From RICS 05 Mar 2015

Premier McLaughlin delivers welcoming remarks.
Two hundred of the senior property and construction professionals from across the Caribbean were expected to attend the Second RICS Cayman Property and Construction Conference, taking place Thursday (5) at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort in George Town. The conference is the flagship event of RICS’ Cayman chapter, and the Honorable Alden McLaughlin, MBE, JP, Premier of the Cayman Islands delivered the welcoming address.

This conference is an excellent opportunity for all property professionals, owners, occupiers and developers to get together and discuss and debate topical and important issues that affect us all. It should be a very interesting day for all attendees, sponsors and speakers.

Nigel Bates, chair of RICS’ Cayman Chapter Board
The theme of this year’s event and its keynote address is “Building Sustainable Communities.” The keynote focuses on best practices to ensure that all projects, including the revitalization of George Town, are planned and implemented effectively to enhance community development and quality of life on the island.
RICS President Louise Brooke-Smith is not only attending the conference but speaking on the keynote panel. With my background as an urban economist and town planner, I am personally very excited that the theme of this conference is ‘Building Sustainable Communities, says Brooke-Smith, who is managing director of Brooke Smith Planning, based in the United Kingdom. This ties in with the Cayman government’s recent important decision to set infrastructure projects as its priority, she says.

In addition to the keynote, the conference features a “Market Outlook” plenary session; concurrent workshops including “The Cayman Construction Contract,” “E-Conveyancing,” “Valuation” and the “Builder’s Registration Law;” and networking opportunities, including a closing reception.

We are very pleased to be hosting RICS’ Second Cayman Construction and Property Conference today. This event seeks to build on the first, held in February 2013, with a focus on issues affecting our industry such as creating sustainable communities. In addition, the conference’s significance has been recognized by the fact that Premier McLaughlin is delivering opening remarks.

Uche Obi, MA, FRICS, senior valuer, Lands and Survey Department, Cayman Islands Government and Americas board member for RICS
In addition to the formal program, an important announcement will be made during the conference: that the Valuation & Estates Office of the Cayman Islands Lands & Survey Department is endorsing International Property Measurement Standards: Office Buildings. IPMS is the first global standard for measuring office space and is expected to bring consistency and transparency to the market for investors and occupiers, says Obi. The agency joins Jamaica’s National Land Agency as Caribbean entities that have endorsed IPMS so far.

The agency joins Jamaica’s National Land Agency as Caribbean entities that have endorsed IPMS so far.

And March 5 is also the day that RICS Valuer Registration program becomes mandatory across the Caribbean. Under this initiative, all RICS members in the Caribbean who perform building valuations must become Registered Valuers. Valuer Registration, which became mandatory in the Cayman Islands July 31, 2014, is intended to provide quality assurance and reduce the risk associated with valuations in the region.

For more: http://www.rics.org/us/news/news-insight/press-releases/200-expected-for-2nd-rics-cayman-property–construction-conference-with-focus-on-building-sustainable-communities/

UPDATE:
Cayman Islands Banks informing their appraisers to be cautious says Realtor

Cayman Islands realtor Sheena Conolly said at the RICS Cayman Property & Construction Conference last Thursday (5) that valuations by bank-appointed appraisers are causing agreed property transactions to fall through.

Conolly told her audience, ““It’s really a fascination for me that you can take four or five RICS appraisers on the same property and get such a variety of opinion.”

Many transactions are falling through, she said,because the valuation of the property for the bank comes in lower than the agreed price.

She suggested that the banks are instructing property appraisers to be restrained in their valuations.

She also said some of the appraisers who are new to the island are not familiar with Cayman’s market and don’t take into account the upgrades and renovations between similar properties and she bemoaned that there persons are making “the determinative decision whether the business should proceed or not.”

Conolly is the broker/owner of Sotheby’s International Realty.

Related story:
Two key RICS initiatives take effect to put property valuation on stronger footing in Cayman Islands, Caribbean

From RCIS

Moves coincide with RICS Cayman construction conference
Two key RICS initiatives take effect today – one in the Cayman Islands and another throughout the Caribbean – that are aimed at putting valuation of property on a stronger footing in the Islands and the region respectively.

As a result of high-level talks between RICS and the Cayman Islands’ Lands & Survey Department, the Valuation & Estates Office has agreed to adopt a recently launched standard, called the International Property Measurement Standards: Office Buildings. And today is the date that RICS’ Valuer Registration program becomes mandatory across the Caribbean. Under this initiative, all RICS members in the Caribbean who perform building valuations must become Registered Valuers.

Valuer Registration became mandatory in the Cayman Islands July 31, 2014.

IPMS is the first global standard for measuring office space and is expected to bring consistency and transparency to the market for investors and occupiers. The endorsement – which is being announced today at the Second RICS Cayman Islands Property and Construction Conference – means that all properties valued by the department will be conducted according to the new international standards. The agency will require the use of IPMS in all valuations of office buildings it undertakes effective this month. Cayman is the third government valuation agency so far to adopt IPMS after Dubai and Jamaica, and key global bodies such as Siemens, Vodafone and the International Monetary Fund also have adopted the standards.

The Valuation & Estates Office is pleased to endorse the International Property Measurement Standards and believes this step will put valuation of office buildings in the Cayman Islands on a stronger foundation as well as increase professionalism on the commercial side of the property industry. The Department greatly appreciates RICS’ leadership and assistance on this important front.

Chief Valuation Officer Jon Hall
This is a significant step that will strengthen transparency and confidence in property management and investment in the Cayman Islands.

Director Rupert Vasquez
International Property Measurement Standard (IPMS): Office Buildings resulted from a global effort to create a uniform method for measuring property, and is set to replace dozens of existing standards now in use around the world. RICS was a founding member of the coalition that developed IPMS. Implemented by professionals and professional organizations throughout the world, the standard will ensure a single, coherent methodology. The need for IPMS arose due to differences in measuring property historically around the world, causing inconsistencies and confusion.

Valuer Registration aimed at providing quality assurance, reducing risk
Valuer Registration is intended to provide quality assurance and reduce the risk associated with valuations throughout the Caribbean region.
The Valuer Registration program is an independent system of regulatory monitoring that reduces the risk of poor-quality valuations, and enforces high standards of competence and ethical awareness. Valuer Registration sends a clear message to clients, governments and banks that RICS members welcome open scrutiny and comparison with industry best-practice. As an underpinning to important financial transactions, it is in the public interest that confidence in the accuracy of valuation work is upheld.

Michael Zuriff, Americas manager of regulation for RICS
RICS members already perform valuations under RICS Valuation Standards, also known as the ‘Red Book’, which are in compliance with International Valuation Standards (IVS), and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and in turn, globally recognized by banks, lenders and other major financial institutions. In an increasingly global business environment, RICS is facilitating greater consistency and transparency within these international valuation standards.

For more on this story go to: http://www.rics.org/us/news/news-insight/press-releases/two-key-rics-initiatives-take-effect-to-put-property-valuation-on-stronger-footing-in-cayman-islands-caribbean/