtor, a real
estate association of the United States.

"With such a cooperation, AREBI can also control overseas
properties marketed in Indonesia. This is, then, also for
consumer protection," she said.

She said the ongoing currency crisis, in which the rupiah had
lost 35 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar since July,
had affected property demand.

"There have been many complaints from our members in the
primary market. It's stuck. Sales have dropped significantly.
Though there's no official data, we're sure the current property
market is very gloomy. Housing loans are high and most developers
have not planned to continue their projects."

"Fortunately, the secondary market, which includes shops and
houses, is still stable," she said, adding that brokers had an
increasing role in the property market.

"Although there's no data, we know that brokers have played a
bigger role in selling property," she reiterated.

Unofficial data shows that property deals totaled some Rp 16
trillion in 1996, 5 percent of which went through brokers. (icn)