As he draws close to the end of his term as president of Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA), K. Soma Sundram talks to iProperty.com about the real estate fraternity, MIEA’s progress over the years and his hopes for the Malaysian real estate fraternity

K. Soma Sundram has helmed the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) for the past two years, bringing change and giving a voice to the real estate fraternity. With his term ending on 25 April 2009, Soma believes that there is still a lot more room to grow for the Malaysian real estate industry.

“The real estate fraternity has much to offer. Today, we’re more of a seller agency, but I hope to see a buyer agency in the future, like overseas where there are estate agents representing buyers. We have much to offer in terms of our role and I hope MIEA will continue enhancing professionalism,” says Soma.

According to Soma, it is important for estate agents to take the opportunity to develop themselves. “The bulk of our business is small and medium. We’re still growing, still a very young fraternity. Estate agents first became regulated in 1981 and the first breed of estate agents were examined in 1986. We’re catching up, and I hope we grow to be highly respected,” he adds.

Soma also believes that the real estate fraternity has an important role to play. “Whether the market is up or down, we still have to sell. For someone in debt, he may need to sell his property to realise cash to clear his debt, so the sooner we sell, the faster he gets out of the problem. We continue to work regardless of the financial institution.

“Our job is also to provide a roof over the heads of the people. I strongly believe that estate agents play an important role in the country as professionals who contribute significantly to the economy, help Malaysians own homes, help sell homes to the public and been in the process of wealth creation for over the last 30 years,” he explains.

Changes in the Malaysian Real Estate Industry

During his term as president of MIEA which began on 25 April 2007, a lot of changes have taken place within the real estate fraternity. Among some of MIEA’s notable achievements are the official opening of its new headquarters; amendments to the constitution; the training, registration and certification of real estate negotiators; and the setting up of an independent board for real estate agents.

“My predecessors in their own time have all contributed in their own way, and I did my part too. Many people tell me that I have done a lot for MIEA, but when I became president, there was already a building fund for it (new headquarters). I was lucky as I was able to put it all together with the team,” says Soma. MIEA moved into its new headquarters at 3 Two Square, Petaling Jaya, in December last year.

As he wraps up and prepares to hand over to the new president, Soma talks about the future of MIEA. “Whoever takes over the leadership must be in sync with the fraternity. The future leaders must provide the continuity, to achieve the larger goals of the institute. The long term goals such as setting up of the board, examination of negotiators, illegal agents, enhancement of professionalism and enlargement of the membership need to be pursued.

“It is the goal of every member; everyone takes ownership. I will be working as a counsel for the next two years as immediate past president to motivate the leadership,” says Soma.

Amendments to the constitution have been put into place too. First drawn in the 1970s, the constitution has just been reviewed. “We have reviewed our objectives, mission statement, theme and made sure there are not vague clauses that leaves members to interpret upon their whims and fancies. There are two or three smaller things to wrap up, including the registration of negotiators,” Soma adds.

There is currently a policy where any estate agent joining the industry has to be examined. The necessities have been set up, and it is just a matter of implementing and getting the paperwork done, says Soma.

“There are some bad apples tarnishing the image and we want to overcome all these problems within five years. There are about 20,000 negotiators in the country, and we want to convert all of them, get them all registered and involved,” he explains. At the moment, there are only about 2,000 negotiators who have been certified via CREN interviews and a negotiator’s course conducted by MIEA.

Apart from the big challenge of getting all real estate negotiators certified, Soma hopes to see the setting up of an independent board for real estate agents. Real estate agents in Malaysia are currently governed by the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia, where only two people represent the real estate fraternity.

“MIEA is a society; we’re here to benefit members and the public, to promote the cause of the practice, but the sad thing is we don’t have the power. This practice should come back into our hands. As long as the estate agent practice continues to be governed by people who are not directly involved in the real estate business, estate agents in the country will never grow,” says Soma.

“Estate agency and valuation is different, it should be monitored on its own. But we are being governed by the majority of people who are not involved in the day-to-day business. It is a must to know the processes of estate agency, not just running a real estate firm, but be involved in the buying and selling process. That is our biggest challenge,” he adds.

Building Confidence and Enhancing Professionalism

Commenting on his outspoken approach, Soma says that estate agents today are different from those in the past. “In the past, estate agents were not able to confidently and surely say things out loud. It’s not that they didn’t have the same ideas. What I’ve said out loud are things that have been on the minds of all previous leaders for example, the representation of estate agents, inadequacy of the act, illegal agents and more,” he says.

However, estate agents today have more confidence, spurred by the leadership of Soma and his predecessors. Soma, with over 20 years’ experience in the real estate business, feels that the fraternity is becoming more confident and outspoken today, as witnessed at the Malaysian Annual Real Estate Convention 2009 (MAREC09) held in February.

“MAREC09 saw very good response this year, with about 450 participants compared to almost 400 last year. There was very good response and feedback too. We have speakers from our own turf this year, and involved our own people. This helped to build their confidence, exposing them to talking about the industry, encouraging them to do research and go into details of the business.

“It worked magnificently, with the speakers speaking from experience, talking to the public at large. It was good for the personal growth of members. Also, why do we want to listen to people from overseas? It is informative but local speakers are more relevant. The success of this year’s MAREC will help direct it to become a more relevant and successful event,” says Soma.

As he steps down from his post as president of MIEA, Soma says that he would focus more time into developing his own business, Somasun Realtors which was set up in August 1997. Apart from that, he foresees himself being more active in societal work, being involved in the Rotary Club.